PROJECT UPDATE: Mini Boats Project: Woods Hole Partnership Drifters, Data, and Ocean Study

Falmouth High School Students worked together to repair and remodel three mini-boats donated to the Falmouth Public Schools. The boats were launched along with drifters to monitor the wind and ocean current patterns in Cape Cod Bay to determine likely landing locations for cold-stunned turtles.

Each year, hundreds of turtles are cold-stunned in Cape Cod Bay. Juvenile sea turtles come to the warm Cape Cod waters during the summer to feed. Once the ocean temperatures drop in the late fall and winter, the turtles can become lethargic and unable to swim. They are often stuck in this cold stunned condition as long as the waters remain cold and will float on the ocean’s surface and sometimes wash ashore, carried by both ocean currents and wind. The unique shape of Cape Cod Bay serves to trap the turtles and prevent them from heading back out into the Atlantic Ocean. This year’s drifter and mini boat project is seeking to track both wind and ocean currents in Cape Cod bay to determine likely locations where these cold-stunned turtles may strand.

FHS science students have refurbished two drifters and three mini boats. The two drifters were deployed on December 2, 2022 from a fishing boat off the coast of Plymouth. These drifters can be tracked via a website HERE. Drifters have sails that are underwater and are useful for tracking the bay’s currents.

Upon completion of these launches and recoveries, students will interpret the data to pinpoint likely locations where cold-stunned turtles may be found. They will also analyze the wind and current patterns to formulate why the structure and shape of Cape Cod Bay leads to so many turtles becoming trapped. 

Visit Educational Passages to follow this project!

Special Thanks to:

Carmela Mayeski, FEF Grantee

Cheryl Milliken, FHS Science Teacher

Educational Passages and their partners for making this incredible opportunity possible for Falmouth students.