A Dutch fisherman discovered a gold earring that had been lost at sea for 23 years and returned it to its owner, who is also a fisherman. Henk Kuyper lost his earring while fishing alone in 2000; he had bought it in 1985 and had engraved the number of the ship he worked on, "WR70," on it. After the earring was returned to him, Kuyper said, "This is beyond imagination. I searched for it on the ship and at home; if it fell in the sea, it would be impossible to find it again."
Wearing gold earrings is an old maritime tradition that fishermen still practice today to cover funeral expenses if they drown at sea and their bodies are washed away. They engrave the name of the ship they work on and the port of their city, and these engravings indicate where the sailor came from so that their body can be returned.
The earring was found by Nwan Schruivers, a trainee fisherman working on a shellfish trawler in Zeeland named "YE-118 Noordland," after he saw something sparkling in the ship's water drain while cleaning its deck with a hose. Schruivers said, "I was inspecting the ship when we finished fishing and cleaning everything with the water hose when I saw it."
The crew immediately realized that the earring belonged to a fisherman, and the ship's captain, Robert Mool, posted a picture of it on Facebook, noting, "The letters WR and the number 7 were visible." Kuyper's brother saw the picture and informed him. It was an emotional moment because the earring held special significance for Kuyper, as the ship "WR70" sank in 1987 during a storm off Friesland.
Although all crew members survived, it was a terrifying experience. He said, "I still get chills when I remember what happened." Kuyper will not wear the earring anymore, but he will keep it safe, stating, "I'm afraid I will lose it again."
