Bermuda Triangle

ABSTRACT

We cannot think of Bermuda without thinking of the Bermuda Triangle, the socalled lethal area that devoured so many ships and planes with scores of human lives on them. A lot has been written convincingly about the facts and fiction regarding the disappearance of planes and wreckage of ships. The subject still continues to be debated. The Bermuda Triangle is situated in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a stretch of Atlantic Ocean covered by an imaginary line connecting Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to Puerto Rico and then back to Florida. The actual triangle cannot be easily demarcated. It was in fact one Vincent Gaddis who first coined the phrase “Bermuda Triangle” and gave an approximate idea of its location. Whether or not there is anything mysterious about this area, it has since become one of the greatest mysteries of our times and continues to evoke the interest of millions till today. Many investigators have found that the causes of the disappearance of planes have been unnecessarily mystified. According to them the disappearing can be scientifically explained. For example, it was claimed that a plane had disappeared in the clam seas, but later on the investigations proved that there was fierce storm that caused the accident In fact most people believe that the Bermuda triangle is as dangerous or as safe as any other area in the Atlantic Ocean. The US Coast Guard have investigated and confirmed with statistics the veracity of this conclusion, which has not been refuted so far. It has also been established beyond a doubt, for example, that the explosion of Flight 19 was caused due to the fact that the plane’s non-pressurized cabin, with 22 men aboard, exploded with the single spark of a cigarette. Despite all these scientific explanations, the Bermuda Triangle continues to be shrouded in mystery, evoking both charm and fear in the minds of the people.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean in which a number of aircraft and surface vessels are alleged to have disappeared in mysterious circumstances which fall beyond the boundaries of human error, piracy, equipment failure, or natural disasters. Popular culture has attributed some of these disappearances to the paranormal, a suspension of the laws of physics, or activity by extraterrestrial beings

The Triangle area The area of the Triangle varies by author The boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores; others[who?] add to it the Gulf of Mexico. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits. The area is one of the most heavily-sailed shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.

History of the Triangle Story According to the Triangle authors, Christopher Columbus was the first person to document something strange in the Triangle, reporting that he and his crew observed "strange dancing lights on the horizon", flames in the sky, and at another point he wrote in his log about bizarre compass bearings in the area. From his log book, dated October 11, 1492 he wrote: The land was first seen by a sailor (Rodrigo de Triana), although the Admiral at ten o'clock that evening standing on the quarter-deck saw a light. But it was so small body that he could not confirm it to be land. So he called Pero Gutiérrez, groom of the King's wardrobe and told him he saw a light and bid him look at it. He saw it. Rodrigo de Triana did the same to Rodrigo Sánchez of Segovia, whom the King and Queen had sent with the squadron as finance officer, but he was unable to see it from his situation. The Admiral again perceived it once or twice, appearing like the light of a wax candle moving up and down, which some thought an indication of land. But the Admiral held it for certain that land was near... Modern scholars checking the original log books have surmised that the lights he saw were the cooking fires of Taino natives in their canoes or on the beach; the compass problems were the result of a false reading based on the movement of a star. The first article of any kind in which the legend of the Triangle began appeared in newspapers by E.V.W. Jones on September 16, 1950, through the Associated Press. Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery at Our Back Door", a short article by George X. Sand in the October 1952 issue covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to

lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.

MYSTRIES OF BERMUDA TRIANGLE There have been a substantial numbers of documents and reports from the triangle that show some incidents have been inaccurately reported and even add extra details on by many. Though at the same time there are many other disappearances that have clearly been correctly reported and have remained unexplained despite considerable investigations and deny explanation. Incidents have been reported including planes flying through what seemed like wormholes and thick unnatural cloud formations, ships disappearing in open waters leaving no signs. Some of the more well known and documented disappearances are as follows: Flight 19 - A training flight that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the triangle. The impression is that the group of plains encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings from still unexplained reasons even thought reports were that the flight took place on a calm and clear day. The official navy report if the accident is ascribed as “Cause or reason unknown" as to the disappearance. Mary Celeste - This documented story is often linked to the triangle but some dispute the fact that the happening actually took place in the triangle and instead perhaps happened off the coast of Portugal. In 1872 the "Mary Celeste" was found abandoned without any trace of her crew or what may have happened to them.

