What Happened to the Mary Celeste?

“What Happened to the Mary Celeste?”

On November 7, 1872, the 282-ton brigantine MaryCeleste set sail from New York Harbor on its way to Genoa, Italy. On board were the ship’s captain, Benjamin S. Briggs, his wife, Sarah, and their 2-year-old daughter, Sophia, along with eight crewmembers. Less than a month later, on December 5, a passing British ship called DeiGratia spotted MaryCeleste at full sail and adrift about 400 miles east of the Azores, with no sign of the captain, his family or any of the crew. Aside from several feet of water in the hold and a missing lifeboat, the ship was undamaged and loaded with six months’ worth of food and provisions.

• Based on the wording and surrounding context clues above, the word provisions best means . . .
  ______.

MaryCeleste had a shadowy past. Originally christened Amazon, it was given a new name after a series of mishaps (including the sudden illness and death of its first captain and a collision with another ship in the English Channel). An investigation into the payment by its insurers to the DeiGratia’s crew for salvaging the “ghost ship” found no evidence of foul play. MaryCeleste would sail under different owners for 12 years before its last captain deliberately ran it aground in Haiti as part of an attempted insurance fraud. In 2001, best-selling novelist and adventurer Clive Cussler claimed to have found the wreck of MaryCeleste, but later analysis of the timbers retrieved from the ship he found showed the wood was still living at least a decade after MaryCeleste sank.

• The article states that Mary Celeste had a “shadowy past . . . after a series of mishaps.” It doesn’t say it directly, but you could infer that many sailors might have thought the ship was ______. (adjective)

Meanwhile, one of the most famous maritime mysteries in history endures: Why would an experienced captain such as Briggs, or his sailors, abandon a perfectly sound ship? Theories over the years have ranged from mutiny and pirate attack to assault by giant octopus or sea monster, while the more scientifically minded proposed an explosion caused by fumes from the 1,700 barrels of crude alcohol in the ship’s hold. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even weighed in with a short story published in 1884, in which the inhabitants of the ghost ship fell victim to an ex-slave seeking vengeance. On the less-sensationalized end, an investigation chronicled in the 2007 documentary “The True Story of the Mary Celeste” was able to offer no definite conclusion, but did suggest a scenario in which a faulty chronometer, rough seas and a clogged onboard pump could have led Briggs to order the ship abandoned shortly after sighting land on November 25, 1872. According to the last entry in the ship’s log book, made that morning, MaryCeleste was within sight of the Azores island of Santa Maria, some 500 miles from where the DeiGratia would find it nine days later.

• What is the main idea of this article?

1. The crew members of the Dei Gratia found the Mary Celeste without any of its crew and missing some navigational equipment.
2. Traveling across the Atlantic Ocean during the 19th Century was often very dangerous.
3. The disappearance of the Mary Celeste's crew is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in sea history.

• What are two details supporting your main idea? (Copy straight from the text)
• ______
• ______
• The first investigation into the whereabouts of the Mary Celeste looked into the crewmembers of the ship that found her, the Dei Gratia. We can infer that the investigators might have been ______of the Dei Gratia’s crew.
  A. Proud B. Suspicious C. Grateful D. Apologetic
• Based on the wording and surround context clues, the word maritime best means . . .
  A. Disastrous B. Tragic C. Related to sea-travel D. Unreliable
• Why do you think some people believed in some outlandish theories like giant sea monsters or octopuses? ______
  ______
  ______

"Seaquake theory"

The story of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found adrift in the Atlantic in 1872 with no sign of the crew, is well known and many theories have been proposed to account for the mystery. (The ship’s name is often incorrectly spelled as Marie Celeste, and for this we must thank Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote a short story based on the mystery.)

One of the most popular theories suggests that the cargo of 1,700 barrels of industrial alcohol became unstable and likely to explode, causing Captain Briggs, his wife, his daughter and his crew to abandon ship.

However, a recent paper by Captain David Williams in the Marine Observersuggests another possibility. Could a “seaquake” — an earthquake in the sea-bed that would cause shock waves to travel to the surface of the sea — have caused the terror that prompted the abandonment?

The Mary Celeste was found by the British brigantine Dei Gratia, whose captain reported that the galley stove had apparently been lifted from the galley deck and set down away from the chocks that held it tight against movement in heavy seas. The ship’s planking had sustained some damage, the wooden compass stand had been knocked over and some of the alcohol barrels appeared to have been loosened by vibration.

This would seem to indicate some sudden violent movement of the vessel, which could be consistent with the Mary Celeste being struck by a seaquake. Little appears to be known about seaquakes, particularly their frequency of occurrence, unless they also cause a tsunami, which can be defined as the waves from a seaquake which have reached land.

