THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Sasha Yonyak, a teenager from the US, is fundraising in the hopes that he will have enough money to travel to Belfast to meet the couple, Ciaran Marron and Rita Simmonds, who found the message in a bottle which he had cast off nearly three years ago at the age of 11 when he and his favorite neighbor, Wayne Smith, went on a fishing trip in Ocean City, Maryland.
While there at a marina, they found a bottle in the water with two dollar bills and a message from two ladies inside, with a request for the letter’s finder to “pass it on”.
Sasha and Wayne brought the letter back to Wayne’s garage and opened it, reading the message and finding out that the ladies were two friends who did it together as well. Sasha then wrote his own letter, describing his hobbies and the good time he was having with his “three buddies” – Wayne, Wayne’s wife, Lisa, and their dog, Stoney.
His letter reads: “Hi, my name is Sasha and I am 11 and I have 1 brother and 1 sister. I live in Ocean City, Maryland. I love boogie boarding, fishing and much more. I love fish and crabs. I love riding bikes. I am a really active person. I have three buddies, Stone, Lisa [and] Wayne. Please pass it on.”
After writing the letter he grabbed a dollar bill along with Wayne, wrapped them around the note, tied it with a string and sealed the bottle up. On mile offshore of Ocean City, Maryland, on their next fishing trip, Wayne and Sasha threw in the bottle.
Little did the pair think, that their bottle would make a voyage over two years and 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, to be discovered in Ireland.
Sadly, Sasha’s friend Wayne died in August 2021 at the age of 64, but having Rita, originally from New Zealand, and her west Belfast partner, Ciaran, reach out to the teen has brought back great memories of his time with his favorite fishing partner.
"Wayne was a good fishing buddy to be around with,” he said.
Sasha’s father, Vlad, who is originally from Belarus, said that Wayne “spent a lot of time with Sasha” and that “they became very good friends”.
He also explained that the family has set up a fundraising page to help collect money for a flight to Ireland, so that Sasha can meet Rita and Ciaran, and see first hand where his bottle ended up in the north west of the island.
Rita told the Belfast Telegraph that initially, although Sasha’s letter included a phone number, when she and Ciaran tried to call it, it seemed to be disconnected.
They eventually found Sasha and his family through the help of a reporter at an Ocean City newspaper called The Dispatch, who had a friend that knew Sasha’s parents. They then contacted each other through Facebook.
Rita has said that they are very excited, adding that lots of family and friends in Belfast are “excited” to hopefully meet Sasha some day soon.
To donate to Sasha’s fundraising page, click here.
