Message in a Bottle Found 5 Years Later

[SapperSix]

http://www.gnn.com/article/message-in-a-bottle-found-5-years-later/663570

(Sept. 9) - A Baltimore teen wrote a message, put it in a bottle and threw it into the ocean. Five years later, his missive turned up on the other side of the Atlantic. Daniel Knopp was 14-year-old high school student when he wrote the short note on June 21, 2004. He had been vacationing at the time with his parents aboard a cruise ship departing Freeport in the Bahamas, according to The Baltimore Sun.

"I never thought of it again," Knopp told the Sun. "I completely forgot about that day. I thought it would be unreal if it were ever to be found, but I figured it would be destroyed by the ocean environment."

Little did he know that the old wine bottle would survive the rough waves of the Atlantic and wash ashore 4,000 miles away in Cornwall, southwestern England, five years later.

Tony Hoskings, a retired electrician, was walking his dog along a sandy beach when he spotted the green glass receptacle on July 18.
Although the bottle was a little worse for wear, the letter was very readable, Hoskings told the Sun. He waited until he was in the company of his grandchildren to uncork the bottle and read the message:

"Hello, my name is Daniel Knopp. I am on a cruise ship. I hope whoever reads this finds great joy. God bless. I live in the Baltimore/DC area."

He was touched by the message and made it his mission to find its author.
"It was quite a journey, and if you traveled all those thousands of miles, I think you would want your people to know you had made it safely," Hoskings told the Sun.

Hoskings started scouring the Internet for the sender, but although he found Daniel Knopps, he wasn't sure he had the right one. He approached his local newspaper, and reporters there contacted The Baltimore Sun. Finally, seven weeks after the bottle was found, they zeroed in on the right Knopp.

Now 19, Knopp is a political science major at the University of Maryland and a former intern for the mayor of Baltimore. He confirmed that he was the author of the note that survived at sea for all these years.

[Old Ape Face]

This is a lesson for us all, next time you're marooned on a deserted island. It is wise not to write a message in a bottle otherwise it might take you 4 years to get a response. If any.

[SapperSix]

This is a lesson for us all, next time you're marooned on a deserted island. It is wise not to write a message in a bottle otherwise it might take you 4 years to get a response. If any.

Even if someone did find the bottle. They are not going to know where the hell it originated from.

[Old Ape Face]

Even if someone did find the bottle. They are not going to know where the hell it originated from.

Well knowing your assumed position on the globe, I wouldn't see how difficult putting your estimated location on the message would be to understand.

Especially if there are other bigger land masses close to you and knowing where you started from.

and also, possibly if the island is small enough, you could walk around it and draw what you might think the island would look like from the air.

And as every survivor knows fire is your best friend when it comes to a plane looking for something.

[Caster13]

Wow, that's awesome.

Well knowing your assumed position on the globe, I wouldn't see how difficult putting your estimated location on the message would be to understand.

Especially if there are other bigger land masses close to you and knowing where you started from.

and also, possibly if the island is small enough, you could walk around it and draw what you might think the island would look like from the air.

And as every survivor knows fire is your best friend when it comes to a plane looking for something.

You've put faaaar too much thought into this.

[RecentMidget]

Wow, that's awesome.



You've put faaaar too much thought into this.

in his defense, it does pay to be prepared for this ****.

[Haro!]

Wow, that's awesome.



You've put faaaar too much thought into this.

Holy sh. It's bad when even Kenpachi makes a pretty good joke at your expense.

I want to do the same thing. Throw a message in a bottle in the ocean, and see where it ends up. Maybe not put my name but my email address or something. It could be really interesting.

Also I thought it was insanely lucky that it just happened to wash up in an English speaking country.

[Caster13]

in his defense, it does pay to be prepared for this ****.

Learn from my advice. If you're traveling somewhere that involves traveling over the ocean or are going on vacation near the ocean, there is one thing that can save your life: a laser pointer.

Think about it, if you need to signal for help you have three options: fire, a mirror/cd/back of an iPod (maybe), or a laser pointer. Why the laser pointer? Simple. If you're stranded out in the ocean or on an island and need to be found immediately and nothing else you try is working at all, shine the laser pointer at an airplane and whatever military or police force closest to you will be sent to your location immediately and you'll be found in no time. Is it illegal? Highly. Will you survive? Yes. And since you were in trouble and needed immediate help to survive, charges will be dropped.

Don't try this in any other situation though, this is only if you're desperate.

[SapperSix]

Learn from my advice. If you're traveling somewhere that involves traveling over the ocean or are going on vacation near the ocean, there is one thing that can save your life: a laser pointer.



I'd rather go for Heliograph. Lasers run on batteries, and batteries will die.

[Caster13]

Heliograph?

[SapperSix]

A signaling mirror. In layman's terms.

[Midoriko87]

It's very romantic. ^_^

Knowing my lackluster luck, if I were to try something like this, a psycho hobo killer would probably find mine, track me down, and, well, you know, profess his/her love for me. I like 'em bad and straggly, so if it's a dude, we'll have at it, but if it's a chick, we'll have at it.

EDIT: Seriously, what a nice message. It really makes you wanna think twice about punting babies.

[tenshi_a]

There was one time I read a news story about an old guy finding his own message in a bottle. He'd written it in his childhood, travelled a lot and somehow stumbled across it... and found the message from himself as a child which he's totally forgotten about.

