It was mid September. Most of the recreation fishing boats had finished for the season. A Tuesday afternoon, so there would be very few boats out fishing. I decided that the weather was too good to pass up a few hours of fishing. Off I went with my trusty companion, Salty the dog. Salty was quick to jump aboard as he does love a boat ride. Most other yellow labs would do the same.

We fished for about two eventful hours with much success. The Northern Coho were here in good numbers and the last of the big Chinook salmon were still in the area.

We started off just west of Secretary Island, a local favourite. The water was as calm as a small lake and the bites began immediately. In the two hours, Salty and I hooked into a dozen salmon, including a bunch of Coho and a nice ‘Spring’ which was the fish that we brought home. After the first 45 minutes passed, we had a visit from two transient Orcas. They came up just behind the boat, showed us their tails and disappeared. The fishing continued until a huge sea lion checked us out. It was so close that I could smell it’s breath. ‘Care for a tic-tac?’

For some reason, the fishing was suddenly slow, so we decided to make a loop into deeper water just south of the little island in search of the Coho. As we made the turn, I noticed something glistening in the water. Another short loop and I was able to pick the shiny object out of the clear water with my net. ‘Just a bottle’ I first thought. When I pulled it out of the net, I realized it was a special bottle. Not the clear bottle itself, but the whole package. The top was sealed with red wax and there was a piece of paper rolled up inside. Salty wisely suggested that I do not open it until we reached home to share the fun with Maggie.

The two of us sat on the deck and curiously peeled off the wax. The anticipation was high, but our expectations were realistically low.

As we pulled out the paper and unrolled the mystery, we found more than we could have imagined, a message that we will never forget. Together, we read the message and then looked at each other in silence. The hand written words were a most unexpected message.

“This ring no longer serves a purpose in my life. May it bring you joy, luck and abundant prosperity.

Taped to bottom of the page was a wedding band, the kind that my mother had. A gold and silver band made into a simple ring. We can only speculate where the strong Juan de Fuca current may have carried this most unusual package. We will probably never know.

Neil and Maggie Flynn
Salty Towers Oceanfront Retreat