In May of this year, according to many media reports, a mysterious vessel materialized in the waters of the Caribbean. It originated west of Havana, in a no-navigation zone. The Cuban authorities tried to contact the ship, but to no avail. I had to send three patrol boats to intercept.
Their crews saw a huge 100-year-old cargo steamer sailing under the American flag. And when the military boarded, they did not find a single person. The logbook indicated that the ship found was the SS Cotopaxi steamer, which left Charleston with a cargo of coal … November 29, 1925. And the last entry in the logbook is dated December 1, 1925. For nearly 90 years, SS Cotopaxi has been reported missing in the waters of the Bermuda Triangle. And so the ship returned.
This story was published by many world media outlets, including Russian ones. Well, of course - Bermuda, the mysterious triangle where ships disappear! And only the most inquisitive have unearthed that the first message was posted by the American portal World News Daily Report, which specializes in making up funny news. Another attempt to unwind the Bermuda Triangle has failed.
Carelessness is the mother of legend
American researcher Lawrence Kusche conducted a whole study and found that almost 90 percent of all mystical cases in this area are either fictional or have a rational explanation. At least those where the year of the incident and the name of the vessel are known. Others took place outside of Bermuda.
One of the most famous stories is connected with the disappearance of five Avenger torpedo bombers in December 1945. According to legend, the planes were flown by 14 experienced pilots and disappeared from the radar in clear weather. But, according to Kushe, the cadets went on the flight, a storm broke out at sea, and the only experienced pilot was not familiar with the geography of the area. He just got lost. When, on his order, the Avengers tried to land on the water, they were covered with a storm surge.
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Another striking example is the ghost ship "Rosalie", which was discovered in August 1840 near the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau. Kusche studied the dates, the routes, consulted the bulletin of Lloyd's insurance company. The answer was found in it! On August 3, 1840, the ship ran aground in the Bahamas. The passengers and crew were evacuated, and at high tide the ship ran aground and was carried into the ocean.
“The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a fabricated hoax,” concluded Lawrence Kouche. - It arose as a result of carelessly conducted investigations, and then was modified by authors who, with or without intent, used incorrect theories, erroneous documentation and all kinds of sensational "revelations." This legend was repeated so often that it began to be perceived as something authentic.
Currents are to blame for storms
Supporters of anomalous versions count almost 140 mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda area. And the first of them happened already in 1502! Then the "devil's triangle" allegedly swallowed 27 caravels at once. And, they say, every year Bermuda is becoming more voracious.
If we take these words on faith, then over 500 years in the Bermuda Triangle a good third of the entire world fleet should have disappeared. But until 1964, no one suspected a black hole in the Caribbean. This place became a mystery with the light hand of the writer Vincent Gaddis, who published an article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" in one of the American journals on spiritualism.
Since then, the triangle has been studied inside and out. And it turned out that ships and planes disappear in it no more often than in any other point of the ocean. Although the weather here is extremely nasty and unsuitable for navigation: storms are constantly raging and fogs hang. But it is not the colonies of aliens at the bottom that are to blame (as some researchers assure), but strong currents.
As many as six major currents collide in this area - the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic, Florida, North and South Passat and Mezhpassatnoe. And also several dozen small currents. Due to the temperature difference, fogs and pressure drops arise, which lead to storms.
Monsters at the bottom
Many are convinced that the Bermuda Triangle has portals to other worlds or dimensions.
Researchers almost completely confirm another myth about Bermuda: sea monsters really live at the bottom of the triangle. But not giant kraken-killers, but "only" four-meter sharks and huge moray eels.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau studied the marine life of Bermuda almost 30 years ago. His expedition discovered many deep-water caves at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, which were chosen by a wide variety of inhabitants.
“As your eyes get used to the darkness, you gradually begin to notice that the cave is full of movement,” English biologist Charles Shepard, professor of biological sciences at the University of Warwick, describes diving into one of these caves. - Sharks can sleep there, especially nurse sharks. It is a relatively harmless shark with a small mouth that feeds on shellfish. But she is easily aroused and large enough that she can reward you with a fair amount of bruises if you disturb her and she suddenly rushes out of the cave.
Perhaps, somewhere in the depths of the caves, animals unknown to science are also hiding. But it would hardly occur to serious biologists to blame them for the disappearance of the ships.
CHRONICLE OF THE DEATED SHIPS
The most famous missing
Those who believe in the mysticism of Bermuda give their arguments. Here are just a few incidents for which no rational explanation has been found. For now, anyway.
- 1872: the mystery of "Mary Celeste". The empty brigantine was found by sailors from the ship "Dea Gratia". According to their stories, there was not a soul on the ship, although some food was still being cooked on the stove and the coffee in the cups did not even have time to cool down.
- March 1978: Disappearance of an American KA-6 bomber during a training flight. The plane was in contact with the aircraft carrier "John F. Kennedy", but as soon as it entered the triangle zone, the connection was cut off. Searches for the plane were unsuccessful.
- April 13, 1925: SOS signal from the Japanese steamer Raifuku Maru. The radio operators of all the ships nearby heard the call for help: “It's like a dagger blow! Help, hurry! Rather, we will not be saved! But the radio operator from the Raifuku Maru did not have time to explain what was happening. The connection was cut, the ship was not found.
- December 5, 1946: the mystery of the schooner City Bell. An absolutely intact ship was found near the Bahamas. None of the crew were on board, but all the lifeboats were hanging in their places.
