April 2008: Smith Cove Mariners find our bottle in Azores!
We found Cheryl’s bottle afloat in
the Harbor at Praia da Vitoria on the Island of Terceira in the Azores
on August 27, 2007.
It had only a few tiny barnacles and a little bit of algae attached to it and did not appear as if it had been long at sea. Thinking it was from a local kid, Guy decided to tuck it in a locker and take it on an adventure. We did not open it until we reached the Caribbean in January after sailing to the Madeiras, Canaries and Cape Verdes and crossing back across the Atlantic.
Imagine our surprise when we read that Cheryl was from Castine, Maine and that the bottle had been launched off Nova Scotia in 2006!
Here’s the twist: We keep our boat in Smith Cove just a stone throw from Cheryl. We own the little boathouse on the west side of the cove passed Indian Bar and across from Sheep Island. We have been spending summers in Smith Cove for more than 20 years. We know well and love Castine, and we are certainly familiar with Maine Maritime and the Argo.
In 2007 Guy retired and we set off on a cruise we have been planning since before we were married. We have just transited the Panama Canal and have our feet in the Pacific with plans to head for the Galapagos in a few days. We are on our Sundeer 64 named SZEL – you may even remember seeing it!
The photo I have included was not taken until January after some of the stuff on the bottle had dried up. We still find it hard to believe that there was so little marine growth in evidence. In any event, we would love to learn more about where and when the bottle was tossed to the sea, how many others were launched and recovered, and of course where they were found. Unfortunately our internet access is rather unpredictable, but we will probably be able to receive email here until next Monday, and after that once we reach the Galapagos several weeks from now.
We hope your students enjoy this remarkable tale and we look forward to hearing from you,
Karen Houston and Guy Cosby
Aboard SZEL
Balboa, Panama
Our bottle; their boat:
It had only a few tiny barnacles and a little bit of algae attached to it and did not appear as if it had been long at sea. Thinking it was from a local kid, Guy decided to tuck it in a locker and take it on an adventure. We did not open it until we reached the Caribbean in January after sailing to the Madeiras, Canaries and Cape Verdes and crossing back across the Atlantic.
Imagine our surprise when we read that Cheryl was from Castine, Maine and that the bottle had been launched off Nova Scotia in 2006!
Here’s the twist: We keep our boat in Smith Cove just a stone throw from Cheryl. We own the little boathouse on the west side of the cove passed Indian Bar and across from Sheep Island. We have been spending summers in Smith Cove for more than 20 years. We know well and love Castine, and we are certainly familiar with Maine Maritime and the Argo.
In 2007 Guy retired and we set off on a cruise we have been planning since before we were married. We have just transited the Panama Canal and have our feet in the Pacific with plans to head for the Galapagos in a few days. We are on our Sundeer 64 named SZEL – you may even remember seeing it!
The photo I have included was not taken until January after some of the stuff on the bottle had dried up. We still find it hard to believe that there was so little marine growth in evidence. In any event, we would love to learn more about where and when the bottle was tossed to the sea, how many others were launched and recovered, and of course where they were found. Unfortunately our internet access is rather unpredictable, but we will probably be able to receive email here until next Monday, and after that once we reach the Galapagos several weeks from now.
We hope your students enjoy this remarkable tale and we look forward to hearing from you,
Karen Houston and Guy Cosby
Aboard SZEL
Balboa, Panama
Our bottle; their boat:
March 2008....
Argo Log
Our latest launch includes NOAA Drifter Buoys, and wine bottles with this message inside:
Dear Friend:
You have found a bottle launched by the Adams School in Castine, Maine. It was dropped into waters off of the Bahamas in March, 2008, thanks to the crew of the research vessel Argo, whose home port is Castine. (Captain Randy Flood and Chief Engineer Lance Burton are parents of Adams School students.)
How far did our bottle go? We’d like to hear from you! We have launched bottles on several occasions over the last three years, and you can read about our successes on the Internet:
http://www.adamsschool.com/bottles2.html
By dropping this bottle in the Gulf Stream, we hope it might reach Europe…or farther! Has it?
There is enough information here for you to learn a great deal about our school and town. Please let us know, via e-mail or post, who you are and where you live…and where, when, and how you found our bottle.
Thank you!
The Students and teachers of Adams School
nelsontr@verizon.net
Adams School: www.adamsschool.com
October
2, 2006
Another Bottle Found!
Another Bottle Found!
Captain Flood with bottles being
entrusted into his care.
To: Principal Nelson
Adams School
Castine, Me.
From: Captain Flood
R/V ARGO MAINE
Lat. 42-19.6 N
Lon 065-54.2 W
Dear Principal Nelson:
At 1347 GMT on September 16th in the year of our lord 2006, the good crew of the research vessel ARGO MAINE did faithfully launch the bottles entrusted into my care by the students of Adams school. The deployment went smoothly and without incident. The weather at the time of launch was overcast, 6-8 foot seas, and an easterly current of about 1.5 knots. The captain and crew of the ARGO MAINE were honored to have been present as these small floating time capsules began their epic journey into the vast unknown of the North Atlantic.
The faithful crew of the good ship ARGO MAINE has traveled over 700 nautical miles in the last 7 days, battled hurricanes, 24 foot seas, and other normal hardships that make up a sailor's life at sea. We are now on a course for home and hearth and the warmth of our families. If we may be of any further service to you or the students of Adams School, please do not hesitate to call on us.
