Tales of the Sea: BERMUDAS

U.S.S. Cyclops:

The most famous of the early 20th century disappearances. She vanished in March 1918 with 309 men aboard. She is the Navy’s “greatest mystery of the sea.”

Desde su partida de Barbados no ha habido rastro de la embarcación.

La desaparición de esta nave ha sido uno de los misterios más desconcertantes en los anales de la Marina ya que todos los intentos para localizar el buque resultaron infructuosos.

Muchas teorías han circulado en distintos momentos pero ninguna que de cuenta satisfactoriamente de lo ocurrido. Desde intrigas y traiciones involucrando al Capitán y otros personajes hasta su más tardía asociación con el destino de barcos y aviones en el famoso triangulo de las Bermudas.

Unos 50 marineros a bordo del USS Cyclops firmaron un petitorio en contra de su capitán, George W. Worley, acusándolo de ser borracho y no apto para el comando. Las intrigas, testimonios e hipótesis sobre el Capitán del buque forman parte del misterio y para muchos entre otra cantidad de cuestionamientos sobre su persona, incluyendo su simpatía por los Alemanes, la presencia de muchos germanos a bordo, constituyen un elemento esencial de la investigación.

ROSALIE:

Entre los casos de barcos comerciales, uno de los primeros misterios registrados en esta zona (1840) se refiere al Rosalie, un buque de bandera francesa de 222 t, construido en 1838 que se dirigía a la Habana.

Sin embargo no fue el barco el que se esfumó en esta ocasión, sino sus tripulantes y pasajeros, quedando solamente un canario.

El misterio se ahondaba porque las velas estaban desplegadas y la carga intacta, lo que descartaba un acto de piratería.

ELLE AUSTIN:

Más sorprendente aún es la aventura de la goleta norteamericana Elle Austin, ocurrida en 1881.

A mitad de camino entre las Bahamas y las Bermudas encontró otro gran velero, pero abandonado: no había a bordo el menor signo de violencia, todo estaba en perfecto orden.

Los dos navíos, el Elle Austin y el velero abandonado, con algunos tripulantes que subieron a bordo para maniobrarlo, se disponían a emprender juntos la ruta hacia Boston cuando se levantó una violenta tempestad que hizo que las dos embarcaciones perdieran todo contacto.

Después de dos días de búsqueda pudieron hallarla nuevamente, pero al abordarla se encontraron con la sorpresa de que la tripulación encargada del velero abandonado se había esfumado sin dejar rastros.

El capitán del Elle Austin era un veterano escéptico y sumamente terco. Hizo embarcar una segunda tripulación, no sin antes vencer la natural resistencia de sus subordinados, armada hasta los dientes y con orden de abandonar el barco a la menor sospecha de algo extraño.

Sorpresivamente, se desencadenó otra vez una tormenta, pero en esta ocasión más fuerte aún, y se volvió a perder contacto con el velero, esta vez para siempre. Nunca más fue encontrado ni tampoco los tripulantes que lo abordaron.

Otra versión:

el capitán Baker anoto el 15 de Julio de 1881 en el Diario de a bordo.

«Tropezamos con un barco abandonado. Sin la menor pista sobre su identidad ni su puerto de matricula o por que fue abandonado. Es posible que, por alguna razón ignorada, su tripulación pasara a otro barco.»

Era la tarde de aquel día cuando el Ellen Austin diviso una goleta de dos mástiles a toda vela, por la parte de estribor. El viento estaba en calma y el barco no hacia grandes progresos. Lo que intrigo, no obstante, al capitán Baker fue el hecho de que la misteriosa goleta no llevaba ni tenia ninguna señal de identificación.

- Cambia el rumbo - ordeno el capitán al timonel -.Deseo darle el alto.

Cuando se iba estrechando la distancia entre los dos barcos, el capitán Baker estudiaba ansiosamente la cubierta de la extraña goleta.

- ¡Ahoy! ¡Ahoy! - grito el capitán poco después , - ¿Que barco llevas?

Pero a sus gritos solo respondió el rumor de oleaje del mar. A Baker no le gusto la situación y decidió aclararla al punto. Ordeno arriar uno de los botes y se dispuso a abordar al extraño y silencioso barco. Con el sol brillando alto en el cielo, el y otros 2 miembros de la tripulación registraron la goleta de proa a popa. Lo encontraron todo en orden y en buen estado. No había señales de violencia ni de una partida apresurada. Además, todos los salvavidas estaban asegurados, lo que indicaba que nadie había intentado servirse de ellos. Y naturalmente el barco estaba abandonado. Aunque los tres marinos del Ellen Austin recorrieron completamente el barco identificado, no hallaron el menor indicio humano.

El capitán Baker estaba estupefacto. ¿Dónde podía estar la tripulación? ¿Los había arrojado del barco algo misterioso y desconocido? ¿Habían abordado otro buque por alguna razón ignorada? Y ¿por que habrían de hacerlo? Los conocimientos marinos del capitán no pudieron aportarle ninguna explicación que pudiera satisfacer esta curiosidad. Al fin se limito a atoar el barco abandonado hacia Boston.

