Here we go again. Another wayward miniboat, part of the Columbia River Maritime Museum‘s miniboat program, has fetched up in an exotic location while on its way to Japan.

This one, S/V Liberty, launched by students from Wy’east Middle School in Vancouver, Washington, in the spring, was off to an inauspicious start: It crash-landed. It was repaired and relaunched in July.

This time, after over 100 days at sea, the Liberty landed 4,500 miles away on Nov. 4 on the Ailuk Atoll. Located in the Marshall Islands, the tiny atoll has a population of only 357.

Amazingly, even after crossing a reef before landing, the Liberty arrived with minimal damage. The islanders initially left it alone for a while, fearing COVID-19 exposure, but after studying the miniboat further, they found the note affixed to it explaining the little vessel’s story, and how to contact the students.

Now Ailuk’s mayor, Ankit Typhoon, is working with the students and the museum to have the miniboat repaired and relaunched to continue its journey to the Land of the Rising Sun. The Liberty is pictured with the mayor’s wife, Ruthy, courtesy of the Maritime Museum.

Want to follow all of the miniboats’ journeys, which are tracked by GPS? Go to www.crmm.org/miniboats

“There couldn’t be a more exciting ending to 2020,” said Nate Sandel, the museum’s education director, “especially for our students, who have faced so many challenges during the pandemic.”