When I was preparing this article, the question arose: how many percent of the world's oceans have people managed to explore at the moment? Information in individual sources is different: in numbers, this difference seems insignificant, only a few units, but on the scale of the ocean, it turns into a colossal volume of water. In general, it all boils down to the fact that the investigated part is negligible. At all times, man has striven to conquer this unknown space, at the same time bowing down and fearing its mighty power. And the capricious element did not always respond with kindness and affection to the invasion of people, and regularly drowned the "invaders" and those who "passed by" using the weapons available to it: storms, reefs, treacherous underwater currents and other delights of the open ocean.
Researchers from different countries were not too lazy, and somehow they calculated that during the time during which the king of nature is mastering the ocean, the recalcitrant waters have safely buried under their thickness more than a million of various ships. Some died in the storm, others were thrown onto a deserted shore, some "self-destroyed" due to fire and other manifestations of philanthropy, like pirates. Several centuries ago, certain statistics were summed up: in 1829, Great Britain registered 18,823 sailing ships, the total capacity of which exceeded 2 million tons. Of these, this year alone, 1305 ships were "written off", almost 7% of the total fleet. Similar statistics for 1881 are available in the United States: 2,193 ships have said goodbye to land forever. Most of them found peace for quite mundane reasons: stranded, fire (by the way, despite the factthat tragedies unfold on the water surface, fires on ships were not uncommon, but became much more deadly for them than for buildings on land), collisions. But among these "ordinary", although no less cruel, reasons there are unusual cases for which there is no explanation - or there are too many of them. How can you say for what reason, absolutely whole, with a good supply of fresh water and food, the ship suddenly suddenly loses all crew members, and calmly drifts in free navigation? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as experts of that time, who tried to find even the slightest convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".but became much more deadly for them than for buildings on land), collisions. But among these "ordinary", although no less cruel, reasons there are unusual cases for which there is no explanation - or there are too many of them. How can you say for what reason, absolutely whole, with a good supply of fresh water and food, the ship suddenly suddenly loses all crew members, and calmly drifts in free navigation? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as experts of that time, who tried to find even the slightest convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".but became much more deadly for them than for buildings on land), collisions. But among these "ordinary", although no less cruel, reasons there are unusual cases for which there is no explanation - or there are too many of them. How can you say for what reason, absolutely whole, with a good supply of fresh water and food, the ship suddenly suddenly loses all crew members, and calmly drifts in free navigation? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as experts of that time, who tried to find even the slightest convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".there are unusual causes for which there is no explanation - or there are too many of them. How can you say for what reason, absolutely whole, with a good supply of fresh water and food, the ship suddenly suddenly loses all crew members, and calmly drifts in free navigation? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as experts of that time, who tried to find even the slightest convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".there are unusual causes for which there is no explanation - or there are too many of them. How can you say for what reason, absolutely whole, with a good supply of fresh water and food, the ship suddenly suddenly loses all crew members, and calmly drifts in free navigation? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as specialists of that time, who tried to find an even more convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".and drifts calmly in free float? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as experts of that time, who tried to find even the slightest convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".and drifts calmly in free float? Such stories attracted the attention of both onlookers and the press, as well as experts of that time, who tried to find even the slightest convincing version of what happened - and could not. Most of the records of these cases are covered with the gray sand of time, but there are exceptions. One of them was "Maria Celeste".
We must pay tribute to the scientists who tried to understand the situation: they sincerely tried to really look at the events that began at noon on December 4, 1872. On this day, the crew of "Dei Grazia", an English barque, noticed a brigantine sailing under the American flag. As the captain of the barge, David Morehouse, noted later, some devilry was going on with the spotted ship: he often dived into the waves with his nose, and seemed to be thrown from side to side. The lowered sail confirmed that something was wrong on the ship, and soon a boat with a navigator and a couple of sailors was lowered from the Dei Grazia - they went on board an unknown brigantine, which later turned out to be Maria Celeste. The guests from the barque did not find the local crew: the ship was completely empty. The lid of the bow hold was turned over, and a meter layer of water splashed in the compartment itself.
The cargo of "Maria Celeste", 1700 barrels of alcohol, only one of which was opened and emptied by a third, was in the hold. The captain's cabin was in perfect order: maps, sailing directions, logbook - everything was in place. The last entry in the journal is dated November 24 of the same year, from which the sailors from "Dei Grazia" learned the location of the brigantine on that day - the ship was passing near the Aleutian Islands. The navigator's cabin was also dry and clean, the only thing missing was the sextant and the chronometer.
