When the Mary Celeste set sail from New York in late 1872, there was no indication that it would become one of the most mysterious ships of all time. She was carrying a shipment of oil and barrels of crude alcohol to Genoa, Italy. Her skipper, Captain Benjamin Briggs, who also co-owned the ship, was a veteran of the seas.

For this voyage, Captain Briggs had his wife, a two-year-old daughter, a mate, second mate and cook, and four ratings on board with him. They began the journey on November 7. But no one knew that this was the last time anyone would see the Captain and all the people who were with him. Twenty-eight days later, on December 5, the Maria Celeste it was found floating helpless about 600 miles west of Gibraltar. There was no one on the ship.

It was Captain Morehouse of the brig. Dei gratia who found the Mary Celeste. Morehouse knew Captain Briggs very well in New York. In fact, he had dined with the Briggs just before the Maria Celeste set sail for Italy. So when Captain Morehouse saw that there were apparently no signs of life in the Maria Celestefeel your partner to investigate.

What had gone wrong?

The officer found no one on the ship. The only ship of his was also missing. Other than that, he didn’t see anything wrong with the Mary Celeste.

There was no sign of fire or any other calamity. There was plenty of food and water. There was some water in the bilge, but the ship was not sinking because there were no holes in it. The logbook was in the pilot’s cabin, but there was no record of any unusual events in it. In fact, there was no clue why the ship had been abandoned and in such a hurry. The sailors hadn’t bothered to take the pipes, tobacco, and raincoats left behind. But, curiously, the captain had time to take his papers and instruments, since they were not found anywhere on the ship.

Captain Morehouse had the Maria Celeste taken to Gibraltar. He turned the boat over to the authorities and claimed the salvage money.

Rumors, theories and clues

At first, everyone expected the survivors to appear. But they didn’t. No trace of his ship was found either. It was then that wild rumors and theories arose explaining the disappearance of people in the Maria Celeste began to spin.

Maybe the captain of the Maria Celeste he had gone mad and killed everyone and then killed himself. Pirates had captured the ship and taken everyone on board. Stranger still, an octopus had attacked the ship and devoured everyone, as well as the ship’s papers and instruments. Then there was Captain Morehouse. Couldn’t he have done all this to claim salvage money? All these conjectures were found unfounded by the court of instruction that met to investigate the matter.

Then there were some “clues”. Why was an ancient sword recently cleaned on the ship? Why was the ship’s clock hung upside down? There was a stain on the cover of the Maria Celeste. Was it the blood of the victims?

The “clues” also failed on further investigation. The sword was an ancient piece and the companion of the Dei gratia he had tried to clean it to pass the time. She had also tried to reset the ship’s clock. When she couldn’t, she hung up on him not caring if she’d done it the other way around. And the doctor found that the stains on the cover were not blood.

So what had really happened? Where did all the people go? What caused his sudden disappearance? Nobody knows.