As an avid ocean swimmer, New South Wales South Coast resident Scott Gutterson is used to pulling pieces of rubbish out of the sea.
On a recent swim at Murrays Beach in Jervis Bay he noticed a small, clear glass bottle covered in mussels floating on the surface.
It was only when he looked inside that he realised this was no ordinary piece of rubbish.
"When I looked, I saw it had a note in it, so I was very surprised," he told ABC Illawarra.
"I got pretty excited and wanted to open it straight away, but I wanted to make it a surprise for my wife and kids, so I waited about eight hours and had a bit of a guessing game with them about where it was from."
Where the letter came from
The letter was written by a young girl named Vicky from a property north-east of Canberra when she was 10 years old on December 4, 2020, and taken to the sea near Newcastle.
Now 13, Vicky introduces herself and explains her father is in the Australian Navy and took the bottle to sea.
"It was the cutest little message," Mr Gutterson said.
"The message had her dad's mobile on it so I called him and said, 'You're not going to believe it, but I've actually got Vicky's note in my hand'.
"He's still in the navy and I'm ex-navy, so it's an incredible connection."
Author and recipient to meet
Vicky's father, Ted, then called Scott Gutterson after picking his daughter up from a dance lesson.
"I said, 'Hello, Vicky my name is Scott. I've actually got the message that you put in a bottle three years ago' and she was absolutely blown away," Mr Gutterson said.
Adding to the coincidence, both Ted's parents and Mr Gutterson live in the same South Coast New South Wales town of Gerringong.
Her father plans to bring Vicky down to Gerringong in the Easter holidays to meet the man who found her note, and receive a note in return.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting Vicky and her dad," Mr Gutterson said.
"I see a lot of amazing things in the ocean but this is a piece of treasure I'm really glad to give back.
"If I get another one, fantastic, but I think it's a once-in-a-lifetime [experience], and I'm really happy to have experienced it."
