Since late last summer, Sanibel Sea School campers have been infatuated with the study of ocean currents. Over the past five months, students have released 93 coconut and board drifters, each outfitted with a tag asking its finder to call the school and report where the drifter washed ashore. As is generally the case with studies concerning the ocean, our results have been far from definitive, but we have learned a lot about water movement and how currents connect us all in this small corner of the world.
Cas Philips paints his coconut so it will be noticed by beachcombers on distant shores
If you’ve kept current with our blog, you know the beginning of this story. The school’s first round of drifters consisted of brightly painted coconuts that were launched from a boat in late August just offshore of the Sundial Resort. Campers watched as their coconuts began to drift with the currents and wind towards Captiva, and many expected phone calls to come in within a few hours from just up the road. However, we were all surprised and delighted when the school received its first call the following day…from Naples! Within the next week, we received a high return on our 30 coconut drifters, with all but 5 of them whisked down current and washed up in the vicinity of Naples. We had no idea that, at least in ocean terms, Naples is our next-door neighbor!
Because this experiment was such a success, Sea School students were encouraged to try again about a month later. Kids from WGCU’s public television series Curious Kids came in September and repeated the experiment, launching 15 more bright pink and orange coconuts into the Gulf. The kids expected to hear from them soon and perhaps meet with some of the lucky recipients of their friendly drifters. But not a word! Sanibel Sea School has yet to hear from a single coconut launched that day. We choose to conclude that they are currently on their way up the Gulf Stream to Greenland.
Christina Podlasek concentrates on releasing her board drifter during Holiday Camp
During Sanibel Sea School’s holiday camp in December, entitled “the Motion of the Ocean,” campers decided to continue investigating currents. This time, however, a slight modification was made to the original experimental design. One camper, Max, insightfully defined a current as “wind under water”. As the group was deciding how to best track this underwater wind, they realized that they needed to pay attention to that wind that occurs above water as well. Coconuts are very buoyant and make great, charismatic drifters, but they have an inherent flaw: they are tall. A coconut can be blown by the wind and end up traveling against the prevailing currents. To address this issue, we decided to introduce a new kind of drifter: a square plywood board. These would be low to the water and only very slightly influenced by the wind.
"I hope you have a great day. I hope you like this coconut. You may keep it. From Amy Stafford, U.S.A."
We launched 36 boards and coconuts during Holiday Camp, this time sending them into the world not only with our contact information but also with messages of goodwill and warm “tidings” from our campers. Within a few days, Sanibel Sea School started hearing back from our old neighbors—both our coconuts and our boards once again drifted down current to Naples and Marco Island.
Sanibel Sea School is still receiving calls from this last sequence of the study. We hope to hear from all of our wayward drifters soon and pass along the results to campers. Who knows which way the currents were headed? There is always more to learn about the ocean!
I found the coconut painted by Cas Philips today, January 23, 2012 on Deerfield Beach. I believe it has e number 4 painted on it, but it is definitely the one pictured in the photo being painted by Cas Philips.
Wow! Thanks for your comment, Linda. Deerfield beach is by far the furthest destination any of our coconuts have been found! It must have floated all the way around the tip of Florida. Cas did a great job painting his coconut so that it would be noticeable. It is always exciting when we can put together a whole history of the coconut, from the original artist and launch to the final recipient. Thanks so much for your help with our study!
4-5-2012, My mom was walking on Sanibel beach this morning and found cocnut number 2360. She found it between mile marker 5.5 and 6.0 on the west side of the island. The coconut is painted orange and blue. It was fun to find the coconut! Good luck with your study of currents. Chris
Found the coconut with # 2094 Friday, April 6, ’12 @ 7:30 am while walking the beach by our address of 5690 Estero in Ft. Myers Beach.
I found three coconuts today 4/6/2012 on Lovers Key at approx. 1 PM…. coconut #’s 2269, 2438, 248??????
The third one was very hard to read.
I live in Estero Florida 7 months of the year and Rochester NY the other 5 months.
Found coconut in front of carribean beach club
7600 estero blvd, ft Myers Florida
I am 9 years old from Indiana
We found coconut #2479 on April 6, 2012 on Lover’s Key South Beach. It was painted blue and purple. We are on vacation from Minnesota.
Found a coconut on Ft myers Beach by the Outrigger Resort on April 4 2012. It had no tag but found you on the internet. I liked it so much I have taken it home to show my kidergarden class at Fairview Elementry in Pittsburgh pa. So your coconut has indeed traveled far.
On April 6th I captured coconut #2090 as it washed ashore at Mitchell’s Sandcastles Resort while on vacation. It now resides in Wisconsin.
I was on spring vacation with my family from Indiana and staying at Fort Myers Beach. I woke up at 6:50 a.m. on April 6th, ten minutes before my alarm. For some reason, I decided to get up right away and walk on the beach a few minutes earlier than I’d planned. Just outside my condo at 4900 Estero Blvd. I found three of your coconuts. What a reward for getting up earlier! They were #2151, #2297, and #2346. They were quite heavy and really smelly for some reason. I wanted to take them home, but couldn’t get the smell off of them. Don’t know what they traveled through on the way to the beach. I am a high school English teacher and also certified to teach Biology. What a wonderful project you have going! I looked above at your findings. Will you eventually map each coconut’s final landing spot?
Hi..We found your coconut on our last day walking the beach before heading back to Minnesota. Our coconut number is #2202. We were in the brush on Fort Myers Beach close to The Holiday Inn. It is now in Minnesota sure to be a delight to some very curious grandchildren.
Will you post some specifics on your site?
Thank you