The wardroom seemed to be waiting for visitors. Arranged dishes and laid out appliances gave it a completely habitable look, as if the rightful owners had left somewhere a few hours ago and were about to return. The drawers of the tables were unlocked, and in one of them the guests of the "Maria Celeste" found two impressive wads of money: 10 pounds sterling and 20 dollars each.
No less order reigned where the brigantine's team usually lived. It was rather damp in the bow, but this did not affect the situation. The only thing that confused the seasoned sailor, navigator Devaux, was the smoking pipes of the Celeste sailors: they lay on the table, although the sea wolves parted with them only on their deathbed. Questions arose about the provisions: both it and drinking water were enough for comfortable swimming for six months. A broken compass was found on deck; the lifeboats, which, as usual, were equipped with every decent ship, were missing.
Of the damage that was revealed during the initial inspection, only the skin that had peeled off in three places was found (apparently, because of this, water entered the hold), and a scratch of unknown origin. Width and depth of about 3 cm, it stretched along the outer skin of the brigantine on both sides. It was later determined that the scratch appeared at the end of November, around the same time that the Maria Celeste team had sunk into oblivion.
… Brigantine was taken to Gibraltar, where an investigation of the deserted ship was conducted for three long months. Every day the hope was melting that at least someone from the Celeste team had survived and would make itself felt. The case was closed on March 12, 1873: the sailors from the "Dei Grazia" received 1,700 pounds, and this was the end of their role in the history of the American brigantine.
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The investigation was stopped, but this did not mean at all that there was at least some clarity in the case of the missing team. Too many contradictions and disagreements: this abundance gave rise to fertile ground for rumors and many versions of varying degrees of plausibility.
One popular option was a violent storm. If you follow it, then the inverted cover of the hold, and the water in it, and the torn sail are quite understandable. It can be assumed that people got into boats and tried to get away from the rampant elements to a safe place, but they failed. However, this version does not explain why experienced sailors traded a stable, sturdy vessel for fragile boats, in which it is much easier to go to the bottom. And in the logbooks of the ships that were not far from the Aleutian Islands that day, there was no mention of any storm.
Among other versions, an iceberg was assumed (although it is not clear how it could have influenced the disappearance of the team, moreover, it was rejected by the Geographical Society), pirates (but what about the cargo and money?), A giant squid that ate sailors (!!!) … The assumption about the temporary insanity of the captain, who interrupted the crew, threw the bodies overboard, and with the documents (for some reason forgetting the logbook), sailed away in a boat in an unknown direction looked more "solid". But it also did not find a response from the investigating authorities, as well as the fact that the team (the opposite situation), at the instigation of the owner of the ship, killed the captain and left the ship, hoping for insurance compensation after the sinking of the "Maria Celeste". However, something went wrong, and the ship did not sink, and the sailors, apparently, were scattered by the storm.
In 1940, rumors about the death of the ship had not yet completely died down - after all, in fact, the ship without a team really died. Another hypothesis was expressed by the grand-nephew of the missing captain. He suggested that alcohol vapors were to blame, due to which several explosions occurred on the ship. To protect themselves, the crew had to leave the ship for a while, moving into the boats. They expected to wait for the explosive vapors to escape from the hold, but the wind changed, and the brigantine, breaking the halyard, left its place.
1951 gave birth to another version. Dod Orsborne, a sailor, suggested the following: "Maria Celeste" might have stumbled upon a sandy alluvial island. The crew, trying to escape, went on boats towards the Azores, but apparently failed to get to them. Orsborne believed that the sailboat was not found off the coast of Mauritania, where such islands usually form, because due to a storm, and later - trade winds, it was carried to the east. It seems to be a slender theory, but one can argue with it: the sandy islands are not carried so far from the coast, and the trade winds would carry the brigantine a little in the other direction.
Not without fantastic hypotheses like alien abduction, but they are too banal. But the assumption that the team fell under the influence of infrasound is very curious. The hypothesis is as follows: because of storms and strong gusts of wind at sea, infrasonic oscillations occur with very different power. A weak infrasound can cause sensations similar to seasickness, but a strong one brings a person to anxiety, or even fainting. Some of the researchers are inclined to this version, believing that the crew of the "Mary Celeste" was seized by an unreasonable panic, because of which they left the ship.
Despite the fact that the brigantine was found, repaired and for another 12 years plowed the vastness of the ocean, it can quite legally be attributed to ghost ships. The Maria Celeste ended her voyage by crashing into reefs off the coast of Haiti.
To this day, it is unknown what happened to the missing team. I believe that we will not get to know this, as well as the details of many similar cases.