Sin embargo, el 20 de Julio una tormenta separo a ambos barcos y el Ellen Austin, temporalmente, perdió de vista a su compañero de travesía, y transcurrieron dos días antes de que el barco abandonado volviese a ser avistado. Baker volvió a aproximarse a el y llamo a los hombres que había llevado a bordo de aquel para ejecutar algunas maniobras durante la travesía.

- ¡Ahoy! ¿Todo va bien?

Como la otra vez, la respuesta fue un silencio absoluto. Con la terrible sensación de estar viviendo una pesadilla, el capitán se dirigió al barco una vez mas y lo registro de proa a popa, de babor a estribor. ¡El barco estaba de nuevo desierto!. Llenos de pánico, algunos tripulantes acudieron al lado del capitán con visiones de monstruos marinos o demonios desencadenados, urgiéndole a retirarse de allí.

-¡Salgamos de este barco maldito antes de que perezcamos todos! - Grito uno.

- ¡Quietos! - ordeno el capitán -. ¡Este barco maldito no puede arredrarme! Lo llevare a puerto y ustedes me acompañaran.

- El Ellen Austin estuvo a punto de padecer un motín, pero Baker supo mantener a raya a sus hombres. Tras escoger a los más valientes de la tripulación, los envío a la goleta, dándoles mosquetones para su defensa.

- No teman - aseguro -, nosotros estaremos siempre a una distancia prudente.

Fiel a su palabra, el capitán mantuvo siempre a los dos barcos solo a unos cables de distancia entre si durante los días siguientes. El destino, sin embargo, estaba decidido a intervenir otra vez. El 4 de Agosto estalla otra tormenta que asusto tremendamente a los hombres del otro barco. Desesperadamente intentaron mantenerse en contacto con el Ellen Austin, gritando a pleno pulmón. Pero a medida que aumentaba la lluvia decrecía la visibilidad y la goleta no tardo en perderse de vista. Unos minutos mas tarde, los truenos y la lluvia ahogaron los gritos de aquellos marineros.

Cuando al fin se aplaco el furor de los elementos, el Ellen Austin empezó a buscar a la goleta. La buscaron durante cuatro días, mientras el capitán luchaba contra el histerismo de su tripulación. Eventualmente, Baker se vio obligado a continuar rumbo a Boston, sin haber hallado el menor rastro de la goleta perdida. Simplemente, se había desvanecido y nunca volvió a ser avistada.

H.M.S. ATALANTA:

HMS Atalanta was a 26-gun frigate of the Royal Navy launched in 1844 at Pembroke as Juno. She was renamed Mariner in January 1878 and then Atalanta two weeks later.

Atalanta was serving as a training ship when in 1880 she disappeared with her entire crew after setting sail from Bermuda for Falmouth, England on 31 January 1880. It was presumed that she sank in a powerful storm which crossed her route a couple of weeks after she sailed.

COTOPAXI:

Desaparecido en 1925. Era un barco que hacía su ruta comercial entre Charleston y la Habana. Desaparecido cerca de Cuba.

Cotopaxi: Storm warnings had already been hauled down before she sent her last enigmatic message. She vanished without trace on December 1, 1925.

The S.S. Cotopaxi [1] was a tramp steamer named after the Cotopaxi stratovolcano, and lost under mysterious circumstances in December 1925, while en route from Charleston, South Carolina, USA, to Havana, Cuba.

The Cotopaxi, under the command of a Capt. Meyers, reported by radio that it was listing and had water in its hold, and was never seen again. All 32 crew were apparently lost. Although the last radio transmission seems to indicate that there is little doubt that the ship sank, it has since been connected to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.

The ship appears in the special edition of the 1977 science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, deposited in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, though the ship in the film and the real-life Cotopaxi do not look alike.

Bermuda Triangle: Ship Reappears 90 Years After Going Missing

Havana| The Cuban Coast Guard announced this morning, that they had intercepted an unmanned ship heading for the island, which is presumed to be the SS Cotopaxi, a tramp steamer which vanished in December 1925 and has since been connected to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.

The Cuban authorities spotted the ship for the first time on May 16, near a restricted military zone, west of Havana. They made many unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the crew, and finally mobilized three patrol boats to intercept it.

When they reached it, they were surprised to find that the ship was actually a nearly 100-year old steamer identified as the Cotopaxi, a name famously associated with the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. There was no one on board and the ship seemed to have been abandoned for decades, suggesting that this could actually be the tramp freighter that disappeared in 1925.

An exhaustive search of the ship led to the discovery of the captain’s logbook. It was, indeed, associated with the Clinchfield Navigation Company, the owners of the SS Cotopaxi, but hasn’t brought any clue concerning what happened to the ship over the last 90 years.

