When one of the caravels in Christopher Columbus’s fleet, the “Santa Maria,” sank, the crew of another caravel, the “Niña,” refused to obey him. Columbus decided to report this to the King and Queen of Spain. However, in those days, as we know, there were no radio transmitters, and the shores where he could dock lacked post offices capable of sending letters anywhere in the world.
So, the great navigator turned to… ocean currents. He wrote a report on parchment, placed it inside a coconut shell, and sealed it with resin. Then he ordered the shell to be put into a sturdy empty barrel and tossed overboard. The barrel drifted slowly on the ocean waves toward Spain…
It almost reached its destination. The current carried it to Gibraltar, just a stone’s throw from Spain. But no one saw it. It lay among the rocks for over 350 years.
Perhaps it would still be resting on that deserted shore if the captain of the brig “Griften” hadn’t decided to hunt in those waters. But as he returned to the ship, the wind picked up. The sailors threw some stones into the dinghy to weigh it down. Among the ballast was the barnacle-encrusted barrel from the legendary caravel of Christopher Columbus.
In ancient times, sailors often used ocean currents to send letters sealed in bottles. In England, there was even a position known as the royal bottle opener for a long time.