The poignant search for the writers of a 50-year-old letter that washed ashore in Norway has ended.
Ronny Sundsfjord launched an online campaign to try and track down the fishermen of the Coral Isle who, in December 1968, threw a bottle overboard containing the letter and details of the crew.
Mr Sundsfjord started the search for his dad, Knut, himself a former sailor, after it was found among his possessions when he moved to a nursing home several years ago.
The message read: From vishing vessel “Coral Isle” SN22 at 60 miles SW from Egersund.
Finder please contact
Mr Fraser Thomson,
53 Bryson Crescent,
Craigbo, Buckie,
Banffshire, Scotland
The family had hoped to reunite the letter with its authors – only to discover that the boat’s story was one of tragedy.
The Banffshire crew of the Coral Isle were lost at sea almost two years to the day of their bottle being set adrift.
Despite the sad end to their search, Mr Sundsfjord and his family still hope to visit Scotland to play their part in the story.
Mr Sundsfjord said: “It was last summer that we found this note.
“We decided to search for the sender on a Facebook site, Old and New Norwegian Fishing Vessels, of which several former North Sea fishermen, including those from the UK, are members.
“My dad is 82 years old. He is not able to travel far now, but he had been to Scotland many times as a sailor.
“My sister and I have talked about going over to Buckie, but nothing is planned or decided.”
Emma Scott’s grandfather, John Rutherford, had been the boat’s owner and she said he had never recovered from its sinking.
“The letter was sent by the skipper of the boat who would have been 24 at the time,” she said.
“He was lost in the disaster two years later.
“I showed mum the letter and she was intrigued by it. My grandfather passed away in January 1972, after having a massive stoke in December 1971, the year after the disaster.
“Mum said he didn’t really recover from the loss of the trawler and crew.”
Newspaper reports from the time of the sinking suggest the boat was 220 miles east of Aberdeen when it began taking on water.
