Messages in a Bottle

An Experiment of 30 Years

From 1971 through 1975, young Sean Bercaw sailed around the world on his family’s 38’ ketch, Natasha. His was a seagoing family. Jay Bercaw, Sean’s father, had sailed as 1st Mate for Captain Irving Johnson on the 5th and 6th world voyages of the Brigantine Yankee, later meeting and marrying Sean’s mother, Gretchen, a former Girl Scout Mariner.

Sean said that he was inspired to study ocean currents by throwing bottles over the side of the boat as a 10 year old, but that the first hurdle he had to overcome was getting wine bottles. “My parents didn’t drink” he laughs, “But I was able to conquer this difficulty by sleuthing behind bars in our various ports of call.” Sean eventually threw 35 bottles over the side as he sailed through the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, recording the “data” in a comprehensive format that included the date, latitude and longitude of deployment, a description of the location, condition of the seas and how the bottle floated.

Each bottle contained a note asking that the finder notify Sean with information to include the bottle number, and the location and date of the find. His first response came in 1974. A bottle that had traveled over 1,500 nautical miles in less than 3 months was found by a boy living with his grandparents in Nicaragua. Thus began the intrigue of this science experiment, the individual story associated with each bottle’s recovery. Inspired by his 1972 visit aboard Westward (on W-1) in the Galapagos Islands, Sean began his working relationship with SEA in 1990, sailing for over 15 years, at various times as an Engineer, Mate, Assistant Scientist, and Captain. During that time he logged a total in excess of 104,000 nautical miles on 27 SEA Semesters and about an equal number of shorter seminar voyages, 2/3 of them sailing as Captain.

The ‘Message in a Bottle’ experiment was revived, and Sean integrated it into his SEA teaching and voyages. The first bottle of the renewed project was deployed on October 21, 1999 ESE of Georges Bank, and was found 1 ½ years later by a young couple in France. Over the period of one month on that cruise (C165), 32 bottles were launched and 7 were found. The other bottles of C165 were discovered in the Bahamas, Florida, Texas, Turks & Caicos, and the British Virgin Islands.

Out of 205 bottles deployed on Captain Bercaw’s SEA voyages, 41 have been found so far, giving a 20% recovery rate. Sean is ecstatic with the project as each of these recovered bottles comes with its own story. Bottle No. 18, deployed on November 4, 1999 was found on the NE side of Anegada, British Virgin Islands 6 1/3 years later. A young woman from British Columbia found the bottle walking the beach. She told Sean that “Something drew me right to it; it was strange.” As a further incentive for finders to respond, Sean offered rewards, typically in the form of SEA Tshirts. Often finding the bottle was its own reward.

In 2001, Galveston Texas resident Tally Calvert found one of Sean’s bottles. The Galveston County News reported, “Combing Galveston beaches, Tally Calvert has found shoes, floats, sea beens, sand dollars, shark’s teeth, hats, gloves, medical supplies, ear plugs and dead sea turtles. But for 30 years, the fabled message in a bottle eluded her. She found the bottle, No.60, which had been thrown overboard from Westward near St. Croix in November. That bottle had skirted the south shores of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Cuba before bobbling through the Yucatan Channel and into the Gulf.” “It’s neat,” Bercaw said. “You have the science with the sea currents. And you have the romance of finding the bottle.”

In 2001, a Chief Engineer on the CCGS Leonard J. Cowley, found bottle No. 103 in Placentia Bay during his annual leave. It had been thrown only one month earlier in St. Pierre Bank, south of Newfoundland from Westward 176B, a college Summer Session. Sean’s subsequent attempt to contact him resulted in a message from the captain of that vessel, Captain James Chmiel who attached a photograph of the Cowley, “Most mariners I know enjoy the sighting,” he wrote.

Several bottles were found by children who were most enthusiastic about their finds. Bottle No. 117, deployed east of Bermuda from Westward 177 in October of 2001 was found on Mid Ocean Beach, on the south side of Bermuda nine months later. Kade, Jackie, and Melissa’s father sent along their photograph and wrote, “I think it was not there for long as people like to walk the beach and hunt for things like this!” In January of 2002, a 7-year old named Aline found Bottle No. 138 three months after it was thrown from that same voyage in the Caribbean, 15.5 miles north of St. Croix. Aline wrote, “We are in the Island of Punta Pajaros on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. I was very excited when I found your message.”

On May 26, 2005, four bottles were deployed together from Cramer 199 while sailing in the Gulf Stream, headed northeast at 2 ½ knots. Exactly 23 months later, on April 27, 2007, bottle No. 165 was found on a beach called Las Canteras in the Canary Islands, Spain. Jose Lopez (Paco) wrote to Sean, “Never I have had any experience like this. I feel happy. I have seen it only in pictures or some novels. I tell you this because I have not good health and life, but (this) was really a wonderful discovery for me.” Unbelievably, Paco attached a Google Earth photograph showing the location of the find and later sent Sean a photo of himself with the bottle note.

Sean passed these experiments to others at SEA who have taken on bottle projects. In 2007, bottles were deployed from the Robert C. Seamans as collaboration between Sean, SEA Oceanographer, Dr. Jan Witting, and Derek Esibill, C-116, now a teacher at Kailua Intermediate School in Hawaii. Students from Derek’s 8th grade class wrote the bottle’s notes and were thrilled to hear seven months later from a 12-year old living in Papua, New Guinea. The bottle had floated 3,000 miles. Sean said, “(This finding) brought a ‘dumb science project’ alive for Derek’s students and elicited a television appearance for a student in his class.”

SEA faculty Oceanographer Dr. Kara Lavendar also deploys bottles from SEA voyages. In June of 2007 she sent an email to her students from Class S-189. “I want to share with you an email from someone on the Japanese island of Iriomote who found the message in a bottle deployed on our trip. The bottle was found 1,277 days after we hurled it overboard offshore of Mexico and after a 12,677 km journey across the ocean basin. The bottle traveled 10 km/day. Anyone remember what surface currents are likely to have carried it from Mexico to Tahiti? Regardless, I hope you still have fond memories of our journey together.”

Meanwhile, the experiment lives on as messages in bottles continue to be found by distant individuals of all ages, cultures and lands. It’s the romance of this project that allows for the ongoing connection of the science and the people.