What happened to the passengers of the Mary Celeste? Was it ghosts, piracy, alien abduction, a storm, maybe mutiny? Or in the end is there a logical explanation of whyall the people of the Mary Celeste disappeared?

Hope was beginning to fade in the case of the Mary Celeste. Almost all of the possible theories on why the ship was found vacated had run out. The ghost ship has nearly become an unsolved mystery of our time. Just when it seemed there was nothing else to go on, recent advancements provided the proof needed, and now it can be known exactly what turned the Mary Celeste into a ghost ship.

On November 5, 1872, the Mary Celeste left New York City with Captain Briggs in command. Also on the ship was Brigg’s wife, two year old daughter, Sophie, seven other crew members, and about $42,000 worth of alcohol as cargo. The ten passengers of the Mary Celeste were headed to Genoa, Italy (Watt). A week later, another ship,the Dei Gratia took off from the same New York City port and was taking a similar course to Europe as the Mary Celeste. The captain of this ship, Captain Morehouse wasa friend of Briggs, and they had discussed their similar journey, previous to both ships leaving port (Optik).

On December 4, 1872 the crew members of the Dei Gratiaspotted the Mary Celeste but noticed that something did not seem right (Watt). It was a strange sight, the vessel was swerving slightly in the water and it seemed that the sails were torn. Captain Morehouse was informed about this odd sight and the Mary Celeste was kept under close watch by the Dei Gratia. Although nobody could be seen sailing the Mary Celeste it crept irregularly toward the Straight of Gibraltar. After two hours of close surveillance, Captain Morehouse allowed his crew to board the Mary Celeste to find out what the problem was.

The ship was not sinking but everything was very wet. All that was missing were the ship’s papers, a few navigation tools, and the only lifeboat. The first mate of the Dei Gratia sailed the Mary Celeste to Gibraltar for salvage (Optik).

Up until this point, it was unknown what had happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste.

Although Captain Briggs was an experienced captain, and he had a seaworthy crew along with him, it was the first time the captain had been carrying such dangerous cargo. After closeexamination of the ship, nine of the 1,701 barrels of alcohol were found to be empty (Optik). Because Captain Briggs wasinexperienced with this kind of cargo, and possibly because his family was on board with him, he made his decisions muchmore cautiously on this trip.

The evidence of what was left behind makes it known that the crew left in a hurry. Captain Briggs must have been worried that the fumes from the alcohol were dangerously close to causing an explosion on the ship. To save his family, his crew, and himself, Briggs ordered everyone on the lifeboat and they watched the Mary Celeste get taken away with the sea. Although Briggs was trying to protect his crew, they ended up dying at sea.

So, after all the commotion about the ghost ship, the rumors are not true. If Captain Briggs would have only stayed with the Mary Celeste until the end of the voyage, they could have arrived safely at their destination. Unfortunately fear took over and Captain Briggs could not be the hero.

So please, do not believe the ghost stories. The Mary Celestewas just a boat, like any other, abandoned at sea.

Don’t Believe the Ghost StoriesBy: Michelle Gaedke

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