Words of hope kept afloat

By pcraig peter craig

A LIFELONG beachcomber has uncorked a mystery of the sea.

In 55 years of combing the Lincolnshire coast, John Harrison has found many interesting items, from driftwood to amber – but had never found a message in a bottle... until now.

And Mr Harrison, 70, of Saltfleetby, was cracking open his own bottle in celebration at the unusual find.

He found a green wine bottle on the beach at Saltfleet at low tide, containing a letter from a 21-year-old German sailor called Karl Johnson Weber.

It had been dropped in the water in April about 30 miles off the Norfolk Coast, as the oil tanker Karl was aboard passed on its way to discharge its cargo – 9,000 tonnes of crude oil – at Tetney.

On board the ship – which is registered in Mauritania, Africa – were Filipino, Latvian and Russian seafarers.

Now Mr Harrison – the chairman of governors at Saltfleetby Primary School – has enlisted pupils to write letters to the sailor.

He said: "I could not believe my eyes. I knew it was a modern bottle because it had a metal screw top.

"It took me several hours to get the message out of the bottle. It was such a surprise."

The letter was one of several dropped in the sea by the crew.

It read: "Today is a lucky day for you, for this bottle and for me.

"You caught it. Congratulations. You keep it and hold on to it, if you like as long as you wish.

"It will bring you luck and joy if you treat it right.

"I am a lonely seaman on a ship and hope to connect, because it is one world we live in."

Mr Harrison has found many interesting artefacts through combing the beach, an interest which began in childhood.

He has seen first-hand a dramatic change in the coastline, which is five feet deeper in sand due to the coastal erosion on the east coast.

One of his most valuable finds was a large piece of amber he discovered on the same beach. It has been valued at between £5,000 and £10,000 and he is going to take it to London's British Museum for scientists to examine.

The amber is between five and eight million years old and has a fossilised crab claw inside.