USS Cyclops - This incident is still the single largest loss of life by the US Navy not related to combat. After departing from the island of Barbados on March 4, 1918 the USS Cyclops went missing without a trace somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. To date there are no strong theories to the cause of its disappearance. There have been many attempts at explaining some of the happenings in the Bermuda Triangle. From many natural explanations such as Methane Hydrates, Compass Variations, Hurricanes, Gulf Stream current, and Freak (rogue) Waves along with simple human error and deliberate acts of destruction. Although there are some who say there is a lot more to the triangle and attribute a lot of its odd happenings to things such as leftover technology from the lost continent of Atlantis which sank under triangle waters, UFO's and extraterrestrial beings, mysterious and anomalous forces controlling the triangle area. Will the mystery of the triangle ever be discovered? Are the triangles happenings simply explained and occur no more often than incidents in other areas of ocean around the world? Or does the triangle hide a gateway to another world, or time warp enhanced wormholes? "The Search Never Ends"

Is Bermuda Triangle Fact or Fiction? The Bermuda Triangle is an area, which has been well known for many unexplained disappearances of ships, as well as aircrafts that occurred in this area. It accounts for more than 1500 ships and planes disappearances without trace or lost their crews in that particular area of the Atlantic Ocean. Although most of these disappearances have been explained or solved, others await a satisfactory explanation.

Bermuda triangle is undoubtedly one of the most famous unsolved mysteries of all times. It is located between the settings of Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda. The mystery continues in the company of these beautiful holiday destinations, with a bright sun, exotic beaches and wonderful palm fringes. However, behind this wonderful place, lies a long and bloody history of ship wrecks and airplane crashes, as a number of ships and planes have mysteriously gone missing in the one and a half million square miles of ocean separating them? In fact, over the past century, hundreds of ships and planes have gone missing in this mysterious place in the Atlantic Ocean, which is better known as the Bermuda Triangle. It was about 60 years ago, when this area was gulping down about five planes every day, a very high estimate. The area was named the Bermuda Triangle by a well known magazine in the year 1964. Nowadays, the situation has changed a lot. Nowadays, planes do get lost, but the numbers have drastically reduced. A number of theories have been floated in this regard. While some theories speculate on the assumption that it is the location; whereas other theories tend to focus on other alternate assumptions, such as the instruments that were available at the time. It is stated that, in the 1940s, navigating a plane involved a lot of guesswork since they relied completely on a magnetic compass to guide them. This meant that, pilots were supposed to be guided by their compass as they estimated how the wind would influence their planned flight path, in order to remain on the right track. This made the situation worse. Some people also state, that the weather could be another factor, which could cause such a phenomenon. Now, since the island is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, it has an extremely unpredictable weather. So, it gets a weather, which is influenced by several factors and can change with lightening speed.

Also, another factor, can that be of hurricanes, which are very common in the Bermuda Triangle area. Apart from these, another factor, which holds much strength, is the formation of methane in the sea. As it is, formation of methane can

lower

the

density

of

water,

leading

to

the

sinking

of

ships.

Similarly, Methane can cut out an aircraft engine with very little levels of it in the atmosphere, leading to aircraft crashes. However, most of these explanations are mere assumptions and so; we still would have to wait for sometime, before we have any conclusive evidence to justify these explanations.

THEORIES ON BERMUDA TRIANGLE This mysterious place accounts fro more than 1500 disappearances, which include ships, boats, as well as aircrafts. The term “Bermuda Triangle” was first coined by a famous magazine in 1964. The mystery behind these disappearances has continued. As it is, several explanations have come up since the discovery of the dangers posed by these waters. These explanations range from supernormal phenomenon like giant squids, sea monsters, time warp, death rays from Atlantis, as well as alien abduction. However, with the passage of time, fewer and fewer people now believe it to be a handiwork of any sea monster. Alien abduction however continues to be a widely believed phenomenon, along with presence of a time warp. However, some people have also come up with some scientific explanations as well. The following are some of the possible explanations for this strange phenomenon

Natural Explanations:i. Compass variations Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area, such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the Magnetic poles. For example, in the United States the only places where magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are exactly the same are on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico. Navigators have known this for centuries. But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will. ii. Deliberate acts of destruction Deliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses; while many sinking have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in the various command log books, many others which have been suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records. Piracy, as defined by the taking of a ship or small boat on the high seas, is an act which continues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.

iii. Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, and then through the Straits of Florida, into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 meters per second (5.6 mph). A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble will be carried away from its reported position by the current, as happened to the cabin cruiser Witchcraft on December 22, 1967, when it reported engine trouble near the Miami buoy marker one mile (1.6 km) from shore, but was not there when a Coast Guard cutter arrived. iv. Human error One of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error. Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V. A. Fogg in 1972 Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958. Many losses remain inconclusive due to the lack of wreckage which could be studied, a fact cited on many official reports. v. Hurricanes Hurricanes are powerful storms which are spawned in tropical waters, and have historically been responsible for thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.

vi. Methane hydrates

An explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves. Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water, any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning. Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast. However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years. It should also be noted that other areas of undersea methane hydrates aren't reported to give rise to similar incidents as the Bermuda Triangle, also that bubbles of underwater gas wouldn't account for aircraft disappearances.

vii. Rogue waves In various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sinkand oil platforms to topple. These waves are considered to be a mystery and until recently were believed to be a myth. However, rogue waves don't account for the missing aircraft.

