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ghost ships |
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and mysteries on the sea |
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Some ships seem to be cursed, or at best plagued with bad luck. The best known example of this was the AMAZON, christened in 1861 in Nova Scotia - within 48 hours the captain suddenly died ! On its maiden voyage Amazon hit a fishing weir badly damaging its hull. While being repaired a fire boke out on board , and not long after being repaired (again) during its third atlantic crossing Amazon collided with another ship. In 1867 the ill fated Amazon was wrecked of the Newfoundland coast and was abandonded for salvagers. However...............this ship still had a date with destiny to fulfill. Amazon was raised and restored by a US company and sailed south to be sold.
It was purchased, in 1872, by experienced Captain Benjamin S. Briggs, who set sail for Europe with his wife, daughter, 7 members of crew and a full cargo....now it was renamed the MARY CELESTE ! |
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On 3rd December 1872, the Dei Gracia, en route from New York to Gibraltar came across the Maty Celest floating unmaned 600 miles west of Portugal. The ship was in perfect condition, the sails were set and its cargo of 1700 barrels of alcohol untouched (except for one barrel that had been opened). A meal was laid out on the table, the crews personal belongings were intact, but of the Captain, his family and crew there was no sign ! There was no evidence of a struggle, violence, a storm or any other kind of disturbance. Its last log entry was on 24th November and gave no suggestion of amything amiss ............ the fate of the souls on the Marie Celeste remains a mystery to this day. |
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Without doubt the most famous ghost ship is THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (the name refers to the Captain, not the ship itself). Captain Hendrick Vanderdercken set sail in 1680 from Amsterdam heading for the Dutch East Indies, the ship encounterded a sever storm as it rounded the Cape of Good Hope. He chose to ignore the warnings of his crew and continued into the ferocious storm. The crew and passengers, convinced the storm was a sign of impending doom sent from above, attempted a mutiny. Vanderdercken, put the leaders to death, cast them over the side and continued on his heading. |
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The ship foundered and was lost with all hands. The legend states Vanderdercken was cursed as punishment to sail the waters near the Cape for eternity.
The first recorded sighting was in 1835 when a British warship reported a phantom ship approaching just ahead of a coming storm, the captain stated he "feared the ships would collide they were so close", and then it suddenly vanished. In 1881 2 members of another British warship sighted the spectre, and the next day one fell to his death.
In 1939 the ship was reported by dozens of bathers on a beach who provided a detailed desciption of the vessel - it was a 17th century merchantman!
The last recorded sighting was in 1942 off the Cape coast, 4 witnesses reported seeing it sail into Table Bay and..........vanish ! |
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Understandable to vanish in the expanse of the ocean, but the great lakes? In 1679 THE GRIFFON left Green Bay in Lake Michigan........and vanished without trace. However in the following years many sailors reported seeing her afloat on the Lake ! |
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And not all are historical occurances, in 1975 the SS EDMUND FITZGERALD an ore carrier sank with the loss ofall 26 hands in a storm on Lake Superior. 10 years later it was sighted by the crew of another merchant ship. |
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click image to
Return to |
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or visit |
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Surely not in a river ? In 1872 the mississippi riverboat SS IRON MOUNTAIN sailed from Vicksburg with a cargo of bailed cotton and molasses in barrels stored on deck, and, towing a line of barges. Later that day another ship found the barges drifting, it appeared the towline had been cut, it waited for the Iron Mountain to come and retreive them, it never arrived !
It had simply vanished none of the crew or passengers were ever seen or heard from again, no wreckage was ever found, and no debris or personal belongings were ever washed ashore,
To this day the fate ot the ship and its passengers remains a mystery. |
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