The Mary Celeste

[Ghost Ship]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste

The Mary Celeste was an abandoned ghost ship found off the coast of Portugal in 1872.

Why she had been abandoned remains unknown to this day.

Reading the full account of what happened is best(Wikipedia)but here is a short version of what happened.

The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

Ship found adrift on December 4, 1872

When it was found by the "Dei Gratia" the Mary Celeste was sailing itself alone across the Atlantic. The ship was in first-class condition. The cargo-barrels of alcohol were still lashed in place in the hold. There was plenty of food and water. When he examined the ship's log, the captain of the Dei Gratia found that the last entry was on November 24. That would have been 10 days earlier, when the Mary Celeste had been passing north of St. Mary's Island in the Azores — more than 400 miles west of where it was found.If it had been abandoned soon after that entry, the ship must have drifted unmanned and unsteered for a week and a half. Yet this could not have been. The Mary Celeste was found with its sails set. The Dei Gratia had been following a similar course just behind. It seems impossible that the Mary Celeste could have reached the spot it did with its yards and sails set to starboard. Someone must have been working the ship for at least several days after the final log entry.

No Survivors

No one, from the 10 people that supposedly sailed aboard the Mary Celeste, including 7 crewmen and captain Benjamin Briggs' wife and daughter, was ever found.

[mimilovergyrl]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste

The Mary Celeste was an abandoned ghost ship found off the coast of Portugal in 1872.

Why she had been abandoned remains unknown to this day.

Reading the full account of what happened is best(Wikipedia)but here is a short version of what happened.

The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

Ship found adrift on December 4, 1872

When it was found by the "Dei Gratia" the Mary Celeste was sailing itself alone across the Atlantic. The ship was in first-class condition. The cargo-barrels of alcohol were still lashed in place in the hold. There was plenty of food and water. When he examined the ship's log, the captain of the Dei Gratia found that the last entry was on November 24. That would have been 10 days earlier, when the Mary Celeste had been passing north of St. Mary's Island in the Azores — more than 400 miles west of where it was found.If it had been abandoned soon after that entry, the ship must have drifted unmanned and unsteered for a week and a half. Yet this could not have been. The Mary Celeste was found with its sails set. The Dei Gratia had been following a similar course just behind. It seems impossible that the Mary Celeste could have reached the spot it did with its yards and sails set to starboard. Someone must have been working the ship for at least several days after the final log entry.

No Survivors

No one, from the 10 people that supposedly sailed aboard the Mary Celeste, including 7 crewmen and captain Benjamin Briggs' wife and daughter, was ever found.

maybe they were kidnapped by pirates....lol thats really weird....id like to know what happened...is there more research done on it?

[Oubli]

I remember reading out this ship years ago, it was very interesting. One of the theories was that fumes from the alcohol filled the cargo area of the ship, which is very combustible. The thought was that the people aboard got into a lifeboat that was tied to the Mary Celeste, and that somehow it broke off or became untied, setting them all off to drift.

The captain of the ship who found the Mary Celeste tried to collect salvage rights. He was put on trial, but since there was no hard evidence he killed anyone on board, he was acquitted. Nonetheless, it ruined his career. My guess would be they probably went into the lifeboat and were set adrift, which is a horrifying thought. It was a very interesting read.

Edited February 22, 2007 by amybutts

[Barek Halfhand]

hey DA,

I'm not sure about the lore surrounding the ghost ship, but the picture of the captains' wife (wiki)......well..........B

Edited February 23, 2007 by Barek Halfhand

[Ghost Ship]

J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement

One of the first real successes of Conan Doyle's literary career was the publication of J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement in 1883. The short story was published anonymously in the prestigious Cornhill Magazine. Conan Doyle was paid almost the equivalent of a year's rent for the tale. It also stirred up some controversy.

The fictional story was based on true events, the story of the Mary Celeste.

On December 4, 1872 the British brigantine Dei Gratia was about 600 miles off the coast of Portugal. The lookout spotted another sail on the horizon. As the two ships grew nearer Captain Morehouse of the Dei Gratia recognized the other ship as the Mary Celeste.

The Mary Celeste, under the command of Morehouse's friend Benjamin Briggs, was in trouble. Some of her sails were missing while others flapped uselessly in the wind. Most alarming of all was the fact that there was no one at the wheel.

