Diver reunites man with GoPro footage lost at sea nine years ago

For Raniero Borg, finding man-made objects on the seafloor is not an unusual occurrence. The diver often posts videos on his popular Facebook page showing items ranging from dumped car tyres to lost personal possessions like keys and wallets. 

During a dive in Marsamxett Harbour last week, Borg spotted something glinting in the sunlight. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the screen of a GoPro, the rest of which was covered in seaweed. 

“I took it home and cleaned it up in the hope I could access the footage and track down the owner,” Borg said.  

Sure enough, GoPro’s reputation for making durable products held up against almost a decade of corrosion, and Borg was able to extract the SD card and play the footage on his laptop. 

The footage showed a young man in a baseball cap steering a one-man sailing dinghy on a sunny afternoon. The little boat speeds through the swell before a gust of wind catches the sail and causes it to capsize. The camera comes loose and sinks to the bottom. 

Borg thought the footage was around five years old, judging from the state of construction of one of the hotels near Tigne Point. 

“Then I saw the date, and it was October 29, 2017 – almost nine years ago. There was 80 minutes’ worth of beautiful footage of this guy enjoying himself, and thought it would be a pity if I didn’t try to find him. So I edited a video and put it on my page,” Borg said. 

“Please share this post far and wide so we can return both the GoPro and its precious memories to its owner,” he wrote on Facebook. 

The GoPro found at the bottom of the sea. Photo: Ranierio Borg

A day later, a man called Mario Galea commented on the video, thanking Borg and explaining that the camera had been attached to the boat’s rudder. 

On Monday afternoon, Borg met Galea to give him the camera and Times of Malta was there for the reunion. 

“Someone on Linkedin tagged me and shared the video with me, and I realised it was the GoPro I had lost nine years ago. I couldn’t believe it – I'd long given up hope of ever finding it,” the 42-year-old IT engineer said, explaining that he had tried to retrieve the camera twice. 

“It’s a great memory of when I used to sail. I’d been practising the hobby for around a year and a half. Not long after, my first child was born and obviously that turns your life upside down. I thought I’d start again when she grew up a bit, but then my second arrived and I never took it up again.” 

The footage brought back carefree memories for Mario Galea. Photo: Matthew Bonanno

Galea said he is planning to start sailing again with his two children, now eight and six years old. 

“They’re really excited to watch the footage. Ever since I told them about it they’ve been telling me they want to see daddy.” 

This was only the second time that Borg has managed to return an item to its owner, having previously returned a lost wallet. 

“I found a professional camera once. I recognised that some of the photos were taken in Gozo, but it turned out it belonged to a tourist and I didn’t manage to track them down.” 

The message from Mario to Raniero after the diver shared some of the footage on social media in order to trace its owner. Photo: Facebook

Nowadays, drones are also a common find. Cameras aside, Borg has found TVs, cars, and even a bag with €50 notes and the key of a “not cheap” car.  

“I showed the bag to my daughter and she said it was a Louis Vuitton bag worth €1,900.”