A handwritten letter travelled 300,000km across the Atlantic before being discovered on a popular beach in Ireland. And now the special note has led to another amazing find
A couple’s stroll along a popular beach turned into an unexpected treasure hunt when they stumbled upon a bottle hiding a long-lost romantic tale.
John and Kate Gay were participating in a beach clean-up at Scraggane Bay, a quaint fishing port in County Kerry, when they made the intriguing find.
Inside the bottle was a heartfelt note from a duo named Anita and Brad, recounting a cherished evening they spent dining on Bell Island in Canada.
The message read: “Anita and Brad’s day trip to Bell Island. Today, we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other, at the edge of the island. If found, please call us on..”
Remarkably, the letter had embarked on a 300,000km odyssey across the Atlantic, taking 13 years to journey from Newfoundland and Labrador to its discovery spot in County Kerry.
After unearthing the letter, which remained unread for 4,680 days, Kate and John shared their find with fellow members of the Creative Ireland Project Maharees Heritage and Conservation, before deciding to dial the number, Dublin Live reports.
Despite initial setbacks and multiple failed attempts to reach the number provided, the couple resorted to Facebook, where they hit the jackpot.
Anita responded with an incredible update, revealing that she and Brad had tied the knot four years after sending their bottled message adrift.
Nine years later, the couple are still together and have made their home in Newfoundland – the very location from which they originally posted that loved-up letter.
Their story has since gone viral, with Brad appearing on RTE radio’s Morning Ireland show to share his delight that the message in a bottle was found all these years later.
He shared: “We were just young people in love. We’re now older people in love. We’re glad that the story got out. We’re meeting new friends because of it and hopefully we’ll get back to Ireland soon.”
And speaking to The Guardian, Brad described the breakneck speed at which things have developed since their story went public.
He revealed: “It’s been a pretty whirlwind 48 hours. It was Monday night and I was just putting our youngest son to bed and my phone was ding, ding, ding, ding, which was really unusual.
“Then I could hear Anita laughing in the other room. Her phone was doing the same thing. I came out and she was like: ‘You cannot believe this.”