My Message in a Bottle, Found

[Wendi]

While I was crossing the Atlantic with the ARC, I wrote messages in about 10 wine bottles. I tossed them at different points, but all before the halfway point. So at least 1500 miles away from land.
I just got a call from a man in Florida who was fishing 20 miles offshore. He saw some fish huddled around my bottle and he picked it up! It had some barnacles on it and he read my note and called me.

I am quite giddy about having the first bottle found. The rest are making their way to landfall soon! It was 8 months ago that I tossed overboard.
I guess the fish were enjoying it on it's way.

[SailingwithSoul]

Sorry to be the one to rain on a fun story, but...........

Littering anything into the sea is a no go for me





Edit: but seriously folks, please don't add litter onto our playground.

[SaltyMonkey]

Wendi:

Nice story! Congrats! Awesome!

but...

I'm sure you would have gotten more messages by now, if you'd put $5 in each one

[Mark1977]

Very cool....

[Wendi]

On the Atlantic crossing there are things that are permissible to throw overboard. Glass, tin, paper, food stuff. The wine bottle is glass, so it is on the list. So, it is not littering, SailingWithSoul.

[Wendi]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Wendi:

Nice story! Congrats! Awesome!

but...

I'm sure you would have gotten more messages by now, if you'd put $5 in each one

Now why didn't I think of that at the time... dang. Could have made way more friends.

[Wendi]

Originally Posted by SailingwithSoul

Sorry to be the one to rain on a fun story, but...........

Littering anything into the sea is a no go for me





Edit: but seriously folks, please don't add litter onto our playground.

Glass, tin, paper, food scraps are not littering. They were all approved to toss during our trip. AND I have picked up so much plastic, fishing nets and garbage from our oceans that I have a gold star by my name, somewhere.

[Hud3]

It's cool that you got a return--the odds have to be crazy small.

I've tossed a couple of bottles with messages into the Gulf Stream, but 13 and 10 years later, no results.

[Cheechako]

Very cool! There's littering and then there's seafaring tradition! Very different.

[belizesailor]

I found a message in a bottle once. Bible verses in Spanish. I imagined a scared deck hand on a ship about to go down.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Wendi

On the Atlantic crossing there are things that are permissible to throw overboard. Glass, tin, paper, food stuff. The wine bottle is glass, so it is on the list. So, it is not littering, SailingWithSoul.

I'm not complaining as I think it's a neat idea, but if you throw glass bottles overboard they should be full of water so they sink or broken into pieces. Glass bottles that float are littering.

[Wendi]

Originally Posted by smj

I'm not complaining as I think it's a neat idea, but if you throw glass bottles overboard they should be full of water so they sink or broken into pieces. Glass bottles that float are littering.

Well, it would totally ruin the point of finding a message in a bottle if I leave the top off and let it sink. Silly Sailor.

[NorthernSeaWolf]

Originally Posted by Wendi

Glass, tin, paper, food scraps are not littering. They were all approved to toss during our trip. AND I have picked up so much plastic, fishing nets and garbage from our oceans that I have a gold star by my name, somewhere.

I can see why you're excited, but why would anyone want to add to the collection of rubbish by throwing paper, glass and tin overboard? Just because something is legal doesn't make it right. Pack it and recycle it back on shore.

Kudos on your gold star - I think we need more regularly scheduled shoreline cleanups; to make up for the humans who are so clearly dense

[Wendi]

Originally Posted by NorthernSeaWolf

I can see why you're excited, but why would anyone want to add to the collection of rubbish by throwing paper, glass and tin overboard? Just because something is legal doesn't make it right. Pack it and recycle it back on shore.

Kudos on your gold star - I think we need more regularly scheduled shoreline cleanups; to make up for the humans who are so clearly dense

The ARC workshop before the crossing recommended it.
Paper disintegrates, tin rusts, glass becomes sand. Packing 3+ weeks of trash for 4 people can be a challenge on a boat. I would suspect that most cruisers toss out the bio degradable stuff when out to sea.

[Blue Skye]

That's cool Wendi Don't let the Litter Gestapo kill your joy