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The Mary Celeste
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The Mary Celeste
The Mary Celeste was built in 1861 in Nova Scotia, Canada, as a cargo-carrying sailing ship. When it was launched, it was given the name the Amazon. It was not a lucky ship. The first captain died a few days after it had been registered, and on its maiden voyage in 1862, it was badly damaged in a collision. While it was being repaired in port, it caught fire. In 1863 it crossed the Atlantic for the first time, and in the English Channel it collided with another ship which sank. The Amazon was badly damaged itself. Four years later, in 1867, it ran aground on Cape Breton Island, off the Canadian Coast. The ship was almost completely wrecked and had to be rebuilt. It was then sold and the name was changed to the Mary Celeste.
On November 7, 1872, the Mary Celeste set sail from New York City, with more than 1,700 barrels of pure alcohol destined for Genoa, Italy. On board were 10 people, including Captain Briggs, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter. Over the next two weeks, the ship encountered several spells of harsh weather. According to the last log entry—dated November 25—the Mary Celeste was some 6 nautical miles (11 km) from the Azores. Ten days later the vessel was spotted by the British ship Dei Gratia. Crew from that ship boarded the Mary Celeste and discovered it deserted. Adding to the mystery was the fact that the cargo and personal belongings were largely undisturbed, although a longboat was missing. It appeared that the ship had been abandoned quickly. Crewmen from the Dei Gratia sailed the Mary Celeste to Gibraltar, some 800 miles (1,482 km) away. There British authorities conducted an investigation, which ultimately found no evidence of foul play.
The mystery garnered some attention, but it became famous in 1884, when Arthur Conan Doyle published J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement, a short story about a survivor of a ghost ship called the Marie Celeste. In his account, a revenge-seeking former slave killed the passengers. While that was purely fiction, many theories were put forward to explain what happened. Most, however, seemed unlikely. There were no signs of violence or missing cargo, casting doubt on claims of mutiny, murder, and piracy.
The most likely scenario is that Captain Briggs erroneously believed his ship was taking on too much water and was about to sink. This theory was supported by the fact that the sounding rod—used to determine the amount of water in the hold—was discovered on deck, suggesting that it had been used just before the ship was abandoned. In addition, one of the ship’s pumps showed signs of trouble; it was disassembled. A faulty reading of the sounding rod and an ineffective pump could have led Captain Briggs to believe the ship was foundering and order it abandoned. A mishap may then have occurred in the longboat, causing all to perish.
Despite being seen as unlucky, the Mary Celeste remained in service and went through a number of owners before being acquired by Capt. G.C. Parker. In 1885 he deliberately sailed it into a reef near Haiti as part of a plan to defraud an insurance company. When the vessel failed to sink, authorities discovered his scheme. The Mary Celeste, however, was damaged beyond repair, and it was left on the reef, where it deteriorated.
On November 7, 1872, the Mary Celeste set sail from New York City, with more than 1,700 barrels of pure alcohol destined for Genoa, Italy. On board were 10 people, including Captain Briggs, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter. Over the next two weeks, the ship encountered several spells of harsh weather. According to the last log entry—dated November 25—the Mary Celeste was some 6 nautical miles (11 km) from the Azores. Ten days later the vessel was spotted by the British ship Dei Gratia. Crew from that ship boarded the Mary Celeste and discovered it deserted. Adding to the mystery was the fact that the cargo and personal belongings were largely undisturbed, although a longboat was missing. It appeared that the ship had been abandoned quickly. Crewmen from the Dei Gratia sailed the Mary Celeste to Gibraltar, some 800 miles (1,482 km) away. There British authorities conducted an investigation, which ultimately found no evidence of foul play.
The mystery garnered some attention, but it became famous in 1884, when Arthur Conan Doyle published J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement, a short story about a survivor of a ghost ship called the Marie Celeste. In his account, a revenge-seeking former slave killed the passengers. While that was purely fiction, many theories were put forward to explain what happened. Most, however, seemed unlikely. There were no signs of violence or missing cargo, casting doubt on claims of mutiny, murder, and piracy.
The most likely scenario is that Captain Briggs erroneously believed his ship was taking on too much water and was about to sink. This theory was supported by the fact that the sounding rod—used to determine the amount of water in the hold—was discovered on deck, suggesting that it had been used just before the ship was abandoned. In addition, one of the ship’s pumps showed signs of trouble; it was disassembled. A faulty reading of the sounding rod and an ineffective pump could have led Captain Briggs to believe the ship was foundering and order it abandoned. A mishap may then have occurred in the longboat, causing all to perish.
Despite being seen as unlucky, the Mary Celeste remained in service and went through a number of owners before being acquired by Capt. G.C. Parker. In 1885 he deliberately sailed it into a reef near Haiti as part of a plan to defraud an insurance company. When the vessel failed to sink, authorities discovered his scheme. The Mary Celeste, however, was damaged beyond repair, and it was left on the reef, where it deteriorated.