World Record Message In A Bottle Coincidence

Andrew Leaper with bottle and World Record Certificate

Fishing boat skipper, Andrew Leaper, holds a world record and has been presented with a Guinness World Record certificate as proof.

So what is his record?

He found a bottle at sea with a message in it. But this was no ordinary bottle as it was released 98 years ago. So his world record is for finding the bottle that has been adrift at sea for the longest amount of time. He beat the old record by five years.

But here's the coincidence bit, the bottle found for the previous record was by Mark Anderson who just happened to be on the very same boat as Andrew - the Shetland based Copious - when he found his bottle. Andrew and Mark are friends.

The bottle found by Andrew Leaper contained a postcard which promised a reward of six pence to the finder. It had been released back in June 1914 by a Captain C.H Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation.

Mr. Leaper explained: "As we hauled in the nets I spotted the bottle neck sticking out and I quickly grabbed it before it fell back in the sea. It was very exciting to find the bottle and I couldn't wait to open it."

"Mark is very unhappy that I have topped his record. He never stopped talking about it - and now I am the one who is immensely proud to be the finder of the world record message in a bottle."

So there we go, cast your net widely - or something like that. You never know what you might find.

Other Coincidence Stories:
The Red Balloon Coincidence
Goats In Trees Coincidence
Titanic Coincidences