Vivian Byerly, a rising fifth grader at Greensboro Day School, had made the message while enjoying a ‘Pirate Day’ with her third grade class in 2019
A North Carolina fifth grader made an unlikely pal when over one-year-old message in a bottle was found by a fisherman more than 4,000 miles away.
Vivian Byerly, a rising fifth grader at Greensboro Day School, had made the message while enjoying a ‘Pirate Day’ with her third grade class in 2019.
‘When we finished learning about the coastal plains region of North Carolina the class voted to celebrate by having pirate day,’ third grade teacher, Susan Ferguson, explained to Fox 8.
While the class did a number of activities to resemble pirates, the teacher shared that the youngsters truly enjoyed doing the messages.
Some wrote theirs and sealed them with glue, while others chose to seal their messages with wax.
‘With the thought being whoever may find their bottle would have a little bright spot, or a little inspiration in their day,’ Ferguson shared.
Vivian decided to go with a quote.
Vivian with her third grade class enjoying their pirate day with their teacher, Susan Ferguson (right)
The messages were taken on a boat participating in the annual Reelin’ For Research fishing tournament and dropped off into the Gulf Stream – 60 miles off the coast
‘Be strong because things will get better. It may be storming now but it never rains forever,’ she wrote.
‘If you get this message please write back,’ Vivian added, providing her teacher’s email address.
The messages were taken on a boat participating in the annual Reelin’ For Research fishing tournament and dropped off into the Gulf Stream – 60 miles off the coast.
Vivian was shocked to see an email in her inbox, 15 months later.
The letter travelled more than 4,000 miles to Morocco in North Africa, found by a fisherman
He had his nephew translate the message and the two quickly emailed Ferguson
‘At first I thought it was spam and then when I read the content I was really surprised and excited,’ Ferguson said.
The bottle and the knife that the fisherman used to open it
The letter had travelled more than 4,000 miles to Morocco in North Africa, found by a fisherman who was not proficient in English. He had his nephew translate the message and the two quickly emailed Ferguson.
‘Hello Vivian. How are you? I wish you are fine. I’m writing to tell you that my uncle, whose job is a fisherman, and found today your letter inside the bottle,’ the nephew wrote.
Ferguson responded, and had the pair send pictures of themselves. They obliged, sending a photo of the uncle with his nephew, the knife they used to open the bottle, the uncle holding the letter and a picture of a goat the family planned to sacrifice for Eid al-Adha.
‘It’s really cool that one bottle traveled 4,000 miles in a little over a year,’ she said.
But the bottle’s message has been most profound, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the globe.
According to the family’s email, the bottle was found near Guelmim, Morocco
‘It was a little bit like looking back in time, at a time before, you know, 2020,’ said Bryan Byerly, Vivian’s father.
‘It’s kind of strange that this quote got delivered now,’ Vivian said. ‘At all times where the world’s at now.’
She continued talking to the family in Morocco.
‘When I first wrote the message I was not aware how tough this year would be.’
For the Byerlys, the experience is proof that hope is something all humans can share, regardless of where we call home.
‘These crises we’re going through right now are temporary, and things will get better soon,’ Bryan said. ‘There will be vaccines in the near future, and things will just calm down, and we won’t be so divided and I’m really grateful for that.’
The young girl shared: “This whole thing has been exciting, but I think that someone else should be able to experience it.’