A frozen message in a bottle was washed off the coast in Norway 16 years after a couple from Shetland threw it into the sea while sailing.
When Helene Hundeide, from Måløy, found the frozen bottle, the 24-year-old was searching for a place to set her hammock up and make a fire.
Inside, she noticed a message posted by Peter and Susan Henry from Noonsbrough on August 7, 2004.
The message said that the couple were on the Vega yacht, returning home after 10 days sailing around Unst – and asked anyone who noticed the note to contact them.
“It was very exciting,” said Ms. Hundeide. “I have never found a bottle mail before, and that it would be as old as 16 years – wow!
“That was absolutely incredible.”
Ms. Hundeide, who manages power lines, attempted to contact the couple via the email address on the note but discovered that it was out of use.
She then posted the photo on a local Facebook group and shared it on the page Stories n Photos o Maritime Shetland, where its senders were recognized by several people. The story was also picked up in Måløy by the Fjordenes Tidende newspaper.
Ms. Hundeide was able to reach Mr. Henry within an hour with the help of Facebook users.
“He was surprised that the bottle post had been found after so many years,” said Ms. Hundeide.
Ms. Hundeide has also talked to Mrs. Henry and says that when the pandemic is over, they are both “very nice people” whom she wants to meet in Noonsbrough.
“It looks like a beautiful place,” she said. “I love to travel, so that’s the next destination I will visit.”
In the meantime, Ms. Hundeide says she plans to frame the message.
“It is in good condition, so this is a memory for life,” she added.
Source: Daily Mail