A message in a bottle has found its way to Connemara on Ireland’s western shores after making the journey from deep in the Arctic circle, on Canada’s northern frontiers.
On a sunny Friday in Connemara, a visitor from Switzerland got to fulfill everyone’s childhood dream of finding a message in a bottle. This particular message had made a tremendous journey as well as having an important purpose; being part of a scientific experiment measuring the ocean’s currents.
The message began life in the ocean between Uomanaq, Greenland, and Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, Canada, deep in the Arctic circle. Thrown from a ship into the water by a Canadian political science student named Gerrit Wesselink from Thunder Bay, the experiment is part of a Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans survey, a research project studying the ocean’s currents and movement.
This particular bottle was dropped in Arctic waters by the Students on Ice Arctic Youth Expedition, an educational organisation for high school students, scientists, and polar educators. Project participants throw these bottles over the side of ocean-going ships, noting the ‘drop’ location of each bottle. When a bottle is found and reported to the project, location information is added to a database for analysis.
The bottle began its journey in early 2013, surely experiencing many maritime adventures along the way, bobbing around before deciding to visit Connemara.
It made land in Bundouglas beach near Cleggan, to be discovered by a Swiss family who were on a kayak and snorkel trip with outdoor activities company, Real Adventures Connemara. After having explored some of the stunning coastline and venturing inside some of its sea caves, the family’s journey was made even more special by discovering the message resting on the shore.
The next step in the bottle’s journey is for Gerrit to be contacted regarding the bottle’s discovery so the information can be added to the research project to help better understand ocean movements.
