‘Purple Hurricane’ Sets Sail

The Washington Park Elementary School (WPES) fourth and fifth grade students in Cheryl Gerber’s class have launched “Purple Hurricane” into the Gulf Stream off the coast of Tybee Island.

The students have been working on the mini boat, equipped with a solar powered GPS system, for several weeks in conjunction with Educational Passages. The project is helping the students learn how to use a map and how to read coordinates in addition to learning about ocean currents, salt water density, wind, weather and how to be good stewards of the Earth’s resources.

Purple Hurricane was launched into the Gulf Stream on November 1 with the volunteer support of fishing charter company Watermark Restoration.

The week prior, the students visited the UGA Marine Science Center in Savannah for a christening ceremony of their mini boat and to hand it off to Watermark Restoration.

The students were placed on six different teams for this project, each having a specific job to do in order to get the boat ready to launch. Students used their various talents to install the keel, decorate the sail and deck, create videos/articles documenting the project and find a deployer to get Purple Hurricane to the Gulf Stream.

Inside the cargo hold, students placed various items that would represent Jasper County and Georgia, including flags from UGA and Ga Tech.

The students also wrote “Finders Instructions” in various languages in hopes of retrieving Purple Hurricane in the future.

Interested persons can follow their journey by visiting educationalpassages.org/boats/purplehurricane.