Hat rides gulf stream 8,000km to Clare
A HARD hat which was accidentally dropped into the Mississippi River five years ago has just been discovered on the north Co. Clare coast.
Construction worker Matthew Bonnette was working in Belle Chasse, near New Orleans, in 2015 when he accidentally dropped his favourite hard hat into the Mississippi River.
The distinctive hard hat, which Bonnette had hand painted, floated into the Gulf of Mexico before making an 8,000km journey across the Atlantic and washing up on Fanore Beach on Monday, March 9.
The hat was discovered by local beachcomber Liam MacNamara, who posted a picture of it on his Facebook page, Burren Shores Beachcombing.
Incredibly, this picture was seen by Wendy Hewitt, a Florida-based fan of the page, who noticed a construction union inscription on the hat and decided to try and reunite it with its owner.
She contacted Lindsay Abell at the International
Union of Engineers Local 25th branch who – thanks to the distinctive paint work on the hat – was able to track down the owner.
Mr Bonnette, who now lives in Marksville, Louisiana, had painted the hat purple and gold for his favourite football team, the Louisiana State University Tigers.
After being contacted by the owner, Mr MacNamara has arranged for the hat to be flown back to America next week.
‘The hat was so unique, that really did help to track him [Mr Bonnette] down. The hat was painted for his favourite football team and the colours caught my eye straight away,’ said Mr MacNamara.
‘It’s incredible how quickly he contacted me. The post was only just up and he was in touch saying “That’s my hat, can I have it back?” He was amazed.
‘The hat would probably have floated down the Mississippi, out around Florida and then got caught by the gulf stream and sent over our way. We’re going to get it back to him next week. A man in Galway who runs an online shop is going to have it delivered to him free of charge. I’m sure he’ll be delighted.’