A toy boat made by schoolchildren in America and launched as part of a science project has washed up 4,000 miles away — on a Welsh beach.
The bot was found by Helen Hinks and her three children as they walked along a beach in Borth, Ceredigion.
But after seeing an appeal for it, they discovered the boat, named the Caroline Dreamer, had first been released into the Atlantic Ocean in May last year by a class of nine and 10-year-old pupils in Charleston, South Carolina.
Hinks, 30, said she noticed “something magical” about the five-foot fiberglass boat straight away and took it home.
“We were looking at the waves and my son said ‘Look mum there’s a boat,’” Hinks told WalesOnline.com. “We were so excited, I ran in and grabbed it. It felt quite magical really — it sailed right up to us so it felt as though there was something special about it.”
Pupils at St Andrews School of Math and Science launched the Carolina Dreamer nine months ago as a project to teach the children about the world’s oceans.
The boat was fitted with a GPS tracker so pupils at the school could monitor its journey.
But the boat didn’t have an engine and lost its sail during the 3,900-mile journey, but it managed to float naturally to Wales.
The boat was taken to a local school so other children could learn about it.
Officials say the plan is to relaunch the boat and send it back home.
