Mary Celeste

It’s a mystery

A MYSTERY SHIP

The American ship Mary Celeste, found abandoned in the midAtlantic in 1872, is one of the most famous of the mystery ships. On December 4th of that year, about 400 miles off the coast of Portugal, a lookout on the English ship Dei Gratia saw another ship approaching with noone on board. It was the Mary Celeste which had left New York harbour with a cargo of alcohol on November 7th, eight days ahead of the Dei Gratia. The captain of the English ship sent men to investigate and they returned pale and shaken. There was nobody, living or dead, aboard the Mary Celeste, nor was there any clue to what might have happened. There was plenty of food and water, and there was no sign of violence. A longboat was missing, as were the ship’s papers and navigation books. It was evident that the ship has been abandoned quickly, for pipes, tobacco, and the crew’s oilskins were still aboard. And on the deck of the captain’s quarters was a child’s doll. Ten people had disappeared – Captain Briggs, his wife and two-year-old daughter and a crew of seven. Numerous theories have been advanced to explain their disappearance. It has been suggested that Captain Briggs, fearing his cargo of alcohol might explode, ordered everyone into the longboat. This boat was tied to the Mary Celeste by a tow-rope and many have become separated from it in heavy seas. No-one will ever know. The fate of the passengers aboard the Mary Celeste remains one of the most baffling in the history of the sea.