Tell me about the marie ceelest ghost ship

Question

Tell me about the marie ceelest ghost ship

Answer 1

It was 9am on the morning of Friday, December 13th 1872 when people on the waterfront saw a small two-masted sailing vessel entering the Bay of Gibraltar.

The ship was the 'Mary Celeste' of New York, a Canadian built 100 foot brigantine of 282 tons registered in New York. The registered owners were James H Winchester (12/24) Sylvester Goodwin (2/24) and Benjamin Spooner Briggs (8/24).

Her master, Benjamin Spooner Briggs known in Gibraltar to be a staunch abstainer and devout bible reader. At the inquiry the ships main owner James Henry Winchester gave evidence that the Captain was a courageous officer who would not dessert his ship except to save his life. The second-in-command, the Mate, was Albert Richardson, who was also considered by Winchester to be fit to command himself.

But of the good Captain Briggs, his wife Sarah, two year old daughter Sophia Matilda, and the crew of seven, nothing was to be seen or found ever again. And so begins the greatest of mysteries, or at least it might seem.

However, were it not for Dr Arthur Conan Doyle, struggling to establish himself as a writer prior to creating Sherlock Holmes, perhaps the world would not have ever known or cared.

The story, like many a tale, it has grown with the telling, to incorporate speculation of further mysteries, including pirates, creatures from the deep, abduction by aliens, submarines, and time travel.

Conan Doyle's short story about the 'Marie Celeste' (he changed the name from Mary) turned a minor puzzle into one of the most famous legends of the sea. Nevertheless we should recognise it was fiction, for which his editor paid 30 Pounds, which would have been a respectable sum in 1884.

The 'Mary Celeste' had sailed from New York on November 7th bound for Genoa with a cargo of 1701 barrels of American Alcohol, shipped by Meissner Ackermann & Co., value approximatly $35,000 the purpose of which was to fortify wine. The value of the freight on the alcohol was $3,400 and the ship herself $14,000. The Vessels cargo was insured in Europe, and the hull insurance was carried by American companies.

The Freight was insured by the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company of New York, today the only survivor of the American insurers.

She was followed on 15th November by the 'Dei Gratia' which followed a roughly parallel course across the Atlantic carrying a cargo 1735 barrels of petroleum.

On the Afternoon of December 5th 1872 half way between the Azores and the Portuguese coast the 'Dei Gratia' came up with a Brigantine which Captain Morehouse recognised as the 'Mary Celeste'. He knew Captain Briggs and had dined with him before he sailed. He was puzzled to see the ship yawing, coming into the wind and then falling off, she was out of control. He knew Captain Briggs to be a good seaman.

There were no distress signals, and after watching for two hours and hailing her and getting no reply they set off in a small boat and duly boarded her.

The vessel was found to be in good seaworthy condition and the general impression was that the crew had left in a great hurry. They had left behind their oil skin boots and pipes. Captain Morehouse's explanation was that they had left in panic thinking the vessel to be sinking. The chronometer and sextant were not found on board. The last entry on the ships slate showed she had made the island of St Mary in the Azores on 25th November.

Answer 2

The crew and passengers of Mary Celeste abandoned ship but she did not sink.  However, once away from Mary Celeste in their boat[s] the crew and passengers were unable to get back on-board and could only watch as Celeste sailed majestically over the horizon.

Matt's Today in History: The Mary Celeste Found, December 4, 1872 The story of the Mary Celeste may have faded into history had it not been for Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer who introduced the world to Sherlock Holmes. ...

http://www.mattstodayinhistory.blogspot....

The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery From HistoryHer current interest is in the Mary Celeste. She narrates the ship's history, presenting her case notes as well, then summarizes the various theories that ...

http://www.rambles.net/yolen_celeste.htm...

Legendary Ghost Ship, Mary Celeste, Discovered an a Reef in HaitiHALIFAX, N.S.- Known throughout history as the fabled Ghost Ship, the MARY CELESTE was found sailing off the Azores in 1872 ghost-like with no one aboard. ...

http://www.numa.net/press/080801.html

Image: Mary Celeste engraving.jpg - Wikimedia Commons21 Dec 2007 ... Image; File history; Links; Metadata. Image:Mary Celeste engraving.jpg Size of this preview: 730 × 599 pixels ...

http://www.commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Im...

Book - Mary Celeste - full review [children's book]

http://childrensbooks.about.com/library/...

More sites about Mary Celeste

http://www.wetdawg.com/RSS/B2/htdocs/art...

http://www.fortogden.com/maryceleste.htm...

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:...

Answer 3

Please see the Wikipedia article below.  It seems to be very informative.

Answer 4

The ship was found unmanned with steam still coming off the dinners on the table.

Answer 5

Hi , Hope this will be of help.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft5DmPNA_...

  Good luck.

Answer 6

The ship was found unmanned halfway between the Azores and the coast of Portugal by Captain Morehouse, who knew the Mary Celeste's Captain Briggs. Several barrels of grain alcohol had developed leaks and the ship's boat was gone. The galley was in disarray, but everything about dinner being left on the table and lit pipes was added later. There was probably a small fire and everyone left the ship for the lifeboat, fearing the alcohol that made up most of the cargo would blow. The lifeboat probably drifted away from the ship and everyone died. The "mystery" is really an early urban legend.

Answer 7

Some people were on the sailing ship. There was a fire on the ship so the people climbed into a rowing boat attached to the ship.

However the rope came loose. The sailing ship was eventually found but the rowing boat capsized with all loss of life.