THE CURRENTS CARRY CONNECTION

In April 2020, an 11-year-old girl from France threw a bottle with a message into the ocean off the coast of Brazil as the family made their way back home after sailing around the world.

Nearly 18 months later, Jace Tunnell found the bottle on a beach near Port Aransas, Texas. The bottle traveled nearly 10,000 miles through the South Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico before ending up on the Texas beach.

The bottle Tunnell found contained two letters taped together, one written in French and another with a drawing of a map of their journey. Once the letter was translated into English, Tunnell learned that the girl’s name who put the messages in the bottle was Elora who lived in France.

In 2022, Tunnell wrote a letter to Elora, letting her know he had found the bottle, and about a month later Tunnell received a letter back from her. The two continued corresponding and sharing pictures of their families.

Almost two years later, a scientist named Ombretta approached Tunnell at a conference in Florida and introduced herself. Ombretta said she knew the family who threw the bottle into the ocean and that she had grown up with Elora’s mother in France. She later confirmed it was the same Elora that threw the bottle into the ocean, connecting one more family to the bottle. Jace and his family later made plans to visit Elora in France.

The well-traveled bottle made it to the Texas coast, appeared in two videos, established new friendships for three families, and connected scientists while showing how ocean currents connect our world.

BEACHCOMBING THE GULF COAST

HRI's Director of Community Engagement Jace Tunnell ’98, ’01 likes to say he uses “non-typical, education methods.”

Yes, walking on a beach and finding weird, fascinating objects and species is “non-typical” but they can also offer a window into the Gulf of Mexico. The objects Tunnell finds can show how vibrant the Gulf is, or how it may be struggling, and Tunnell’s “Beachcombing” series on YouTube offers a view into the world of the Gulf and the work he does each day.

HRI’s YouTube page has seen exponential growth to nearly 8,000 subscribers and is still growing with “Beachcombing” a key part of that growth. And as Tunnell says, the “content is endless.”

Beyond the numbers, it is the information and education that are the reward. The series helps promote HRI’s mission, research and collaborations and its impact with various groups, stakeholders and how it affects the communities along the Gulf. The series helps promote HRI's mission, research, and collaborations, while also impacting various stakeholder groups, including all who live along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

The “Beachcombing” series has more than 220 episodes available on HRI’s YouTube page and airs on KEDT, a public television station serving areas from Victoria to Brownsville. In addition to the series, Tunnell brings HRI’s work directly to communities through around 60 live presentations each year, sharing his findings and fostering a deeper connection to coastal and marine environments.

“The goal is to educate and engage the public on the key issues related to the Gulf of Mexico,” Tunnell said. “To educate them about the Gulf is to encourage them to protect and conserve the Gulf.”

Watch now at GulfBeachcombing.org