A HARLECH man who came across a marker buoy which turned out to be from the USA has been in touch with the owner.

Keith Bell, who walks along the beach to Harlech point several times a week when lockdown restrictions allow, found the buoy last year.

“Walking along Harlech beach in March I came across this marker buoy,” he said. “Looking at the wording on it, I thought it wasn’t local.

“When I got home I googled the boat’s name. She is a lobster boat working out of Stonington Maine on the eastern seaboard of the USA!”

Keith continued: “I have since been in touch with the owner via email and phone.

“He told me the buoy had gone adrift in a storm in the fall. It must be a journey of 3,000 odd miles across the Atlantic.

“He was amazed the buoy had travelled that far, let alone getting a phone call from a place called Harlech. The buoy is in very good condition considering its long journey.”

Finding interesting items on his walks is nothing new to Keith, as he explained.

“I did find a massive oar a few years ago on Harlech beach. I should think it came off an old lifeboat.

“It had been in the sea for many years. It has now been made into a very unusual handrail down steps to a patio.

“The buoy will be a garden feature and talking point on my patio.”