Supernatural and Paranormal Explanations:i. A time warp in the Bermuda Triangle:The proponents of this theory state that the many ships and planes entered a time warp to a different time or dimension on the other side, meaning that their crews could still be alive there, living new lives in another time period of the past or the future or even possibly in a parallel universe. Usually, the ship or aircraft in the story enters this dimension by way of a cloud. This has been a popular subject in science fiction. ii. UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) and/or Alien Astronauts:The disappearances have to do with beings from another world. The Bermuda Triangle is a collecting station where aliens take our people, ships, planes and other objects back to their planet to study, or perhaps to save them from a holocaust. Others think that the planes and ships are sent to another dimension.

iii. Sea Monsters Some

believe

in

sea

monsters

that

supposedly

sink

the

ships.

iv. Death Rays from Atlantis It could be death rays from Atlantis. Proponents of this idea believe there are magic crystals, left from the time of Atlantis, that make the ships sink. Scuba divers have found places under the ocean that look man-made, but have not found any crystals, or even any real proof that Atlantis existed. As it is, Bermuda triangle continues to evoke a lot of enthusiasm. Most people like to read about it. In fact, in the last few decades, Bermuda has emerged as a major tourist destination as well; mainly due to its close proximity with the Bermuda Triangle.

Bermuda Triangle Survivors The Bermuda Triangle is unavoidably associated with disappearances of aircrafts and vessels. Several theories in regard to the strange phenomenon have been put forward, which include time travel, UFO’s, missing time, as well as wormholes. Uncommon incidents have however been reported by several people, while they were on their way through the Bermuda triangle. These witnesses constitute a long list of pilots, sailors and crew man, along with fishermen. It is interesting to note that none other than the great Christopher Columbus was also one to witness an uncommon phenomenon. The incident has been reported in his diaries. Christopher Columbus wrote in his memoirs on how his compass acted strangely while sailing through the Bermuda Triangle. He along with another shipmate witnessed a glowing globe of light that seemed to hover over the sea. Another major witness to such a phenomenon was Gerome Cook, the great sailor of the fifteenth century. Several witnesses have reported a strange cloud or fog, hovering around the area. It is said that when strange clouds or fog enter the Bermuda Triangle, strange things start happening. Such a phenomenon has been witnessed with the Philadelphia Experiment in which the USS Eldridge vanished and reappeared later miles away, with some of the crew men wrapped into the hull of the ship. A number of incidents have been reported in the past, in regard to people disappearing into a strange mist around this area, without a trace. In 1901 Anne Moberly & Eleanor Jourdain stepped into a mist and claimed to arrive at a time period before the French Revolution. It is said, that the mist and the ominous clouds might be the key to time travel or entering other dimensions. Great pilots like Charles Lindbergh have also said to witness this unusual phenomenon, while they were traveling through the Bermuda triangle. It is said

that when Charles Lindbergh was making a nonstop flight from Havana to St. Louis his magnetic compass started rotating. His Earth-inductor-compass needle jumped back and forth erratically. This has now all been revealed in his autobiography. Even a great pilot like Charles Lindbergh witnessed unusual events while flying in the reaches of the Bermuda Triangle. Another eyewitness account is that of Bruce Gernon, who flew his plane, a Bonanza A36 into the Bermuda Triangle and encountered a non-threatening mile and a half long cloud. As he neared, the cloud seemed to come alive. It became huge and engulfed his plane. However, a tunnel opened up in the cloud and he went through this tunnel. The tunnel had cloud trails swirling around his plane. He also reported that while going into this tunnel, he experienced zero gravity and the only thing keeping him in the cockpit was his seatbelt. Such incidents are some of the few famous eyewitness accounts of people facing strange phenomenon in the area.

Conclusion Do the Bermuda Triangle’s special powers exist? Are there really aliens and black holes within the area? No one can answer this, but the next of kin of those who perished and disappeared in the area will tell you that it exists, but scientists and investigators will tell you it does not. True enough, many aircrafts and ships do disappear in the Bermuda Triangle, but does that mean anything? Does that mean that there are mysterious forces within the area? You decide.

REFERENCE http://ezinearticles.com/search/?q=bermuda+triangle http://www.bermudatrianglemystery.net/bermuda-triangle theories http://www.crystalinks.com/bermuda_triangle.html

BERMUDA TRIANGLE