Message In A Bottle Tossed Off Staten Island Washes Up In France
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- After 29 months and nearly 3,600 miles, a message in a bottle tossed in New York City has ended up all the way across the Atlantic.
As CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported, the bottle's journey has united two artists from different continents.
Brooklyn-based artist George Boorujy threw the bottle into the water off of Staten Island in October 2013.
He received an email last week from a 65-year-old painter, named Brigitte, who said she and her husband found the bottle while walking on a beach in the Aquitaine region of France.
"I was shocked because I had totally forgotten about it," Boorujy told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.
Boorujy has dropped about 20 bottles in waterways around the city as part of his project, New York Pelagic. Each wine bottle contains an original drawing of an open ocean bird, and is sealed with cork and wax.
The bottle, crafted in a Crown Heights studio contained a drawing of a cormorant, which Brigitte called "magnifique."
"It makes you feel like there's some sort of weird return on an investment of hard work," Boorujy said.
Brooklyn artist George Boorujy talks about message in a bottle found 3500mi from where he dropped it. @wcbs880 pic.twitter.com/jSy3zJIBmT
— Peter Haskell (@peterhaskell880) February 24, 2016
Boorujy says he hopes the project spreads a message about the environment.
"I definitely want people to think about how much stuff we do throw away and how much of our detritus enters the larger world," Boorujy said.
The bottle that reached France was tossed from Wolfe's Pond on Staten Island. Up until last week only seven had been found, all along the east coast.
He thought the rest were lost at sea until the French couple emailed him. Now, their correspondence is a daily affair.
"They've told me all about where they are in France, they've invited me over there. It's great. We've been chitchatting. They sent pictures of their dog, it was cute," Boorujy said.
Boorujy was using the bottle messages to raise awareness about the trash killing birds in the ocean. Now, he knows his message is resonating.
"Very inspired to do more of them. I may even do some this weekend," he said.
Other bottles were recently discovered in Virginia Key, Florida and Sheffield Island, Connecticut.