Message In A Bottle
Introduction
This is a story about a surprise package that was waiting for me when I returned home from the Venezuela to Panama (Venezuela to Panama) sailing trip. Sorry, this is not a romantic love story and Kevin Cosner was not involved.
Something To Do At Sea
I have been dropping bottles with messages in the ocean for years and one was finally found. First bottle was dropped in 1983 on an Atlantic Ocean crossing. The messages always have the name of the yacht, where we are heading, lat & lon of the drop, and please return the message to my home address and I'll send you a surprise. Just something to do at sea and adds to the wonder of who and where it might be found.
The bottle was dropped between Bonaire and Curacao, traveled about 24 nm, washed up on a beach near Punda on the south coast of Curacao, and found by a young gal in the US military named Heather. The chart above shows the position where the bottle was dropped and possible track. I didn't date the message as dates are a little hard to keep track of while cruising, but would guess the bottle drifted for 1 to 3 days and sat on the beach for another 3 to 5.
This is the original message and wine bottle cork. I believe the discoloration of the note was caused from moisture in the bottle or maybe there was just another sip of red wine I missed.
Heather also sent me some shells and wrote a nice letter. We have exchanged a few emails and I sent her a tee shirt from Chuy's, a local Mexican restaurant, as her surprise. Her husband grew up in Smithville, TX, not far from Austin, so we may meet up for a beer the next time they are in town. I also purchased an extra tee shirt for myself, as it would be great to wear the matching tee shirts.
I plan to drop many more bottles and there are lots more out there, so keep a sharp eye out!