Returned to Sender – BBC Radio 4, Illuminated
How far would you go for a fleeting human connection?
For one man in Utah, the answer is: pretty much anywhere.
Clint Buffington spends his time where land meets sea, searching for a very specific treasure: messages in bottles that have drifted across oceans and decades. Over the past twenty years, Clint has recovered more than 140 bottles, each one carrying secrets that as Clint says, ‘make the world feel a little smaller – and maybe a little better, too.’
The messages reveal remarkable journeys: a German sailor who cast a note into the Bermuda Triangle on his birthday in 1979; three French women who paddled across the Atlantic to set a world record; Puerto Rican students at a crossroads; even a pair of tiny dolls wrapped in a spell.
Returned to Sender is a heart-warming story, full of magic and wonder. At a time when division and despair seem to dominate, Clint reminds us that genuine human connection is still worth seeking…
One Story Found In Another
The origins of Returned to Sender trace back to research for another Sound and Bones BBC4 documentary, Dark Crossing. While searching for the captain of a sailing boat, producers discovered that Clint had found one of his bottles. As is often the case, what began as a lead turned into a story of its own. ‘Returned to Sender has been a passion project long before we started making radio documentaries,’ say the producers. ‘Thanks to the folks at BBC Radio 4 and sheer persistence, we’re thrilled to finally share Clint’s remarkable journey with listeners worldwide.’
PRESENTER: CLINT BUFFINGTON
A musician and writer in Salt Lake City, Utah, Clint also runs the website Message in a Bottle Hunter, where he shares true stories of messages in bottles found by himself and others, while raising awareness about the ocean’s plastic pollution crisis.
About BBC Radio 4’s Illuminated
Illuminated is BBC Radio 4’s home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds.