Message in a Bottle Found on Scottish Beach
A message in a bottle, originally dropped from a boat off the coast of Canada, has been discovered washed ashore in the north-east of Scotland.
The brief letter, written in French and dated 2024, was located inside the bottle at St Cyrus in Aberdeenshire.
Having traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, the bottle was found by one of Mike Scott's dogs during a walk along the beach.
The 60-year-old professional photographer from Johnshaven expressed amazement at the bottle's journey of approximately 2,700 miles (4,300 km).
Scott regularly takes his dogs to St Cyrus for walks, often most days.
He described the weather conditions as "wild" at the time of the discovery.
"As I was walking, Maggie my dog was sniffing a bottle that was just washing up.
It was a really dark glass bottle with a lid and something in it."
He added,
"I had found a message in a bottle before, but it was just from Dundee, so I was not expecting much.
There was a zip bag in it, and a letter in French.
I put it in my rucksack and put it on translate when I got home."
The note, which appeared to be signed by 'Annie Chiasson', indicated that the bottle had been released into the sea from a ferry traveling between Prince Edward Island and Îles-de-la-Madeleine in August 2024.
Scott explained,
"So the small glass bottle has survived two winters at sea, traveling from the east coast of Canada, across the north Atlantic, over the top of Scotland and down into the North Sea for us to find at St Cyrus."
"The sender was asking to let them know if found,"he said.
Efforts were made to contact the sender after locating her on Facebook; Scott's wife sent a message, but no response has been received so far. BBC Scotland News has also attempted to reach out to the sender.
Scott reflected on the find,
"It was such a weird thing to find, it's not just our own rubbish that washes up.
It's amazing it was not smashed. I do not imagine she thought it would end up in Scotland across the Atlantic."
