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Collector hunts for Nova Scotian who placed a message in a bottle in 1985

A tiny glass bottle thrown into the waters off Nova Scotia survived 30 years at sea and eventually ended up in Illinois.

'Hey Dude, I'm a grade 10 student from Cole Harbour District High School,' reads part of the letter

David Burke · CBC News ·
The bottle had to be cut open to remove the message. (Clint Buffington)

A tiny glass bottle thrown into the waters off Nova Scotia survived 30 years at sea and eventually ended up in Illinois.

Clint Buffington's father found the bottle while visiting the British West Indies in the Caribbean about three years ago and then took it back to the family home in Illinois.

Inside the bottle was a faded handwritten note from 1985, written by a Nova Scotian.

The letter's message is mostly legible. (Clint Buffington)

"Hey Dude, I'm a grade 10 student from Cole Harbour District High School. I like to party and have a good time. I [illegible] the coast and this, I think half decent. If you [are from another country] I would appreciate a penny [of] foreign money," the note says. 

"Being a Canadian isn't bad. There is a lot to do and the people aren't so bad. This was released offshore in the gulf stream by swordfish boat. Yours Truly, [illegible]."

Water damage caused the ink to run and obliterated the name of the writer.

Clint Buffington thinks the person's name may be Merla Dellans, but says it's almost impossible to tell what it says because the ink ran where the signature is. (Clint Buffington)

Buffington is looking to identify the writer. He runs a website called Message In A Bottle Hunter, which details his finds and works to reunite people with their messages.

"Everyone who looks at it sees a different name," Buffington told CBC's Maritime Noon.

"Everyone has a friend who went to that high school at that time and has a name that could be this name, it's just really hard to say."

In 2016, Clint Buffington reunited Paula Pierce with a message her father tossed in the ocean 35 to 50 years ago. This picture shows the pair with the message in New Hampshire. (Clint Buffington)

The bottle also contained another message saying the bottle was part of the Ocean Drift Project at the school.

Buffington said he has a lead that might help him find the writer, but he's waiting on confirmation. 

Buffington's family are message in a bottle hunters and collectively have found more than 110 while on vacations, with Buffington himself having found around 80.

This note about the Ocean Drift Project was also included in the bottle. (Clint Buffington)

He said they go for walks on the beach to find bottles.

"Most people go to the beach and just kind of hang out with a drink, which I am totally into, but that's not how you're going to find messages in bottles," said Buffington. 

"If anyone wants to try it, that's my advice is get out there and walk."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Burke

Reporter

David Burke is a reporter in Halifax who covers everything from politics to science. His reports have been featured on The National, World Report and As it Happens, as well as the Information Morning shows in Halifax and Cape Breton.

    With files from CBC's Maritime Noon

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