Message in a bottle found 98 years after it was sent, breaking world record

A bottle that was released in 1914 from Scotland was discovered by fisherman Andrew Leaper in April, 98 years after it was first sent. The Guinness Book of World Records announced Thursday that it broke the world record for the oldest bottle recovered. Ironically, the previous record was set by his friend, who used the same boat five years ago at the same location.

The bottle found its way into Leaper’s nets while he was sailing near the Shetland Islands, which are just off Scotland’s northern coast, reports The Associated Press. It was originally sent in a batch of 1,890 bottles as part of a science experiment to map the undercurrents of the sea around Scotland based on where they were discovered. Unfortunately, just 315 of them were recovered.

According to The BBC, Leaper’s friend Mark Anderson set the old record in 2006 while using the same boat. Leaper said that Anderson is now “very unhappy that I have topped his record,” adding, “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.”

“We are pleased to hear that the same vessel helped to break the Guinness World Record for oldest message in a bottle twice,” a spokesperson for Guinness said. “This is a fascinating record, both historically and scientifically. We hope that future expeditions will retrieve more of these treasured messages from the sea.”

Leaper donated his bottle and Guinness certificate to the Fetlar Interpretative Centre in Shetland.