The Bermuda Triangle wouldn't be complete without a story on the Mary Celeste. It was a 103 foot Brigantine displacing 282 tons. It was found, floating and completely abandoned, by the crew of the Dei Gratia on December 4, 1872. Both ships had taken on cargo in New York the previous month. The Mary Celeste was sailing for Genoa on November 7, and the Dei Gratia was to head-out a week later for Gibraltar. The Dei Gratia sighted the ship sailing erratically. When the Captain went to investigate, he found that the only life boat had been launched, yet the ship was in perfect shape, with sails set. Numerous stories about the Celeste abound; the stories cover everything from a bloody swords under the Captain's bed to strange vortices sucking off the crew, to an underground world. The part I like best is where the table was set for dinner but the only living soul on board was a dog..
Fact 1: The ship was never in the Triangle. Its course was north of the Triangle and it was found drifting by the Dei Gratia between the Azores and Portugal. See Map
Fact 2: The ship had taken on some water and the Dei Gratia had run into several winter storms on the way across the Atlantic. It is reasonable to assume the same of the Mary Celeste. Most likely the crew launched the life boat, fearing the ship would sink and then were probably lost at sea in the life boat. It wouldn't be the first or last time that a ship was abandoned in rough water only NOT to sink. Other non-fantastic theories include an insurance scams, and mutiny
Fact 3: Did I mention that this didn't even happen in the Bermuda Triangle. Several of the incidents claimed of the Triangle occurred somewhere else in the world, some as far away as the Indian Ocean.
