Michelle M. 

Hey Hayden,

Just emailing you about the story posted on GrabOne by Michelle M. - my wife :)

I posted the story, not realising I was logged in as her but oh well, story is the same regardless, here's the longer version haha. I have also attached a screenshot off a video I took a few weeks ago.

My mate and I were kayak fishing out off Hahei on the 1st Jan, seas were a bit rough with a 1-1.5m swell right on the beach, so good size waves to have fun getting in/out on a kayak.

The fishing wasn't the best so we decided to head back in, being hungover and all it wasn't the wisest idea to be out in the first place haha! I had the phone around my neck but took it off as it wasn't overly comfy, I thought I had placed it into my secure catch bag. Once I got to the breakers, I found a clearing and decided to go for it. Was going smoothly when a wave caught me, ended up surfing it for a few meters until it broke over the top and knocked me overboard.

Kayak tipped, everything went overboard - but everything was secured to the kayak, so I thought.

Once I got the kayak ashore i made a quick inventory check, and my bright yellow driPhone was missing. We spent about 2 hours searching up and down the beach, snorkeling in the surf to no avail. Had a rest and decided to call the phone to see if it was still working, nope, straight to answerphone.

Time to give up and cut our loses on it, the phone was recently backed up so I wasn't too worried.

We got back to the bach where we were staying, deflated and a bit pissed off that we hadn't succeeded, but realised we still had one more chance. We booted up my friends laptop and connected his phone for internet. Logged into icloud to see if Find my iPhone would help.

Phone couldn't be located. Hopes were slashed, again.

Got up to grab a cold one - this stage I really needed a drink and so did everyone else. Sat back down and glanced at the laptop screen and saw that my phone was registering, but not in the ocean like we thought - 200m in from the beach.

The hunt was on to track this phone down.

Destination: Hahei camp site.
The office girls there had no idea what was going on and no phone had been handed in. They recomend we try the security guard on site, who happens to be in the direction of the blue beep on the laptop.

Again, no luck as he thinks we're crazy and tries shrugging us off as he hadn't heard of any phone in a yellow waterproof case being found. This didn't concern us as we knew it was here somewhere. Our luck changed when a young boy overheard what we were looking for, "hey I know who has that yellow phone!"

The chase was on, after a 20 meter jog to the next camper van, the kid runs inside to inform the fellow inside that we have come to pick up the phone he had found. Out comes this guy looking like a stunned mullet wondering WTF? How? No way? We just landed on his doorstep 4 hours after I lost my phone, to retrieve it back without him even telling anyone he found it.

Turns out about an hour after the phone tipped off the kayak, it made its way about 100m down the beach and tapped this guys leg while he was in the surf. He noticed us going up and down the beach but didn't realize we were looking for that phone. He was also weary of asking anyone if they had lost it just in case they saw it as a chance to score an iPhone.

1st Jan 2012 will now be the day I unsuccessfully lost my phone thanks to driPhone and icloud The case had a little bit of sand in the opening cap, but nothing inside where the phone sits.

As I said on GrabOne, the best investment for any sea-goers.

below is screenshot off a video I took a few weeks ago.

Mike, great to hear stories like yours.

Hayden Crowther
driPhone

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