26 Years Later, a Message in a Bottle From Massachusetts Lands on the Shores of France

What an incredibly cool story. It all started with a 5th grader from Sandwich, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.

What a delight for everyone involved. And are you ready for this? The message asked for the person who found it to please answer the quick questions and send it back, this time via mail, not by bottle floating across the Atlantic Ocean. Isn't this so awesome?

According to the Cape Cod Times, a student at Forestdale School named Benjamin "Ben" Lyons was studying ocean currents and wrote a message in a bottle to drop in the ocean. That was 26 years ago in October of 1997. Forestdale was opening up his mail, and in the pile was a letter from a 71-year-old Frenchman named Hubert Eriau. He's a fisherman, and found it while going along with his daily routine.

According to United Press International, Hubert was cleaning up the beach around his favorite fishing spot in his seaside town of Les Sables-d'Olonne, Vendée, France, when he found the bottle on August 11, 2023. The school says they plan to write Hubert back and thank him. According to Boston.com, Hubert even spoke to his local newspaper, Quest France, about this unique and exciting discovery. Click here to see a picture of Hubert on the beach with the message in a bottle.

According to Quest France, the bottle was sealed really tightly with wax and a label that said “Please open message inside!!” So Hubert did. According to Boston.com, Ben's family said he couldn't comment because of his job, but they released a statement on his behalf.

It’s great the kids can learn about the oceans and currents from this. Showing what a small world it actually is. We’ve had fun reading the different articles and the interest this has generated.

According to the Sandwich school district, this project has resulted in other bottles being found years later, including one in Greenland.