Mary Celeste Mystery
That is not a fog bank the Mary Celeste is surrounded by, but rather a vapor cloud caused by industrial alcohol.
The Mary Celeste, an American merchant brigantine, stands as one of the most profound maritime enigmas ever. She was found deserted and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Azorean islands, on December 4, 1872. The Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia stumbled upon her, noting her disarray yet seaworthy state, with partial sails up and her lifeboat gone. The final entry in her logbook was made ten days prior. She had embarked on her journey from New York City to Genoa on November 7 and was discovered with ample provisions still on board. Her freight of industrial alcohol was untouched, and the personal effects of the captain and crew were left undisturbed. The whereabouts of those who had been aboard remain unknown to this day.
One possible theory.
After numerous thorough inquiries and investigations no single theory proved to have any substance at all. The only study that holds “any water” is a recent university study that showed industrial alcohol fumes can, on rare occasions, make an explosive sound and vapors without causing a fire or damaging anything. This may have been what happened and caused the captain, his wife, their newly born child, and crew to abandon the ship for their lifeboat. They would have kept the lifeboat tied to the ship on a long line with the expectation of reboarding when things settled down. I assume the captain would have then added the difficulty they were having into his meticulous logbook which had no mention of why they were temporarily abandoning the ship. How or why the lifeboat got separated from the ship will forever be unknown.
Mary Celeste Mystery
That is not a fog bank the Mary Celeste is surrounded by, but rather a vapor cloud caused by industrial alcohol.
The Mary Celeste, an American merchant brigantine, stands as one of the most profound maritime enigmas ever. She was found deserted and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Azorean islands, on December 4, 1872. The Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia stumbled upon her, noting her disarray yet seaworthy state, with partial sails up and her lifeboat gone. The final entry in her logbook was made ten days prior. She had embarked on her journey from New York City to Genoa on November 7 and was discovered with ample provisions still on board. Her freight of industrial alcohol was untouched, and the personal effects of the captain and crew were left undisturbed. The whereabouts of those who had been aboard remain unknown to this day.
One possible theory.
After numerous thorough inquiries and investigations no single theory proved to have any substance at all. The only study that holds “any water” is a recent university study that showed industrial alcohol fumes can, on rare occasions, make an explosive sound and vapors without causing a fire or damaging anything. This may have been what happened and caused the captain, his wife, their newly born child, and crew to abandon the ship for their lifeboat. They would have kept the lifeboat tied to the ship on a long line with the expectation of reboarding when things settled down. I assume the captain would have then added the difficulty they were having into his meticulous logbook which had no mention of why they were temporarily abandoning the ship. How or why the lifeboat got separated from the ship will forever be unknown.