Morehouse and some of his crew boarded the Mary Celeste. They discovered that the ship was relatively undamaged. They even located the missing sails. The cargo was intact. There was plenty of food and water aboard. However there was no sign of Captain Briggs, his wife, their daughter or any member of the crew.

Morehouse did note that the lifeboat was missing. However the evacuation must have been done with incredible haste. No supplies or personal belongings seemed to be missing from the ship. If Briggs and the rest did go into the lifeboat, they must not have had much more than the clothes on their backs. What could have happened to force an experienced captain to order such a speedy evacuation of a seaworthy ship?

No one will ever know. No crewmember or passenger of the Mary Celeste was ever found.

In J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement Conan Doyle wrote about an abandoned vessel named the Marie Celeste. In this story the ship was taken over by a black passenger. He and his fellow conspirators commandeered the ship, sailed it to Africa and murdered the passengers and crew.

Conan Doyle's tale was so vivid that it raised protests from people who mistook the work of fiction for an article. Frederick Solly Flood, Her Majesty's Proctor and Attorney General at Gibraltar had been in charge of the salvage of the Mary Celeste. He stated that J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement was "a fabrication from beginning to end". He further stated that this false account might damage England's relations with foreign countries.

At the same time U.S. consul Horatio J. Sprague asked Cornhill Magazine to investigate the origins of the fraudulent article.

Conan Doyle was pleased that his short story was so well done that it could be mistaken as a true accounting of events. He was also delighted that hundreds of readers, who did understand the work was fictional, thought it was written by a man known for his tales of adventure. They suspected that the anonymous author was none other than Robert Louis Stevenson.

The above article is important in learning about the mary Celeste

The actual ship The Mary Celeste was found ! http://www.numa.net/expeditions/mary_celeste.html

Here are my favorite facts about this mystery.

(1) There were bizzare markings found on the ship. Cut marks that were made into the ship for unknown reasons. They were on two seperate areas of the ship and were exactly alike.http://www.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/16/1662768d21f70a3351e73f7cc06b9e41e70b4.jpg

(2)There was a deep cut made into the ships rail seemingly by an axe.

(3)The ships papers and sextant(A navigating tool) were missing suggesting that even though they left in an extreme hurry they left needing a tool for navigation in the sea.

(4)There where so signs of a fire or anything that would make it neccesary for them to have to abandon a ship that was in excellent condition. There were however many unusual things found. The compass was broken. The huge and heavy stove in the cooking area was lifted and moved from its chokes suggesting that a powerful force had acted upon it.

I will post more stuff later.

Here is a good website about the Mary Celeste.

http://www.maryceleste.net/part1.htm

[Kalien]

Sorry for having nothing good to contribute but I just wanted to say <33 I love the Mary Celeste mystery.

[Torchwood]

The best theory Ive heard of the reasons why the mary celeste (as opposed to the fictional marie celeste(I think theyre the right way round)) is that the cargo it was carying consisted of alcholic drinks, which were extremely potent, and dangerous....its thought that the captain/crew had smelt the fumes coming from the barrels and reckoned the ship was about to explode ( Dark Ambient: I wonder if they tried to remove the stove fearing it would be the spark?) when they couldnt they jumped into the lifeboat and let the celeste tow them along for a bit. I seem to remember there being something about rough weather in the area that might have accounted for the boat being cut loose and drifting away. By the time the celeste was found the fumes might have dispersed enough and the danger had passed. There was also a report in portugal of some strange people in a smal boat being washed up on the coast. not sure what happened to them tho.

[Princess Serenity]

I remember hearing about The Mary Celeste. I think it was pirates. They were big in the day. I just find it odd that a boat like that was found abandoned.

[googiboo]

Hi guys, I have read the mystery before, and think its truly an amazing mystery. It was definitely not the fault of pirates though. Pirates would have surely stripped the ship bare of anything that was of value.

[Ghost Ship]

Dark Ambient: I wonder if they tried to remove the stove fearing it would be the spark?)

Interesting thought.

There was also a report in portugal of some strange people in a smal boat being washed up on the coast. not sure what happened to them tho.

Yes. I think that was them. But the reasons for them abandoning ship remains. There were five found on the raft. I wonder what happened to the rest of them.

