Message in a Bottle

In November, my grandparents sailed with us to Espiritu Santos in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. During the passage I wrote an old fashion style of communication, a message in a bottle.

The message was carefully rolled so it could fit neatly into the Kahlua bottle. I took out the message again, I had forgotten to put an email address on. Then I rolled it back up and put it in the bottle, and corked it. I walked from the main salon to the companionway and then walked outside. I took a few steps out to the deck. Extending my arm I held the bottle out over the water. Was I littering? I thought. Maybe. What if this is just going to end up on some island where no one ever goes, or maybe an unknown island. Maybe it will just drift in the ocean forever until it smashes against the rocks somewhere. No, I told myself. Someone would find it. And with that I dropped it into the water. Though I didn’t really think anyone would find the bottle.

Much later, in late July, I checked my email. There was one message entitled “Bernado Castro Moreno.” I clicked on it, and in spanglish it read:

HOLA MAYA I was strolling the beach and VI BOTTLE YOUR CURIOSITY TO SEE ME CAUSE THAT WAS AN INSIDE AND ROLE THAT DATE broke dropped HAVE THE BOTTLE TO THE SEA 30 YEARS AND I AM MY NAME IS BERNADO DE LA PAZ BCS MEXICO I told your parents that I that I wrote you NOT TO BADJUST THINK QUISERA respond. SALUDOS

Then I remembered the bottle dropped on the way to Espiritu Santos! I quickly replied. I supposed it wasn’t littering after all. And it didn’t end up on an unknown island, or smashing against the rocks, it ended up being found. What are the chances of that?