No SOS here: Man's message in a bottle travels from Belle Isle to Ireland
'We thought the Belle Isle experience was over, but a part of still exists'
A bit of boredom riding out a wind storm in Belle Isle has led to a connection between strangers 3,000 kilometres apart — all thanks to a hearty message in a bottle that navigated the Atlantic Ocean.
"For us, it was looking for something to do. You know, here's a bottle, let's send a note, you hear tell of that a lot," said Jamie Pye, who is from Lodge Bay, in southern Labrador.
"There's always that slim chance that when you do it that somebody may find it, somebody may get back to you."
Pye said not only did his message reach international shores, but it did so within nine months.
'We found your message'
Pye said it started last June, when he, his dad and his friend visited Belle Isle, off the northern tip of Newfoundland.
Pye and his friend were hiking when the wind picked up and they "had some time to kill" before they could get a ride.
"One of the things we decided to do was get a note in a wine bottle, tape it up good and throw it over," he said.
Pye said he can't recall exactly what the message said, but that it included where the pair was, why they were there and the coordinates of their location, thanks to a GPS.
That was the end of it — until this week.
"I was checking my email and my spam detector had picked up a few emails that were spam and one of them, I just happened to notice, had the subject, 'We found your message in a bottle,'" Pye said.
Turns out, the bottle washed up on a beach in County Mayo, Ireland.
Pye said the people who found the bottle were walking their dog, picked it up and later emailed pictures, much to his delight.
"It didn't break and it didn't leak, so the message was well-received."
Pye said the trip to Belle Isle in itself was a wonderful experience, because his dad and friend accompanied him to a place he has always wanted to visit.
But, Pye said, this latest chapter has made it even more special.
"We thought the Belle Isle experience was over, but a part of it still exists," he said.
"I've always been looking for a reason to visit Ireland, so maybe this is a sign I need to go."
With files from Bailey White