Diver’s lucky discovery of a message in a bottle after 808 days in the ocean leads to a heartwarming reunion
- A message in a bottle was found by a diver
- It had travelled 808 days to Jervis Bay
- Vicky, 10, sent it out from Newcastle in 2020
An ocean swimmer who discovered a message in a mussel-encrusted bottle that spent 808 days at sea plans to reunite the lucky find with its owner.
Scott Gutterson, 49, was free diving around Murrays Beach at Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast last week when he came across the bottle bobbing up and down 100metres from shore.
The Navy veteran discovered the sender was a 10-year-old girl whose dad put the bottle out to sea in Newcastle in December, 2020 – more than 300km from where it ended up.
Mr Gutterson told Daily Mail Australia the discovery made him feel like a ‘kid in a candy store’.
‘It reminded me of when I wished for a police motorbike toy for Christmas when I was around 10 and when I opened up my present, that’s what I got,’ he said.
Scott Gutterson, 49, waited for his wife and two kids to come home after finding the bottle with 30 to 40 mussels glued to the exterior (pictured) so they could open it together
The Navy veteran discovered the sender was a 10-year-old girl whose dad put the bottle (pictured) out to sea in Newcastle in December, 2020 – more than 300km from where it ended up in Jervis Bay
Mr Gutterson (pictured) was free diving around Murrays Beach at Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast last week when he came across the message in a bottle bobbing up and down 100metres from shore
‘Super excited to say the least.’
He added it was a welcome find after spending years cleaning up rubbish from the oceans during his swimming and free diving missions.
‘I have found dog toys, hats, umbrellas, fishing rods and even two $5 notes,’ he said.
‘So grateful the ocean gave me some ‘treasure’ in return for looking after the ocean.’
Mr Gutterson waited for his wife and two kids to come home after finding the bottle with 30 to 40 mussels glued to it so they could open it together.
‘My family all played the guessing game of the location and what the message was inside,’ he said on social media last Sunday.
The messenger turned out to be penned by Vicky, who was 10 years old at the time and living in Canberra.
Her father Ted launched the bottle into the ocean with her on December 9, 2020 while they were in Newcastle – before he was about to go out to sea with the Navy.
The hand-written letter the young girl scribbled revealed her address, a phone number to contact and her birthday.
She also asked the recipient to write back to her.
Mr Gutterson called the number and spoke to the now 13-year-old girl and her father who were gobsmacked by the discovery.
In an unusual double coincidence Mr Gutterson found that he and the girl’s father had a similar Navy background as well as some local connections.
He said Ted is still in the Navy while Mr Gutterson has done 17 years as a naval aviator and now flies for Toll Helicopters on a NSW Ambulance contract.
Ted’s parents live in Gerringong 65km north of Jervis Bay, the same place where Mr Gutterson lives.
‘They were like, ‘No way!” he said when he called them with the news of his discovery, adding the families had arranged to meet up at Easter where the letter would be returned to Vicky.
The hand-written letter (pictured) the young girl scribbled revealed her address, a phone number to contact and her birthday
‘The ocean always gives me incredible surprises but this was next level that I will not forget,’ Mr Gutterson said on social media (pictured, the message in a bottle)
He added it was a welcome find after spending years cleaning up rubbish from the oceans during his swimming and free diving missions (pictured, Mr Gutterson with an umbrella discovered in the waters)
‘[Ted] couldn’t believe his ears when I said I had his daughter’s letter in my hand and the location the bottle was found,’ Mr Gutterson said on social media.
‘I chatted to Vicky [now 13] and she couldn’t believe it either.’
He said the bottle had to be broken to get to the message but he would frame the letter and create a timeline of the bottle’s journey for the young girl.
‘The ocean always gives me incredible surprises but this was next level that I will not forget,’ Mr Gutterson said.