The Mystery of the Mary Celeste
Nobody knows what happened to the infamous ship Mary Celeste, of which was found on the 5th of December in 1872 without a soul on board. No bodies, no damage to the ship, no letter saying where the crew had gone, it was as if the crew had just disappeared. On a brisk winter morning, the crewman aboard the ship Dei Grata spotted something odd in the distance. As they got closer they saw that it was but a windswept vessel, floating in the currents, no one seemingly onboard. The crew attempted hailing the ship several times, but there was no reply. They rowed over to the ship, expecting to find the drunken crew below decks, and began to search it, but there wasn't a soul on board. The funny thing was, all the
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The ship wasn't damaged in any way and there had been no signs of a fire or struggle. There was a thick rope hanging over the side of the ship, the other end of it broken and missing, the lifeboat was gone as well. Over a thousand barrels of raw alcohol were found in the cargo hold. What had happened here? Why was the crew missing? That is the mystery of the Mary Celeste, which still stands today. No one had been able to solidly and completely prove what has exactly happened. One of the most plausible theories as for where the crew had gone is the 'abandoning ship' theory. Perhaps the crew feared the alcohol barrels might have exploded and decided to abandon ship in a hurry. After they got into the lifeboat they might have not been able to get back on the ship again. Perhaps pirates attacked the crew, mutiny might have occurred; maybe a seaquake shook the ship? A great number of theories have been made about the Mary Celeste, and in this essay I will discuss the pros and cons of each one to …show more content…
I found researching the Mary Celeste entertaining because I am very interested in nautical mysteries and the ocean so I felt this would be a good mystery for me. After considering all of the theories, I believe the alcohol fireball one was the most likely. Considering that there was no damage to the ship, I assume it wouldn't have been a seaquake or storm. Since there were valuables, food and water left on the ship it means that they were not robbed and had not planned to leave. As the scholar's experiment proved, alcohol can make a fireball without scorching its surroundings, which is what I believe, happened. The lifeboat was missing and the broken rope hung over the edge, signifying that they got into it and tied themselves to the boat, but the rope broke. It all works in the first theories favor! Then again, it is impossible to know what exactly happened to the infamous ghost ship Mary
We believe we were hit by two torpedoes, one around frame 8 or 10, because the bow was blown off forward around ten. Another one [torpedo] around frame fifty. We believe that they were large torpedoes, that they were running close to the surface, because none of us believe the magazines blew up, that is the only way we can account for the flashes of flame through the ship.
Lacombe, E. Henry. “ A New Theory of the Lusitania Sinking: The Evidence of the German
The Titanic has more to the story then you would think,or what you have probably learned. About a hundred years ago, there was a ship called the Titanic. Have you ever wondered the exact numbers about it? How about how long it took to sink? Well in my paper you will learn about building it, to the remains of it.
This preventable event , which claimed the life of a crew of seven, left many
They took off without any problems. The weather was pleasant and they were fully equipped and ready. Until 3:45 p.m., the tower operators in Fort Lauderdale received a bizarre message from the flight leader, Lt. Charles Taylor. Lt. Taylor reported that they could not see land and that they were off-course. He also reported that they were lost. Baffled, the tower operators told Lieutenant Taylor to go westward, but he answered that they did not know which way west was.
...held him in the sea that swirled him out and safely over the boat to water in which he could touch. The surviving men were thankful to have survived, but learned that they really had no control over their lives. One of the most important lessons the correspondent took from the experience was, “… that “in the ignorance of the grave-edge” every man is in the same boat, which is not much more substantial than the ten-foot open dinghy on a rough sea” (Buitenhuis, web). Having survived the experience the cook, the correspondent, and the captain each believed that they could be interpreters for the sea. Crane gave each man a voice in “The Open Boat” that is uniquely theirs, but at the same time shared a common bond and struggle with nature for survival. It is up to each man (mankind) to find our own place in the universe and be open to the lessons that life can teach us.
First, I will cover the actual weather conditions of that night and how they may have impacted the ship. Some believe th...
...tself 500ft below the water, none of them have been proven indefinitely. Whether the ship crossed the Superior Shoal, with water as shallow as 22 feet; or the ship suffered a stress fracture and broke apart on the surface, there will always be one more possibility regarding the Fitzgerald’s demise. For instance, the sip could have also succumbed to the forces of the Three Sisters, a Lake Superior phenomenon, consisting of massive waves. Ultimately, each of these current theories are merely conjectures, and since each holds the possibility of being true, the cause of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking is an ongoing mystery, one that has and will continue to bring about many theories. Finally, as a result of the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the 30 million people who lived next to the great lakes would forever look across their waters with renewed respect.
The “Crash and Sank” theory says that Amelia Earhart ran out of fuel before she could find her destination, Howland Island, and was forced to go down somewhere in the ocean.
On May the 7th 1915 the Lusitania sank, taking with it the lives of one thousand, two hundred and one people including ninety-one children and thirty-one infants. Despite the fact that it was the largest and fastest ship at that time, the German torpedo still found its mark off the South Coast of Ireland while the ship was travelling between the United States and England. The failure to prevent the tragedy despite the warnings given, the actions (or lack thereof) of the Admiralty and the neglect in ensuring that the lifeboat system and the ship itself would offer maximum protection; puts the primary blame unto the British Admiralty and the Cunard Company.
After the collision, six watertight compartments began filling with water. Soon, water spilled over the tops. Scientists have concluded that the watertight compartments contributed to the disaster by keeping the flood waters in the bow of the ship [Gannon, 1995].
The ship crashed into a sandbank with French people who were attempting to colonize Senegal. The life savers who were sent to save the day were futile in their mission and perished with the other individuals. The ship narrowly escaped several maritime battles only to capsize on a sandbank. Out of 150 people who had boarded the ship, 10 survived the shipwreck and only two lived to tell the story. Géricault gathered information from these two witnesses and used it to retell the story though his creative
Although the definite cause of the explosion still remains a mystery, the death of the members on board of the USS Maine persists to live on, marking the end of a new beginning.
At eight o’clock the crew could see smoke coming from the boat. And at nine o’clock the captain ordered his crew to steam the fire. It is a method where steam is piped into extinguishers to preserve the cargo. Their was so much steam that it blew the hatches open and it started blowing out of the ship in a yellow and orange color. The unusual color and smell of the smoke attracted many people and many of the people noticed that the water around the boat started boiling.
Fear has taken a hold of every man aboard this ship, as it should; our luck is as far gone as the winds that led us off course. For nights and days gusts beyond measure have forced us south, yet our vessel beauty, Le Serpent, stays afloat. The souls aboard her, lay at the mercy of this ruthless sea. Chaotic weather has turned the crew from noble seamen searching for glory and riches, to whimpering children. To stay sane I keep the holy trinity close to my heart and the lady on my mind. Desperation comes and goes from the men’s eyes, while the black, blistering clouds fasten above us, as endless as the ocean itself. The sea rocks our wood hull back and forth but has yet to flip her. The rocking forces our bodies to cling to any sturdy or available hinge, nook or rope, anything a man can grasp with a sea soaked hand. The impacts make every step a danger. We all have taken on a ghoulish complexion; the absence of sunlight led the weak souls aboard to fight sleep until sick. Some of us pray for the sun to rise but thunder constantly deafens our cries as it crackles above the mast. We have been out to sea for fifty-five days and we have been in this forsaken storm for the last seventeen.