On the fourth day of December in 1872 a small British brig the ‘Dei Gratia’ was sailing under the captaincy of David Morehouse when he spotted another ship close by that was sailing erratically but at full sail. What happened next would result in one of the biggest maritime mysteries ever at sea.
The Mary Celeste was launched in Nova Scotia in 1860 and originally named ‘Amazon.’ The ships history over the next ten years was not a good one with three of the ships captains dying while the ship was under their command. During that time the ship was also involved in a number of accidents at sea. The ship passed through many owners before she was to turn up at a salvage auction in New York.
The ship was purchased, extensively repaired and given a new name ‘Mary Celeste.’
The ship was to be captained by one of its co- owners Benjamin Briggs, an experienced sailor with three previous commands to his name. The ship left New York on November 7th with the captain his wife, young daughter and a crew of 8. The ship was loaded with American alcohol and headed for Genoa, Italy.
Almost a month later when the ship was spotted it was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, just the lifeboat was missing and not a sign of any of those that had set off from New York. It was found close to the islands of the Azores on route to Gibraltar and its entry into the Mediterranean Sea. On climbing aboard the deserted ship it was found to have slight damage to its sails, some of its navigational equipment was missing and several feet of water was in the hold.
The final entry in the captain’s log was from nine days previous to its being discovered and 500 miles from its position when found. The reason for the abandonment of the captain, his family and crew has never been discovered, as no trace of them was ever found.
Public interest in the story was soon forgotten as it was not uncommon for a small ship to be lost at sea in those days. This one however was strange because the ship was not lost only those on board.
The mystery of the ship may well have been forgotten forever until Arthur Conan Doyle who would go on to write about the fictional Sherlock Holmes writing under a pseudonym published a story about a ship called the ‘Marie Celeste.’ His story then stirred up fictional and provocative detail as well as controversy to capture the publics interest once again. Since that publication and to this day there have been many possible causes as to why it was abandoned, though none have been proven and any stories of ghost ships are often linked to that of the Mary Celeste.
It is oneof the most enigmatic and elusive maritime events,.your article makes me want go and search for the final entry in the captains log.,
It is one of the most enigmatic and elusive maritime events,.
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