Mary Celeste mystery
The Mary Celeste mystery revolves around the fate of an American merchant ship found abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean in December 1872. Initially set sail from New York City on November 7, the ship was discovered by the crew of the British vessel Dei Gratia, who found it in good condition but without its crew, lifeboat, or any signs of struggle. Speculation about the crew's disappearance became widespread, ranging from theories of pirate attacks to more fantastical ideas, such as encounters with sea monsters or natural disasters. Despite an extensive investigation, no evidence of foul play was ever established.
The ship’s captain, Benjamin Briggs, an experienced seaman, had maintained a reputable standing prior to the incident. Theories proposed by modern researchers suggest that the crew may have abandoned the vessel due to fears of an imminent explosion caused by leaking alcohol fumes or due to faulty navigation equipment, leading to a mistaken belief that the ship was sinking. Ultimately, the mystery remains unresolved, as none of the ten individuals aboard were ever found, and the Mary Celeste itself continued to spark intrigue as it sailed for thirteen more years before being sunk in an insurance fraud scheme. The case continues to captivate historians and enthusiasts alike, highlighting the enduring nature of maritime mysteries.
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Mary Celeste mystery
The Mary Celeste was an American merchant ship found abandoned at sea under mysterious circumstances in 1872. The ship was discovered with its crew and a lifeboat missing, but in relatively seaworthy condition and its cargo and food provisions intact. At the time, the discovery of the Mary Celeste sparked concerns of treachery and murder, but no evidence of foul play was ever found. Helped by the attention it received from a famous author, the legend of the Mary Celeste grew in the public imagination in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Speculation about what happened to the crew has ranged from sea monsters to an attack by pirates. Modern researchers have suggested the captain abandoned the ship over fears it could sink or explode; however, a definitive answer to the mystery has remained elusive.
Background
The Mary Celeste was built in 1861 at a Canadian shipyard in Nova Scotia. The ship—the first built by the shipyard—was originally named Amazon. Some accounts say the ship got stuck as it was being launched, although that story may be more myth than fact. What is known is that its first captain, a young newlywed, fell ill and died of pneumonia shortly after beginning its maiden voyage. The voyage was cut short to return the captain’s body to his home. The Amazon set sail under a new captain and completed its initial cargo run to Great Britain. However, on the journey home, the Amazon struck another ship in the English Channel.
In 1867, a storm blew the ship onto shore, causing enough damage for its owners to sell the vessel as a wreck. The Amazon changed hands several times before it was repaired and rechristened the Mary Celeste in 1868. From 1868 to 1872, the Mary Celeste sailed under a series of captains without any reported problems. In 1872, the ship underwent a $10,000 renovation that gave it a second deck, more storage capacity, and increased its length to 103 feet (31.2 meters). That October, the Mary Celeste got a new captain, thirty-seven-year-old Benjamin Briggs, an experienced seaman from Massachusetts.
Briggs was raised in a seafaring family. His father was a ship captain and the younger Briggs spent much of his early life aboard ships. By 1872, Briggs was married and the father of a seven-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter. He was respected in his community and was not known to drink alcohol. After taking command of the Mary Celeste, Briggs handpicked a crew of seven men for his first journey. He also took along his wife and daughter. His son stayed behind in Massachusetts to attend school.
Overview
The Mary Celeste left the harbor in New York City on November 7, 1872. It was bound for Genoa, Italy, with a cargo of 1,700 barrels of denatured alcohol, a type of alcohol unfit for drinking and primarily used for industrial purposes. According to the ship’s log, the Mary Celeste encountered some rough seas for two weeks as it crossed the Atlantic. A log entry on November 25 said the ship had come within sight of the Azores, a group of islands about 900 miles (1,448 kilometers) to the west of Portugal.
On December 5, the crew of the British ship Dei Gratia sighted a drifting vessel about 400 miles (644 kilometers) east of the Azores. Upon boarding the ship, the crew discovered it was the Mary Celeste. They found no trace of the captain, crew, or anyone on board. The ship had about 3 feet (1 meter) of water in its cargo hold, but otherwise was in good condition. A water pump had been disassembled, and one of the ship’s lifeboats was missing. The crew’s belongings and six months’ worth of food and water remained on board. Its cargo of alcohol was intact, although six of the barrels had leaked.
The crew of the Dei Gratia sailed the Mary Celeste to the British territory of Gibraltar in hopes of collecting a salvage fee. However, the official in charge of the inquiry was suspicious of the circumstances under which the ship had been found. He suspected the crew of the Dei Gratia was somehow involved and began a formal investigation. After three months, the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing and the crew was paid a small bounty.
In 1884, British author Arthur Conan Doyle—who would later become famous for his Sherlock Holmes novels—wrote a short story about the Mary Celeste in which he embellished and fictionalized many of the details about its discovery. His account thrust the ship into the public consciousness and set off a wave of speculation about the fate of its crew. Theories sprung up that the passengers had been eaten by sea monsters, were swept away by a waterspout, or had fallen victim to an undersea earthquake. Others thought that the ship had been attacked by pirates or that some of the crew drank the alcohol and killed the rest in a drunken mutiny.
The sea monster, waterspout, and earthquake theories can easily be discarded. Mutiny and pirate attacks are also extremely unlikely, as the cargo was never stolen and mutineers would have sailed off with the ship. Nautical experts and historians speculate that as some of the alcohol barrels began to leak, they gave off fumes that spread through the cargo hold. Captain Briggs may have feared the fumes would cause an explosion and ordered the crew into the lifeboat. The log stated the Mary Celeste was within sight of land, so abandoning ship at that point was a plausible response by the captain. Instead of reaching land, however, rough seas may have carried the lifeboat away and capsized it. A similar theory holds that faulty navigation equipment and a coal dust–clogged water pump may have led Briggs to believe the ship was sinking, prompting him to abandon it.
The mystery of the Mary Celeste is likely never to be solved. None of the ten people aboard was ever seen again. The ship itself was later sold to a new owner, but it gained a reputation as a haunted vessel. It sailed for thirteen more years under several owners before being sunk off the coast of Haiti as part of an insurance scam.
Bibliography
Begg, Paul. Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea. Routledge, 2014.
Blumberg, Jess. “Abandoned Ship: The Mary Celeste.” Smithsonian, Nov. 2007, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abandoned-ship-the-mary-celeste-174488104/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Collins, Paul. “Ghost Ship.” Slate, 6 Dec. 2011, www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2011/12/the‗mary‗celeste‗the‗unluckiest‗ship‗to‗ever‗sail‗the‗seven‗seas‗.html. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Cox, Kevin. “Theories Abound on Fate of Mary Celeste.” Toronto Globe and Mail, 12 Apr. 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/theories-abound-on-fate-of-mary-celeste/article4151287/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Hicks, Brian. Ghost Ship: The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew. Ballantine Books, 2005.
“The Mystery of the Mary Celeste.” New England Historical Society, www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/mysterious-disappearance-mary-celeste/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
“The Mystery of the Mary Celeste: Crew Vanishes from Seaworthy Ship.” Ancient Origins, 27 Apr. 2015, www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/mystery-mary-celeste-crew-vanishes-seaworthy-ship-002958. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.
Pruitt, Sarah. “What Happened to the Mary Celeste?” History.com, 21 July 2015, www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-the-mary-celeste. Accessed 17 Sept. 2018.