Hi guys, I have read the mystery before, and think its truly an amazing mystery. It was definitely not the fault of pirates though. Pirates would have surely stripped the ship bare of anything that was of value.

Yes i agree. When iv'e told friends about this mystery they just say 'Whatever,it was pirates'. Well they dont realise that everything about how they found the ship indicates that there was no eveidence of a pirates Modus Operandi .

I believe that many amazing events happened at the same time to these people. There was a storm. Alchohol fumes began to overwhelm the crew and passengers. Inexplicable forces causing the hatch door to be blown open and broken by a powerful force. Strange markings caused by who knows what. There lifeboat apparently being mysteriously severed from the Mary Celeste while it was towed. The large compass being overturned and broken(It was fastly secured to the ship) as well as the stove. Then them being found on a raft instead of the emergency boat with five of them on it and not ten.

Whatever happened to these people it must have been terrifying. But its the ultimate sea mystery because every theory that one puts forword seems not to fit with all the details of the case. I believe that a few amazing things happened and blended together so that no human injenuity can solves the mystery. But i always keep my eyes and ears open to any new thoughts about the reasons for the ships abandonment, The most puzzling mystery about the Mary Celeste.

[Torchwood]

Yes. I think that was them. But the reasons for them abandoning ship remains. There were five found on the raft. I wonder what happened to the rest of them.

Im amazed if 5 made it to shore: 10 people cramed in small boat in a storm? The rest either never made it into the boat or were thrown out later, Maybe the storm hit (and some crew tried to bring in the sails) and knocked the barels of booze, causing the release of the vapours and the dislodging of the stove, panic ensued as everyone was convinced the ship was about to blow, the boat was lowered but in the storm some people lost their footing, axes were used to cut the ropes holding the boat to the celeste, and 5 made it ashore!

[Ghost Ship]

Im amazed if 5 made it to shore: 10 people cramed in small boat in a storm? The rest either never made it into the boat or were thrown out later, Maybe the storm hit (and some crew tried to bring in the sails) and knocked the barels of booze, causing the release of the vapours and the dislodging of the stove, panic ensued as everyone was convinced the ship was about to blow, the boat was lowered but in the storm some people lost their footing, axes were used to cut the ropes holding the boat to the celeste, and 5 made it ashore!

Sounds good to me. An ex FBI agent was interested in this case and spoke of an extremely rare occurance were a silent explosion might occure with alcohol vapor. That kind of explosion would not cause a fire or burn anything. All it does is act upon condenced vapors that are volatile. It's consistent with most of the evidence found on the ship. I find this the most likely reason for them to freak out and leave the ship in the hurry that they did.

Here is the information about the kind of explosion that might have occured aboard the Mary Celeste. http://www.maryceleste.net/five.htm

[Ghost Ship]

What happened to the five bodies found on the raft? Why where they not investigated by the police?

Did you know that the father of Benjamin Sooner Briggs ,the captain of the Mary Celeste. was struck and killed by lightning while standing just outside the door of his house smoking a pipe?

Then the father of the father of The captain of the Mary Celeste(Benjamins grandfather) Mysteriously dissapeared without a trace in a plane with a friend whil flying over the Antarctica.

[Ghost Ship]

If it had been abandoned soon after that entry, the ship must have drifted unmanned and unsteered for a week and a half. Yet this could not have been. The Mary Celeste was found with its sails set. The Dei Gratia had been following a similar course just behind. It seems impossible that the Mary Celeste could have reached the spot it did with its yards and sails set to starboard. Someone must have been working the ship for at least several days after the final log entry.

Here is another mystery to be solved. Any ideas?

Edited March 18, 2007 by Dark_Ambient

[Torchwood]

What happened to the five bodies found on the raft? Why where they not investigated by the police?

I suspect thats cos i dont think there was a portugese police force at the time...In fact Im not sure after checking google if there is one now, seems to be military forces do the job, adn i doubt theyd have been interested. The coastguard might have been, if there was one. Assuming they were alive when they reached shore they'll have had to fend for themselves till they found somone to help them like an embassy or somesuch.

[Ghost Ship]

A new mystery just like the Mary Celeste has surfaced. This time a Yaught with three men missing without a trace ! Cause of them abandoning ship unknown!

Abandoned ship !

Edited April 22, 2007 by Dark_Ambient