What could be the reason for a crew of seven — along with their well-regarded captain and his wife and young daughter — to abandon a seaworthy ship, leaving behind a full cargo, food, and supplies? That is the enduring mystery of the Mary Celeste, a two-masted brigantine that set sail from New York City on November 7, 1872. Bound for the Italian port of Genoa, the ship was loaded with 1,700 barrels of denatured alcohol.
On December 4, the Canadian ship Dei Gratia found the Mary Celeste drifting near the Azores islands, its main lifeboat
missing but cargo and personal belongings undisturbed. Although suffering some minor damage, the craft was sound. Part of the crew from the Dei Gratia sailed it to Gibraltar, where a full investigation was launched. Lurid suspicions about pirates and mutiny and suggestions of giant sea monsters were in abundance, and even Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle chimed in with a short story attributing the disappearance to a vengeful formerly enslaved person. No evidence was found of foul play — nor of any other solid reason for the ship to be abandoned.
Media Release/InterestingFacts.com
