December 4: On This Day in World History … briefly
A severe waterspout strike before the abandonment could explain the amount of water in the ship, and the ragged state of her rigging and sails. The low barometric pressure generated by the spout could have driven water from the bilges up into the pumps, leading the crew to assume the ship had taken on more water than she had, and was in danger of sinking.
1872: Mystery of the Marie Celeste
American brigantine ‘Marie Celeste’ was found adrift in the Atlantic between the Azores and Portugal, her captain and crew mysteriously missing. The British brigantine ‘Dei Gratia’ came upon the ship and boarded her when she failed to respond to their signals. The ship was deserted and the lifeboat was not on board. The rigging was slightly damaged, but the cargo of 1 700 barrels of alcohol had not been touched. The captain’s table was set for a meal which was never eaten.
The ‘Marie Celeste’ sailed from New York on November 7, bound for Genoa, commanded by Captain Benjamin S Briggs and carrying a crew of eight and the captain’s wife and daughter. They left no message aboard and there was no indication of what could have happened.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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