I remain your humble servant,
Captain Flood
R/V ARGO MAINE
A Journey from Maine to the Bahamas
Found!
E-mail received from
Jackie Jenks on June 26:
Dear Mr. Nelson,
I am writing to you as the finder of Message in a Bottle #6 from one of your pupils, according to the card a little girl named Jen.
My husband and I found the bottle on Crane’s Beach, Ipswitch, MA on Sunday, June 4th as we were walking with 3 out-of-town guests. It had been a stormy week and there was a lot of debris on the beach, so we felt very lucky to have noticed the bottle in particular. The five of us eagerly anticipated opening the bottle during the hour drive home, and the flavor of the event itself was not unlike the high anticipation accompanying the opening of a safe recovered from a long-sunken vessel. We were impressed to lean that the bottle had traveled approximately 224 miles from Castine.
I have been meaning to write back these three weeks. Unfortunately this is an extremely busy time for us right now. We are in the end stages of a frenetic gut renovation and loads of to do items fall off my plate everyday and simple tasks like getting a glass of water are big productions- hence my tardy reply.
I would love to send back a proper, paper-based response, along with a small cache of little trinkets I have gathered as repayment for those in the bottle, but I am wondering if they will get to Jen at this date? I really feel like a heel for not responding sooner, and only just realizing that the school year would likely have ended in the interim.
Please let me know how to proceed!
Thanks,
Jackie Jenks
Boston
Dear Mr. Nelson,
I am writing to you as the finder of Message in a Bottle #6 from one of your pupils, according to the card a little girl named Jen.
My husband and I found the bottle on Crane’s Beach, Ipswitch, MA on Sunday, June 4th as we were walking with 3 out-of-town guests. It had been a stormy week and there was a lot of debris on the beach, so we felt very lucky to have noticed the bottle in particular. The five of us eagerly anticipated opening the bottle during the hour drive home, and the flavor of the event itself was not unlike the high anticipation accompanying the opening of a safe recovered from a long-sunken vessel. We were impressed to lean that the bottle had traveled approximately 224 miles from Castine.
I have been meaning to write back these three weeks. Unfortunately this is an extremely busy time for us right now. We are in the end stages of a frenetic gut renovation and loads of to do items fall off my plate everyday and simple tasks like getting a glass of water are big productions- hence my tardy reply.
I would love to send back a proper, paper-based response, along with a small cache of little trinkets I have gathered as repayment for those in the bottle, but I am wondering if they will get to Jen at this date? I really feel like a heel for not responding sooner, and only just realizing that the school year would likely have ended in the interim.
Please let me know how to proceed!
Thanks,
Jackie Jenks
Boston
Found!
Hi to Jennifer Burton, I
writing to let you know that me and my Dad, Dan Gallanar, found your
bottle with the message inside. My name is Michael Gallanar and
I'm in the 4th grade at Winthrop School in Ipswich, MA. I'm 10 years
old. The bottle washed up on Crane's Beach in Ipswich,
Massachusetts. We found it on June 4, 2006. Ipswich, MA is on
Cape Ann (near Glouchester and Beverly). We would like to know
when you sent the bottle out.
We were really excited to open it. You did a good job sealing it up. No water got inside. We found Castine Maine on the map. It looks like a neat place. I thought the bottle might have gone up to Canada because the current goes that way. There's been a lot of storms here with flooding - so maybe it headed south.
Attached is a picture of me with my Dad and the bottle.
We were really excited to open it. You did a good job sealing it up. No water got inside. We found Castine Maine on the map. It looks like a neat place. I thought the bottle might have gone up to Canada because the current goes that way. There's been a lot of storms here with flooding - so maybe it headed south.
Attached is a picture of me with my Dad and the bottle.
From Captain Flood: The Next Bottle chapter begins....
From:
randy@dmrinc.us
Subject: Bottles Away!!!
Date: May 31, 2006 7:34:07 AM EDT
To: nelsontr@verizon.net
Subject: Bottles Away!!!
Date: May 31, 2006 7:34:07 AM EDT
To: nelsontr@verizon.net
To: Principal Nelson
Castine Maine
From: Captain Flood
Lat 42-58.843
Long 070-08.749
Principal Nelson:
It is my honor to inform you of a very successful launch of the 9 "message
bottles". Said bottles left the control and care of the good ship R/V ARGO
MAINE and were sent in to the deep blue sea on 5/29/06. Each bottle was
launched at 30 minutes intervals off the Maine/NH coast. Attached please
find a table of exact time and position of each launch.
I remain your humble servant
Captain Flood
R/V ARGO MAINE

From: Captain Flood
Lat 42-58.843
Long 070-08.749
Principal Nelson:
It is my honor to inform you of a very successful launch of the 9 "message
bottles". Said bottles left the control and care of the good ship R/V ARGO
MAINE and were sent in to the deep blue sea on 5/29/06. Each bottle was
launched at 30 minutes intervals off the Maine/NH coast. Attached please
find a table of exact time and position of each launch.
I remain your humble servant
Captain Flood
R/V ARGO MAINE

Found!
Cecelia and Jim Bock of Maryland found one of our bottles in Nassau, Bahamas. When WABI TV learned about it, they came to interview Alex, Meredith, Jasper and Mrs. McFadden.
Read Castine Patriot column
Bottle Article from Summer 2005
Channel 5 TV & the Message Bottlers, July 2005