However, after nearly 140 years, we are unlikely ever to solve the Mary Celeste mystery.

"Cargo Theory"

Merchant vessel Mary Celeste was discovered floating unmanned and abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean on December 4th, 1872. The ship had been at sea for over a month when found, and reportedly still had over six months’ worth of food and supplies on board.

Cargo and personal belongings of the crew were found untouched – including valuables – although a lifeboat was missing. The fate of the Mary Celeste’s crew remains unknown to this day, feeding the legend of the archetypal ghost ship.

Perhaps the most plausible theory is that the nine empty barrels of alcohol had leaked, spilling alcohol and possibly creating a fire or explosion. The theory goes on to say that perhaps the captain and crew evacuated to the lifeboat and towed themselves behind the Mary Celeste in observation with the intent of waiting to see if the entire ship would explode. At some point during this observation, they became separated from the Mary Celeste and ultimately were lost at sea and perished.

Lending credibility to this suggestion was the fact there were nine empty alcohol barrels. Coincidentally, these were constructed of red oak instead of white oak like the others. Today, we know red oak is sponge like and more likely to leak vapor. This would have allowed alcohol vapor to collect in the hold. Any spark could have acted as a catalyst, or a starter, for a magnificent explosion. Though the ship was found undamaged, it is thought that the crew was perhaps more concerned about the threat of explosion given the leaky barrels and decided to abandon the ship.

From here pure speculation fills in the details: Captain Briggs ordered the hold to be opened to inspect the cargo. Upon opening the hold, a violent rush of fumes and steam blow out. Believing his ship about to explode, Captain Briggs ordered everyone into the lifeboat with the instructions to follow the Mary Celeste on a tow line. Only the line wasn’t secured well and in the next set of harsh sea conditions, it was separated from the Mary Celeste.

The captain and crew would have died from hunger, thirst, or exposure. Of course, the major flaw in this theory is the fact the main hold was found locked and secured by the crew of the Dei Gratia. Handlers who unloaded the barrels of alcohol later did not report smelling any vapors or fumes. Lastly, there were no traces of the alcohol from the nine empty barrels, and what happened to the alcohol is just as much a mystery as what happened to the crew.

"Pirate Theory"

"The Mary Celeste was [retrieved] by the British brig Dei Gratia, Capt. Morehouse, who left New York about the middle on November. The hull of the Celeste was found in good condition, and safely towed into Gibraltar, where she has since remained.

The general opinion is that there has been foul play on board, as spots of blood on the blade of a sword, in the cabin, and on the rails, with a sharp cut on the wood, indicate force or violence having been used, but how or by whom is the question. Soon after the vessel was picked up, it was considered possible that a collision might have taken place. Had this been the case, and the brig’s officers and crew saved, they would have been commended. We trust that if any of New England’s shipmasters can give any information or hint of strange boats or sailors landing at any of the islands during the past ninety days, that they will see the importance thereof."

There was a huge concern about piracy, and the US government even issued a warning of them to customs officers:

It is thought that the vessel was abandoned by the crew between the 25th day of November and the 5th day of December, and that they either perished at sea, or, more likely, escaped on some vessel bound for some North or South American port or the West India Islands. When discovered the derelict vessel was thoroughly sound, with the exception of the bows, which had been impaired by some sharp instrument. She was well found and provisioned, and no reason for her desertion was apparent. A sword, with the appearance of blood thereon, was on board, and marks of blood were found upon the sails. The vessel’s documents and chronometer have not been found, but almost the whole of the personal effects of the master and his wife and child, and of the crew, were discovered in a good condition, and books, trinkets, gold lockers, and female wearing apparel of superior quality, were left untouched in the cabin. The log was complete of the 24th of November. Many other details concerning the matter are in possession of the Department, and will be furnished on application if necessary."

Mary Celeste created an international incident. The June 27, 1873 Timaru Herald (New Zealand) ponders the open questions: "Where was the captain? What had become of the crew? The brigantine was sound above and below, and had apparently encountered no bad weather. No injury had been sustained by the furniture and stores; the seamen’s chests and clothing were in their places and clothing were in their places and perfectly dry, the razors even being free from rust; a small bottle of oil used for a sewing machine was found in a perpendicular position, with a thimble and reel of cotton near it; an harmonium was in the cabin, the music and other books untouched: and last of all, the effects found were of considerable value, and proved that a lady and child had been on board."

We will probably never know what happened to the people aboard the Mary Celeste.

(seaquake theory)

(barrel theory)