It probably made him cry or something, I forget how the story ended.

[Old Ape Face]

You've put faaaar too much thought into this.

More like common sence, geographic knowledge is something Americans try to avoid it seems <_<

[Justinian]

More like common sence, geographic knowledge is something Americans try to avoid it seems <_<

Hahaha, so true so true.

[waltsoph3]

Wow this is an awesome story! Reminds me of one of my favorite video game Star Tropics.:)

Now I just wonder..is Mr. David gonna get fined for "polluting" the ocean? lol

Either ways its not everyday you find a message in a bottle..wonder if they may sell it on ebay. Hey you never know right?lol

[Old Ape Face]

Only Walt would be fined for throwing a letter filled bottle in the ocean, with the only purpose to speculate if someone would actually find it again in the future.

[Old Ape Face]

Hahaha, so true so true.

the irony is I am American, but I could clearly tell you that Canada is USA's hat, and Mexico is part of America's profit.

[SapperSix]

Question. Does any one here know how to do land nav with out a GPS?

[Old Ape Face]

Question. Does any one here know how to do land nav with out a GPS?

I was in the Boy Scouts but I don't think I learned any land nav, without a compass or a map. if we did I totally forgot it.

[Mikosage]

How long before the "save the ocean" hippies get on this one?

[Spadesy]

Question. Does any one here know how to do land nav with out a GPS?

Well, I can tell you that the red part on the compass points north...LandNav is a lot easier when people figure that out. lol

[Old Ape Face]

How long before the "save the ocean" hippies get on this one?

I think Walter is apart of that group so it's already started.

[Broand]

Well knowing your assumed position on the globe, I wouldn't see how difficult putting your estimated location on the message would be to understand.

Especially if there are other bigger land masses close to you and knowing where you started from.

and also, possibly if the island is small enough, you could walk around it and draw what you might think the island would look like from the air.

And as every survivor knows fire is your best friend when it comes to a plane looking for something.

Of course, they could always look for your ship that went missing in the first place. Chances are you won't wind up very far from it.

[Tom Servo]

Question. Does any one here know how to do land nav with out a GPS?
Trick question? Navigating by the stars with a sextant is essentially the same as using geostationary satellites to triangulate your position.

[Nano]

Learn from my advice. If you're traveling somewhere that involves traveling over the ocean or are going on vacation near the ocean, there is one thing that can save your life: a laser pointer.

Think about it, if you need to signal for help you have three options: fire, a mirror/cd/back of an iPod (maybe), or a laser pointer. Why the laser pointer? Simple. If you're stranded out in the ocean or on an island and need to be found immediately and nothing else you try is working at all, shine the laser pointer at an airplane and whatever military or police force closest to you will be sent to your location immediately and you'll be found in no time. Is it illegal? Highly. Will you survive? Yes. And since you were in trouble and needed immediate help to survive, charges will be dropped.

Don't try this in any other situation though, this is only if you're desperate.

Are you talking about those $30 laser pointers because a silly keychain one wouldn't cut it.

[taily]

How long before the "save the ocean" hippies get on this one?

Why would they complain about this story.

[Caster13]

Why would they complain about this story.

Polluting the oceans with garbage.

[waltsoph3]

uhm guys the only reason I said what I said is I can't exactly remember when..but wasn't there a story about someone finding a message in the bottle and then was fined for it? Mmmm it was a while back and not exactly something you would care to remember..I might be wrong but I just could have sworn there was a story like this or..something close to it.

[Leader Desslock]

Question. Does any one here know how to do land nav with out a GPS?
I can't say I've ever used GPS.

I went hiking with a guy who had one, but it didn't seem to do him all that much good. Then again, this guy could get lost in a closet with the door closed and the light on, so I'm not certain there's a technical solution to his navigation problems.

I'll stick with my compass and topo maps; fewer batteries to replace.

[Caster13]

uhm guys the only reason I said what I said is I can't exactly remember when..but wasn't there a story about someone finding a message in the bottle and then was fined for it? Mmmm it was a while back and not exactly something you would care to remember..I might be wrong but I just could have sworn there was a story like this or..something close to it.

:lol: Funny that you mention that, because there was actually a thread about that here a long time ago.

[Spadesy]

This is a lesson for us all, next time you're marooned on a deserted island. It is wise not to write a message in a bottle otherwise it might take you 4 years to get a response. If any.

Except, if I were on a deserted island, I'd probably have no idea where the hell I am...

"Yeah, hey, this is me, uhm...I'm on an island between Miyako and New Zealand...send help, send beer, and if it's probably any longer than a few weeks after this message is received, I'm probably dead from starvation/eaten by wild boars/suicide from drinking a juice made from these weird looking berries I found."

-September 12, 2004

[KatayokuのTenshi]

Question. Does any one here know how to do land nav with out a GPS?

Is that anything like orienteering? If so yes. If not ... no.

stars ... geostationary satellites

Beg pardon? :P

Except, if I were on a deserted island, I'd probably have no idea where the hell I am...

Bottle 1
Am stranded. Send help

Bottle 2
Re: Stranded

Where?

Bottle 3:

...Send GPS system.

[Kizoku Keenan]

that is pretty awesome though, I'm inspired to go do that now, only I'd write "whoever finds this bottle will die in 7 days"haha

[fujyoshi]

wow I guess them saying the bird is faster then broadband now they'll be saying this is faster then email -_=