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Recording every moment of the Orient Expedition and the daily life of the Schurmann Family on their new adventure on the high seas.
Message in a bottle, by Vilfredo Schurmann
18 de febrero de 2014
In 1991, during our first round trip around the world, we met a very special person in the small city of Opua, north of New Zealand.
Mr. Hune Holnberg, 65 years old, Swedish naturalized New Zealander, had just recently arrived from a round the world trip alone in his Tautara 48 foot sailboat. He arrived young in New Zealand, around the year 1946, fell in love with the country and stayed, becoming successful as a sheep farmer. His farm was located in front of the sea. He got married and had kids.
But, ever since he arrived in New Zealand, he dreamed of sailing the world in a round trip. Married and with kids, his dream was left behind. His wife didn't like the sea and, even worst, sailing. Still, he cherished his dream, which never left his mind.
With his kids raised, he took a decision: sold the farm, gave his wife half the amount earned and, with the other half, bought a sailboat and went after his dream.
We were at the Yatch Club in Opua when he timidly approached us and asked:
- What language are you speaking?
- Portuguese.
- From Portugal?
- No. From Brazil.
- Lucky me! In my trip I threw 20 bottles with messages. The only reply I've got just arrived and it's from Brazil. Could you please translate this letter for me?
The coincidence was impressive: we were the first Brazilian to have ever anchored in that port. The letter was from Genival Borges. He found the bottle on the beach of Mangunca, in Cururupu, Maranhão. In the letter, he said he was a poor fisherman and asked Hune for tips to have a better life - and, if possible, a financial help would also be appreciated too.
In 1999, during our last round-the-world expedition, Magellan's Global Adventure, we threw a message in a bottle in the coast of Africa, 300 miles from Wallis Bay, Namibia. The bottle was carried away by a sub-equatorial current and ended up washed up on the beach of Pirambú, in Sergipe, found by Carlos Roberto Ramos dos Santos after crossing the Atlantic Ocean for 7 months, traveling a distance of almost 5,000 kilometers before being found.
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