Mary Celeste

[Sailor Steve]

I was researching ship names and stumbled across this site:
http://www.ship-wrecks.co.uk/know.html

One of the shipwreck articles was about the Mary Celeste. For anyone who doesn't know, the Mary Celeste is supposedly one of history's great mysteries. The story goes that another ship discovered Mary Celeste adrift, and when they boarded her they found no-one on board, and a half-eaten dinner laid out in the cabin. No-one has ever figured out what might have happened to the people on board, and wild stories have appeared over the years as to their mysterious fate. My personal favorite was an early Doctor Who episode which has them jumping overboard to escapt the Daleks. Anyway, this article clears up a lot of confusion.
Contrary to many subsequent stories her boat had gone and it was clear she had been abandoned in a hurry. The Captains chronometer, sextant, Navigation Books and most of the ship's papers were missing...There were no signs of violence and no half-eaten meals on the tables, both fictions which led to extravagant speculation.

[STEED]

What about the note they left behind?


Gone to lunch back at.................

Bloody Hell, free booze I'm already there.

[robbo180265]

I saw a really good programme about this ship recently. Apparently it was carrying American alcohol (1701 barrels of it to be precise). The programme speculated that a spark may have caused a huge fireball that didn't actually burn anything(because only the fumes would have burnt,and burnt quickly). This may have been enough to scare the crew into getting into a smaller boat attactched to the Mary Celeste by a rope.This was standard practice in the event of an onboard fire. Had they not tied the rope properly in their haste to exit, they may have found themselves adrift with no hope of getting back.

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a story later and changed the name of the ship to the Marie Celeste and thats where all the spooky stuff was added.

Good website
http://www.maryceleste.net/part2.htm

[bookworm_020]

Australia has had it's share of real ghost ships in the last 10 - 15 years:dead:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Aim_6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jian_Seng

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaz_II

[baggygreen]

Everyone overlooks the obvious with these cases.... its so obviously the aliens that are doing it!

[NEON DEON]

PIRATES!

:arrgh!: :gulp: :arrgh!:

[bookworm_020]

With the Kaz II, it is believed that the boat became stuck on a sand bar, so the three got off and managed to push it off the bar, but were unable to get back on board before the boat drifted off. That was the belief of the investigators who went over all the possible reasons. There was no sign of a struggle, the ship was in good order and all safty gear was in place.

[Rhodes]

Everyone overlooks the obvious with these cases.... its so obviously the aliens that are doing it!
http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/61.gif http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/61.gif http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/61.gif

Of course, as Sailor Steve said, the Daleks!!!

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/2391/disco04be5.gif

[caspofungin]

@rhodes

i dig your sig -- ****ting for the fatherland?

[mrbeast]

:eek: Everyone overlooks the obvious with these cases.... its so obviously the aliens that are doing it!

PIRATES!

:hmm:
Alien Pirates! :yep: :arrgh!: :eek:

[bradclark1]

I was going to say something funny but too many comedian's hit already.:shifty:
As far as the alcohol fumes fire the heat would have been enough to at least shrivel paint and leave flash marks.

[Safe-Keeper]

A scenario I heard was that the alcohol somehow scared them enough (fire hazard was one possibility, fumes leaking out was another, I believe) that they went in a dinghy, which they tied to the boat, and decided to ride out the danger there, a safe distance from an eventual explosion or whatever. Then the rope snapped, the boat left them behind, and they drowned.

As worthwhile an explanation as any.

[NEON DEON]

:eek: Everyone overlooks the obvious with these cases.... its so obviously the aliens that are doing it!

PIRATES!

:hmm:
Alien Pirates! :yep: :arrgh!: :eek:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:


Oh I think you have nailed it!:D

[Dowly]

If the ship was carrying alcohol, you really think they'd just leave? Was the stuff ever found? If not, I bet they are on some tropical island, suffering from a HUGE hangover. ;)

[Rhodes]

@rhodes

i dig your sig -- ****ting for the fatherland?

Ehehehehe, thanks! No, as the title says, work (the men in the zentrale are doing so) and relaxation (the man using the head, is doing that). Don't forget that the "cagatório" (using the portuguese vernacular term, translation is "crap or sh*thouse") is scientifical proven that it is a psicological and physical resting place! :up:

And the hijack is over!

[Jimbuna]

It's pretty obvious what really happened.....they were beamed aboard an alien spacecraft where they underwent medical experiments. One of those included the labotomy so they forgot where they had come from. Easy when you put your mind to it :p

http://planetsmilies.net/alien-smiley-126.gif

[TheSatyr]

I always believed that the ship that supposedly "found" the Mary Celeste were the ones responsible for the crew being missing. Just a simple act of Piracy and Murder in order to claim salvage rights over the cargo and ship. In fact,I remember reading that during the initial investigation that they considered trying the captain and crew of the other ship with piracy,but didn't have the evidence to back it up.

[Etienne]

From what I understood, it was generally believed to be an insurance fraud in most circles. Why not just sink the boat, that's beyond my comprehension.