Cuban expert, Rodolfo Salvador Cruz, believes that the captain’s logbook is authentic. This document is full of precious information concerning the life of the crew before the ship’s disappearance, but the entries stop suddenly on December 1, 1925.

On 29 November 1925, the SS Cotopaxi departed Charleston, South Carolina, and headed towards Havana, Cuba. The ship had a crew of 32 men, under the command of Captain W. J. Meyer, and was carrying a cargo of 2340 tons of coal. It was reported missing two days later, and was unheard of for almost 90 years.

The Vice President of Council of Ministers, General Abelardo Colomé, announced that the Cuban authorities were going to conduct a thorough investigation to elucidate the mystery of the ship’s disappearance and reappearance.

“It is very important for us to understand what happened” says General Colomé. “Such incidents could be really bad for our economy, so want to make sure that this kind of disappearance doesn’t happen again. The time has come to solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, once and for all.”

The Bermuda Triangle is a loosely defined region covering the area between Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda, where dozens of ships and planes have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Popular culture has attributed many of the disappearances to paranormal and supernatural phenomena, or to the activity of extraterrestrial beings. One explanation, even pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis.

Despite the popularity of all these strange theories, most scientists don’t even recognize the existence of the Bermuda Triangle, and blame human mistakes and natural phenomena for the disappearances.

The mysterious reappearance of the SS Cotopaxi has, however, already generated a lot of interest in the scientific community and could push some experts to change their mind on the subject.

ANGLO AUSTRALIAN:

Anglo Australian: Signaled “all well” before she vanished in 1938. Captain Parslow was in command of 34 men. Anglo-Australian: Desaparecido en marzo de 1938. Era un carguero que lanzó su último mensaje desde las islas Azores. Desapareció con 39 hombres a bordo. * 1938: se hunde el HMS Angloaustralian en las islas Azores (a más de 4000 km del Triángulo), después de emitir «en la tarde hemos pasado Fayal. Todo bien». * 1942: el submarino francés Surcouf es embestido por el carguero estadounidense Thompson Lykes cerca del Canal de Panamá (a unos 1800 km del Triángulo). SUDUFFCO: Sailing the busy route to Panama, but no ship ever found a trace of her. 1926 1926: se hunde el SS Suduffco, debido a un huracán (un capitán que salió en su búsqueda lo llamó «el peor clima que he visto en mi vida») SS SAMKEY * 1948: se hunde el SS Samkey (Berlitz dice que se hundió en 1943, pero ese fue el año de inauguración). Dio su posición: 41° 48’ N 24° O (200 km al noreste de Azores, y a 4200 km al noreste del Triángulo). Sólo transmite: «Todo va bien». SANDRA: Sandra vanished along her course to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela from Savannah, Georgia, 1950

El GLORIA COLITE:

Desaparecido en febrero de 1940. Era un yate de Saint Vincent, en las Antillas británicas. Apareció sin nadie a bordo, pero con todos sus aposentos y cargamento en orden, estando a 320 kilómetros al sus de Mobile, Atlanta.

FREYA:

Desaparecido el 4 de octubre de 1902. Era un gran buque alemán que fue encontrado en el mismo mes de octubre cerca de Manzanillo, en Cuba, de donde había salido el día 3 de ese mes. Había desaparecido toda la tripulación

Octubre de 1902: Freya, un buque alemán fue hallado poco después de salir de Manzanillo, en Cuba, mostrando una fuerte inclinación hacia un costado, sólo con una parte de sus mástiles y con el ancla colgando; el calendario de la cabina del capitán señalaba el 4 de octubre, el día siguiente al de su salida.

CARROLL DEERING:

The Sch. Carroll A. Deering taken on January 29, 1921, just two days before the mysterious wreck on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Strange Case Of The Carroll A. Deering

By James Donahue

It was on Jan. 31, 1921 that a passing ship reported an unidentified five-masted schooner hard aground on Diamond Shoals, North Carolina.

The Coast Guard responded and found that the ill-fated ship was the Carroll A. Deering, its sails still set, food in the state of preparation in the galley, but there was no trace of the ship’s 11-member crew. And thus began a story that has become one of the great mysteries of the sea.

Not only does the Deering story compare to another famous mystery ship, the Mary Celeste, found adrift without a crew off the coast of France, but there are implications of a Bermuda Triangle kind of event.

It seems that at the time the Deering’s crew mysteriously disappeared, marine investigators discovered that nine other ships also disappeared without a trace in that same area at about the same time.

The information went all the way to the White House and prompted President Herbert Hoover to order a special investigation.

In spite of efforts by top government investigators, not only by the United States but by nations where many of the lost ships originated, the fate of the Deering’s crew and the nine missing ships, was never learned.

Those lost ships were identified as follows:

--The S.S. Hewitt, Captain Hans Jacob Hansen, with a crew of 42, carrying sulphur from Sabine, Texas to Portland, Maine. It was last heard from on Jan. 25. The ship’s course and speed would have put it in the same area as the Deering.

--The steamship Monte San Micelle of Italy, on route from the United States to Europe.

--The steamship Esperanza de Larrinaga of Spain, also traveling from the U.S. to Europe.

--The tanker Ottawa, Captain Williams and a crew of 33, disappeared after sailing from Norfolk for Manchester, England, on Feb. 2 with 3,600 tons of reduced Mexican fuel oil.

--Cargo ship Steinsund.

--Italian cargo ship Florino.

--Norwegian cargo ship Svartskog.

--Danish bark Albun.

--Steamship Yute

All of these vessels vanished in late January or early February. The last heard from any of them was a radio message between the Ottawa and another ship, the Dorington Court, on Feb. 6, 1921.

The incident made headlines at the time.

A New York Times story on June 23 suggested that the ships were all victims of modern day pirates.

The pirate story had its origins from a story by Christopher Columbus Gray who reported on April 11 that he found a note in a bottle at Buxton Beach, North Carolina.

The note read: “Deering captured by oil burning boat something like chaser.

Taking off everything handcuffing crew, crew hiding all over ship no chance to make escape. Finder please notify headquarters Deering.”

Investigation revealed that the bottle was manufactured at Rio de Jenario, and the handwriting matched the handwriting of Herbert Bates, the Deering’s engineer.

It thus was considered an authentic note from the crew of the Deering. This prompted an order by the president for the Navy to search for the oil burning boat that attacked the Deering.

In the end, Christopher Gray confessed that he wrote the note and that the whole affair was a hoax.

Also it was learned that there was a severe hurricane sweeping the Atlantic in February, 1921, and that all of the missing ships probably steamed right into the storm. But this does not explain what happened to the crew of the Deering.

An investigation aboard the wreck before the Deering broke up in storms revealed some interesting clues.

Authorities said there was evidence that the captain of the Deering, Willis B. Wormell, may have been murdered in a mutiny aboard ship and that someone else was keeping the ship’s log. While the log was missing, there was a distinct change in the handwriting found on a wall map marking the progress of the Deering beginning on January 23.

Also, it was learned that Wormell confided in another captain, an old friend he met while in Rio de Janeiro, that his first mate, identified as Charles B. McLellan, was a trouble maker. McLellan had been hired on at the last minute as a replacement when the original mate was forced to leave the ship to attend his sick father.

When the Deering stopped at Barbados for supplies, McLellan went ashore, got drunk, and was locked up in the local jail. Captain Wormell managed to get him out of jail in time to sail. But authorities said there was obvious bad blood between the two men, and during a heated argument, McLellan threatened Wormell.

Thus McLellan became a possible instigator in the mutiny theory. This could not be proven, since none of the crew members, including McLellan, were ever found.

Whatever happened, the crew had time to pack personal belongings before leaving the ship. Also the ship’s papers, chronometer, log and all navigating instruments, including the ship’s clock were gone.

That food was found in mid-preparation in the galley suggested that an event occurred that caused the crew to make a hasty departure, however.

In the captain’s cabin was found evidence that as many as three men shared the room before the end. The spare bed was slept in. And there were three different sets of boots in the room.

The ship’s anchors were missing, but in their place were found make-shift anchors.

Red lights had been run up the mast, signaling that she was a derelict or out of control.

But why? The Deering was found on the shoal, but with all sails set. It was clear that the ship was not weathering a storm when it struck.

SS TIMANDRA:

1917: SS Timandra, que se dirigía a Buenos Aires desde Norfolk (Virginia) con una carga de carbón y una tripulación de 21 personas. No emitió ninguna señal de radio, a pesar de que tenía la capacidad para ello.

RAIFUKU MARU

* 1925 (21 de abril): Raifuku Maru (hundido con testigos en medio de una tormenta a 1063 km al norte de las islas Bermudas)

MARINE

SULPHUR QUEEN

* 1963: se hunde el Marine Sulphur Queen, probablemente al desembarcar de Dry Tortugas; cargaba azufre fundido (posiblemente sin medidas de seguridad).

WITCHCRAFT

* 1967: se hunde el crucero Witchcraft a una milla de Miami; realizó una llamada a la guarda costera, pero a los 19 minutos ya se había hundido completamente.

SPRAY

La gran habilidad del Capitán Joshua Slocum como marinero estaba más allá de la duda: (había sido el primer hombre en circunnavegar el mundo en solitario). En 1909, se embarcó en su bote Spray para atravesar el Triángulo de las Bermudas. Desapareció e incluso no hubo evidencia de que haya estado ahí. Se asumió que se hundió por una ola o por una ballena, aun cuando se suponía que el Spray era un barco resistente y Slocum un experimentado marinero; por lo tanto, en 1924 se le declaró legalmente muerto.

MILTON LATRIDES

* 1970: se hunde el carguero francés Milton Latrides cuando navegaba desde Nueva Orleans hacia Ciudad del Cabo; llevaba una carga de aceite vegetal y refresco cáustico.

ANITA

* 1972 (aunque Berlitz dice 1973): se hunden en una tormenta dos cargueros alemanes: el Anita (de 20.000 toneladas, con una tripulación de 32) y su barco gemelo, el Norse Variant (ambos con carga de carbón). Un sobreviviente de este último fue encontrado flotando en una balsa; describió la pérdida del barco en medio de un huracán. Las olas rompieron la tapa de la compuerta y hundieron rápidamente la nave.

SS SYLVIA L.OSA

* 1976: se hunde el SS Sylvia L. Ossa en un huracán al oeste de las Bermudas (fuera del triángulo).

SS HAWRDEN BRIDGE

* 1978: se encuentra abandonado al SS Hawarden Bridge en las Indias Occidentales. Se presume que se debió a un crimen cometido. Meses antes, en febrero, la Guarda Costera de los Estados Unidos lo había detenido en Cape Knox y había encontrado marihuana.

SS POET

* 1980: se hunde el SS Poet en un huracán, cuando transportaba granos hacia Egipto.

JAMANIC K

* 1995: se hunde el carguero Jamanic K (construido en 1943), tras zarpar de Cap-Haïtien.

XXX

* 1997: se hunde un yate alemán.

GENESIS

* 1999: se hunde el carguero Genesis después de zarpar del puerto de San Vicente; su carga incluía 465 toneladas de tanques de agua, tablas, hormigón y ladrillos; informó de problemas con una bomba de achique un poco antes de perder el contacto. Se realizó una infructuosa búsqueda en un área de 85 000 km2 (33.000 millas cuadradas).

ATALANTA

* Atlanta (importante buque no desaparecido; el pequeño bote desaparecido se llama Atalanta).

CONNEMARA IV

Connemara IV.

JOHN AND MARY

* John and Mary

(desaparecido en medio de una tormenta tropical; aunque Berlitz afirma que desapareció en clima normal)

STAVENGER

(barco inexistente inventado por Berlitz?).

Debe notarse que algunos de los casos listados anteriormente, que popularmente están asociados con el Triángulo de las Bermudas, realmente no estuvieron en el área del Triángulo en el momento de su desaparición.

Bermuda Triangle Resources

Bermuda Triangle - This area has a high degree of electromagnetic energy and is often thought of as a portal - vortex - or wormhole to somewhere off planet Earth. It has stirred the imagination of many writers and those who think beyond physical Earth.

Bermuda (or "Devil's") Triangle - The Bermuda Triangle (a.k.a. the Devil's Triangle) is a triangular area inPhoto credit: NASA the Atlantic Ocean bounded roughly at its points by Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico.

Un-mystery of the Bermuda Triangle - The Bermuda Triangle is a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by a line from Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to Puerto Rico and then back to Florida. It is one of the biggest mysteries of our time - that isn't really a mystery.

Premier Resource on The Bermuda Triangle Mystery - Everyone has heard of the Bermuda Triangle at one time or another. It is a phenomenon that has puzzled a great many people, it's name forever linked to the mysterious disappearances...

World Atlas Bermuda Triangle Map - The U. S. Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name and does not maintain an official file on the area. The "Bermuda or Devil's Triangle" is an imaginary area located...

Bermuda Triangle & Marine Sulphur Queen - These pages are for the 39 crew men, including my father, who were lost while traveling through the "Bermuda Triangle" on the SS MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN (MSQ), the first liquid sulfur tanker in the world...

Bermuda Triangle : Castle of Spirits - A legendary triangle of Ocean lies between 3 countries upon the Atlantic ocean. The Cities are Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale. Ships, people and aeroplanes have been reported mysteriously disappearing off the face of the earth whilst travelling inside this triangle.

The Bermuda Triangle by Geoffrey Keyte - The area of the Atlantic Ocean popularly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle is a complete enigma and has proven to be so for much of recorded history.

The Bermuda Triangle - The Bermuda Triangle has long been full of mysteries. More than 100 ships and planes have vanished there since 1945 and lost with them have been more than 1,000 lives.

A chronological database of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle - This site is a compilation of data from 1492 to 2001 on over 170 disappearances of ships, boats, planes and other phenomena which have occurred in or near (sometimes far!)the area known as "The Bermuda Triangle".

The Paranormal World : The Bermuda Triangle - In 1492, shortly before making land in the West Indies, Christopher Columbus recorded in his ship's log that he and his crew had observed a large ball of fire fall into the sea and that the ship's compass was behaving erratically.

Bermuda Triangle Fact Sheet - The "Bermuda or Devil's Triangle" is an imaginary area located off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States, which is noted for a high incidence of unexplained losses of ships, small boats, and aircraft. The apexes of the triangle are generally accepted to be Bermuda, Miami, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Bermuda Triangle - Old UFO stories never die as long as they can be resurrected every ten years or so for a new book, movie, or TV show.

The earliest registers list United States warships:

In 1780, the General Gates went missing. No British warship laid claim to sinking her.
   Long after the American War of Independence, terse entries in marine journals continued to list disappearances. Curiously, many of them are warships. A more mysterious occurrence than a merchant vessel, one might imagine, since they are sturdily built, heavily gunned, and manned by large numbers of well trained crews. In September 1799 U.S.S. Insurgent vanished, a 36 gun French built warship with 340 crew. U.S.S. Pickering on a voyage to the West Indies in 1800, around August 20. The U.S.S Wasp, which mercilessly pummeled British shipping in the War of 1812, mysteriously disappeared on a Caribbean cruise in October of 1814. This fate was rather anticlimactic to her last sighting, an engagement with the British brig Atalanta, which she won by capturing the vessel. She then sailed off on her next cruise around September 1 and was never seen again.
   The voyage of the Epervier in 1815 was an auspicious occasion. She carried the peace proposals for the War of 1812. She left Algiers for Norfolk and vanished, delaying the ending of hostilities. Here is one instance where the possible phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle could have played a crucial role in world politics.
   The U.S.S. Wildcat, with 31 crew; the schooner Lynx, with 40 men; and the schooner Hornet (which had won a notable victory over HMS Peacock in 1812) all vanished in 1824. Incidentally, the Wildcat vanished after leaving Cuba in October. All of these disappeared in or about the area delineated for the Bermuda Triangle.
   The first recorded merchant ship disappearance was in 1840, when the Rosalie vanished in the Sargasso Sea. Rosalie has often been listed as a derelict ship instead, confused with the very non mysterious drifter Rossini, and claimed to have never existed at all. However, the British Maritime Museum does hold a record of her. She was built in 1838, of 222 tons. There is still some debate whether she vanished or was found derelict. The London Times of 1840 listed her as derelict.
   Subsequent mysterious disappearances include another U.S. schooner/warship: Grampas in March of 1843 after sailing south of the Carolinas. The passenger ship City of Glasgow vanished with 400 passengers after she left New York in 1854 en route to Liverpool (taking the southern course). The disappearances of the British training brig HMS Atalanta in 1880 was considered a national catastrophe in Britain. She had departed Bermuda for home, with 290 young cadets and was never seen again. In 1909 the famous world circumnavigator, Joshua Slocum, sailed out of Miami on his treasured yawl Spray, and vanished. He was considered the finest sailor of his time.
All of these vessels, of course, disappeared in a time when the Atlantic was very big and when many times a ship would be weeks between ports. There is nothing to connect them together except general location.
   By the early 20th century, Marconi’s wireless had proven itself. Warren Tute, in his Atlantic Conquest, noted that “Wireless telegraphy was to deprive the sea of its ancient terror of silence.”
   Yet by a strange irony it only gave it a new mystery—the mystery of missing Maydays and SOS signals. All the following vessels vanished while having wireless or radio communications. None left any sound to indicate what happened. The modern terror of the sea turns out to be something more aggravating than silence: a question mark. And all were on voyages that would lead them through the Triangle.

1917, between March 6th & 27: the 1,579 gross ton freighter Timandra,
bound for Buenos Aires from Norfolk in cargo of coal. 21 crew under
Captain Lee.

1918, after March 6th– U.S.S. collier Cyclops, after leaving Barbados
for Baltimore; 309 crew and passengers under Lt. Comm. George
Worley.

1925, December 1: tramp steamer Cotopaxi; 32 crew under Captain Meyers; left Charleston, SC, for Havana, Cuba.

1926, March: freighter Suduffco sailed from New York to Los Angeles
with 4,000 tons of assorted cargo. Never arrived Panama. 29 crew. (Owner unfortunately waited about a month before reporting her overdue)

1938, March: 426-foot, 5,500 ton British freighter Anglo Australian bound from Cardiff, Wales, for British Columbia; 38 crew under Captain Parslow. Last reported herself off the Azores: “Passing Fayal this afternoon. All well.”

1940, February 4: Schooner Gloria Colita, Gulf of Mexico, found derelict and awash.

Losses in the war years cannot be counted, since so many occurred from enemy submarines and mines. Beginning after World War II:

1946, December 5: schooner City Belle, 10 persons, Bahamas, found derelict.

1948, February: 416-foot, 7,219 ton British freighter Samkey reported herself at 41o 48’ N longitude, 24o W latitude on January 31. “All well.” Crew of 43.

1948, March 6: yacht Evelyn K. is found deserted in the Florida Keys; 3 persons missing

1950, April 5: the 185-foot coaster Sandra, with a cargo of DDT, disappears in passage to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, from Savannah, Georgia.

1955, January 13: yacht Home Sweet Home, Bermuda to St. Thomas

1955, September 26: yacht Connemara IV found derelict 150 miles southeast of Bermuda.

1956, July: schooner Bounty disappears between Bimini and Miami.

1958, January 1: 44-foot yawl Revonoc vanished between Key West and Miami; 4 crew.

1960, April 16, yacht Ethel C., missing off Virginia

1961, April 5: yacht Callista III, missing Norfolk to Bahamas.

1962, schooner Evangeline

1962, November: Windfall, a 56-foot schooner left Mystic, Conn. for Bermuda; 5 crew.

1963, February 4: the 504-foot T-2 Tanker Marine Sulphur Queen, near Florida Straits; 39 crew.

1963, July 2: fishing vessel Sno Boy, between Kingston to Northeast Cay.

1964: 36-foot ketch Dancing Feathers, en route Bahamas from North Carolina.

1964, January 14: 58-foot Enchantress, 150 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.

1965, October 28: houseboat El Gato, near Great Inagua, Bahamas.

1967, December 10: Speed Artist 5 persons; Windward Islands

1967, December 22: cabin cruiser Witchcraft, Miami Harbor; 2 persons

1969, July 4: in the Sargasso Sea freighter Cotopaxi sees derelict power yacht on automatic pilot.

1969, July 12: yacht Vagabond found derelict on edge of Sargasso Sea.

1969, August: The 2 light house keepers from Great Isaac’s Rock lighthouse, near Bimini, abandon their posts without reason.

1969, November 2: cabin cruiser Southern Cross found deserted off Cape May.

1971, October 10: 339-foot cargo vessel El Caribe, missing in Caribbean Sea.

1971, October 27: fishing yacht Lucky Edur found derelict of New Jersey; 3

1971, Christmas-time: something annihilates 53-foot yacht Ixtapa, near Florida Keys.

1973, March 21: 541-foot collier s.s. Anita vanished in building hurricane off Norfolk en route to Germany.

1973, March 23: 88-foot yacht Defiance, derelict, near Cap du Mole, St. Nicholas, Haiti; 4

1974, March: 54-foot luxury yacht Saba Bank disappears while cruising Bahamas; 4 crew.

1974, July 24: yacht Dutch Treat, Miami to Cat Cay, Bahamas.

1975, April 22: 73-foot shrimper Dawn, near Smith Shoals, Key West.

1975, June 24: yacht Meridian, bound to Bermuda from Norfolk.

1975, December 2: ocean going tug Boundless is missing in the Bahamas.

1976, April: motor sailor High Flight disappears between Bimini & Miami

1976, October: the 590-foot ore carrier Sylvia L. Ossa, about 140 miles west of Bermuda; crew of 37.

1976, December 16: 40-foot sloop with 17 people between St. Kitts and Dominica.

1977, November 20: schooner L’Avenir, Maryland to Bermuda.

1979, January 2: 66-foot tug King Co-bra, near Cape Henlopen.

1980, January 12: Sea Quest sends mysterious call, navigational equipment not working. Missing with 11 persons.

1980, April: 43-foot luxury yacht Polymer III, while cruising Bahamas; 2.

1980, July 26: 38-foot sailboat Kalia III found derelict in the Exumas, Bahamas.

1980, October 26: the 520-foot s.s. Poet, in cargo of corn, Cape Henlopen, Dl., to Port Said, Egypt.

1982, July 26: American yacht Penetration found deserted north of Sargasso Sea.

1982, August 17: British yacht found deserted in Atlantic.

1983, February 26: 44-foot Sea Lure, in group of other fishing vessels while headed toward Dry Tortugas. Later found derelict.

1984, November 5\6: the 32-foot sport fishing boat Real Fine, Freeport to Fort Lauderdale. 3 persons.

1985, February 22: 25-foot pleasure boat with 2 Canadians aboard; Freeport, to West Palm Beach.

1985, May 3: 6 persons disappear in a outboard off Surf City, North Carolina.

1992, October 27: fishing vessel Mae Doris, with 4 crew, south of Cape May.

1995, March 20: Jamanic K., Motor Vessel of 357 gt; Cape Haitien to Miami.

1996, October 14: 65-foot yacht Intrepid, 30 miles off Fort Pierce, FL; 16 missing after quick Mayday.

1997, December: 23-foot Robalo, off Virginia Beach.

1998, January 2: commercial fishing vessel Grumpy found derelict.

1998, May 1: 35-foot converted sport fisher Miss Charlotte hit by force that sucked everything off deck, then sunk; crew survived. Thought to be water spout. Off North Carolina.

1998, August 10: the Erica Lynn.

1998, November: the Carolina, off Cape May

1998, November: 74-foot Interlude disappeared during cruise to Cayman Islands.

1999, April 15: Miss Fernandina, 85-foot shrimp trawler off Flagler Beach, FL. last signaled: net caught in propellor, electrical drain, listing.

1999, April 23: Motor Vessel Genesis, 196 gt, sailed Port of Spain in cargo of 465 tons brick, water tanks and concrete slabs; at 5:30 bespoke m/v Survivor. Search for vessel was 33,100 sqm.

1999. August 5: 18-foot day cruiser found derelict except for the dog. Skipper was on a 2 hour cruise; off North Carolina.

1999, November 15: 2 person in a 22-foot day cruiser between Frying Pan Shoals and Frying Pan Light.

1999, December 27, Alyson Selene found derelict 7 miles northeast of Andros, Bahamas.

2000, April, freighter Gran Rio R disappears off West Indies.

2000, August 14, fishing vessel Hemmingway is found deserted; missing crew and captain.

2001, June 22, 2001, Tropic Bird is found derelict off Antigua.

2002, September 23, freighter Fiona R missing off West Indies en route to St. Vincent.

2003, June 18, Frank and Romina Leone of West Palm Beach, Fl. vanish with their 16 foot boat off Florida.

2003, August 3, alerts go out for sailing yacht Windhome, which left Beaufort, North Carolina for Azores June 24. Overdue and reported missing.

2003, August 25, three men vanish with a 32-foot sleek-go-fast white fiberglass vessel in the Bahamas between Exumas and Mayaguana. Owner identified as Glenroy Carey.

2003, October-November, the fishing boat What’s Left turns up capsized off Cape Canaveral with body of owner aboard. the two other passengers, the Edelmanns are missing. Boat drifted 400 miles without being detected by Coast Guard. Left port in the Gulf for fishing in Florida Keys.

2003, November 25, Peanuts Too is found deserted south of Bermuda.

2004, March 23, the missing 19-foot fishing boat owned by Glenn Jamison is found by fishing vessel Chummer about 32 miles west of Egmont Key, Florida. No trace is found of Jamison. He had left the previous Sunday for daytime fishing and did not return that night. Coast Guard reports 20 knots winds and 6 foot seas.

2004, December 21, unnamed fishing yola is found abandoned off Puerto Rico, nets deployed and anchored. Fisherman Anibal Matias missing. No trace.

2006, January 2, James Trindade disappears from his pleasure craft while en route to the US from Bahamas. Foul play suspected.

2006, June, Cuban fishing vessel La Curra is found recently abandoned.

2006, July 4, 18 foot vessel belonging to Richard Perez found off Viginia Key, Florida Keys, with wallet and keys and other personal effects.

2006, September 18, a partially submerged 18 pleasure boat found 9 miles east of Clearwater Beach, with fishing poles, cooler, and life jackets aboard.

2007, March 2, Michael Carlo, 57, body found. Disappeared from his Boston Whaler. One of the flap of bodies found off Anclote Key.

2007, March 15: 25-foot pleasure craft, derelict, 27 miles northeast of St. Augustine. Steve Senecal went day fishing.

2007, October 19, Tranquility (37 foot) sighted adrift and abandoned 65 miles west of Johns Pass, Florida. The owner, 69 year old Ulyses Didier, could not be found. Crew of Sundancer boards vessel and notes broken rail. Last log entry Oct. 15 states Didier is going to anchor.

2008, March 16, a 28 foot read Wellcraft is reported missing with 3 fishermen aboard between Everglades City and Tampa.

2008, April 17, the 27-foot Don Chepo is reported missing en route from St. Johns, Virgin Islands for Vieques, Puerto Rico. Owner had 2 cell phones aboard, a VHF radio, 3 life jackets, and 3 flares. Boat was powered by 2 200 horsepower Evinrude outboard engines.

2008, May 24, Holo Ki Ki, a 36-foot sailboat is found derelict 20 miles north of West End, Grand Bahama. The sailing master, Peter Steenberg, was missing. He had been hired to sail the boat to the Netherlands from Fort Lauderdale.

2008, June 17: Marcos Aeguelles disappears from his 22-foot pleasure craft near Soldier Key, Florida.

2008, September 5: a 25 foot sailboat is found abandoned in the Caloosahatchee River at Fort Meyers. The sail was at half mast. The owner, 60 year old Stephen Nelson, was not found.

2009, March, 40-foot gaff Ketch Lili-oh-La-La headed to Bahamas from South Carolina is reported on the overdue list.

2009, June 22, Coast Guard suspends search for 3 missing fishermen off Pinones, Puerto Rico. They had departed in a 22 foot beige Grady White fishing boat.

2009, August 17, the 22 foot boat of Mark Portus is found beached on the north end of Anclote Key. He left that morning for a day of fishing. A body found on the 21st was believed to be his. This is only one of several derelicts found near Anclote Key where a body later turned up near Hudson Beach.

2009, September 20, a small 16 foot vessel is found abandoned near Anclote Key. The pet dog remains aboard. The vessel keys were aboard as well as a town. The operator, Paula Migliorini, had vanished. Body later found off Hudson Beach.

2009, December 13, two men vanish in a 17 foot Largo pleasure craft en route to Bimini.