And we have another boat that originated in Norway found on the beach! This time in Iceland by a family from Florida, USA. Many boats decorated by school visitors to Vilvite, in Bergen, Norway, continue to be found on the beaches of the North Atlantic.
In 2022 Float Your Boat collaborated with Vilvite, a science museum in Bergen, Norway. Vilvite cut and branded hundreds of wooden boats and had them decorated in various learning programs. This boat was deployed along side its parent Arctic buoy by Le Commandant Charcot at the North Pole in summer 2022. Since May of 2023, there have been have been more than a dozen boats found from that deployment.
Boat 5161 was found on March 11, 2024 by a small family of three while vacationing in Iceland. They live in Seminole, Florida, USA, and enjoy beach-combing at their local Tampa Bay Area islands and beaches. In Florida, they search mostly for shells and other "treasures" (though they mostly find trash)!
This particular found boat was decorated by a 5th grader from one of the local schools in Bergen, Norway who participated in a Vilvite science museum education program.
Submitted by Wyatt, Jana and Finley
While in Iceland, we spent a lot of hours scouring the beaches near Grotta Island (Reykjavik), Eyrarbakki Beach, and the Black Sand Beach near Thorlakshofn. We found small, interesting shells (empty), lots of sea glass with a variety of colors, some interesting and large bones (fish), but the best find by far was a little wooden boat. We knew we had something very interesting, but we did not realize how special it was until we got back to our hotel and did a little research. We were amazed to learn about the Float Your Boat operation and how far this little ship has sailed (unmanned, no less!). We saw a lot of amazing things while in Iceland: waterfalls, volcanos, geysers, hot springs, a humpback whale, several new species of birds for our life list, and even the aurora borealis. We made a ton of great memories and took a lot of family photos in an amazing country. Boat 5161 is by far our favorite tangible Icelandic keepsake. It's something that you can't buy in the shops--you need a bit of luck, and a passion for "treasure hunting." Thanks to Float Your Boat, we have an incredible story to tell and another reason to get back out there to find some more treasures!
Date Found | 03/11/2024 |
Place Found | Found at the highest wrack line at Black Sand Beach near Thorlakshofn, Iceland. This location is on the south perimeter of Iceland. The location is about 730 feet SW of the Hafnarnes Lighthouse. Geographically, this area is a tiny bay with macroalgae/seaweed exposed at low tide. The boat is estimated to be found about 15-20 feet above the waterline. 63.849597, -21.363354 |
Found By | Wyatt Rachal |
Date Deployed | July/August 2022 |
Who Deployed | ​Le Commandant Charcot |
Deployment Location | North Pole |
Track Taken | ​North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre |