*Disappearance of the Crew Mary Celeste Mystery *Disappearance of the Crew By Katie B.

Facts About Mary Celeste The crew disappeared. Nobody knows for sure what happened. The captain’s friend spotted the ship wildly swaying. He saw there were no people on board. He then brought the ship back to land. When the ship was inspected, it was found that all of the cargo was intact, no blood or evidence of murder was found, and the captain’s log was there. The only missing things were navigation tools.

About the Mary Celeste (pronounced “Celest”) Mary Celeste was originally named the Amazon. It was built in 1861 and was used to transport goods. It was beautiful and gracious. Captain after captain bought the ship, but something had always gone wrong. As soon as Captain Briggs got the ship, he renamed it Mary Celeste, hoping to free it from its curse. The night before his sail, he had dinner with captain Morehouse, a good friend of his. He then set out for Genoa, Italy. The ship carried raw alcohol because it was used in a lot of Italian wines. No one would be tempted to drink the alcohol because anyone who drank it would fall into a coma. The crew was never seen again. Instead, the Captain Morehouse found the ship frantically rocking nearby. No blood was found, nothing was missing except navigation tools, 2 sails were gone, 1 pump was out of order, and only one barrel of alcohol was damaged. There are many theories about the spooky mystery…

Weather Theory… The captain saw the signs of a storm and told all of the crew to get to the lifeboat. The captain took the things they might need and intended to row away to safety. They suddenly encountered the huge storm. He and his crew died. Many do not believe this theory because the captain’s log says nothing about a storm, but it still is a top theory.

Bermuda Triangle Theory… The Captain suddenly saw a huge storm. He had no time to get a good escape, so he grabbed some things they might need, but a huge wave came over them and they were blown off course. They came near the Bermuda triangle, not knowing where they were. The waves paused. Seeing his first chance, he ordered the crew onto the lifeboat. They then drowned in the Bermuda triangle.

Money Theory… Captain Morehouse and Captain Briggs met at dinner the night before and devised a plan. The crew and captain would take some supplies and row the lifeboat to the closest island, the Azores. Captain Morehouse would then “find” the Mary Celeste, collect the life insurance money and sell the ship. He would then get back to the Azores and evenly split the money with Captain Briggs, who would spend his entire life there.

Other Money Theory… Captain Morehouse saw Captain Briggs and the cargo on his ship. He decided he would get a lot of money selling the alcohol. He got onto the ship and murdered the crew, and then ordered his crew to clean up all evidence of the murder. He then would try to sell everything on the ship when he got back to land. Some people who knew Captain Briggs and Captain Morehouse object to this, claiming that they were good, honest men, and were also vey close friends.

My Money Theory… The crew met before they set sail. They decided to kill the captain and his family, and then leave in the lifeboat and pretend to find it again. They would sell the ship and split the money evenly. So after a few days of sailing, they killed Captain Briggs, his wife, and child in their sleep. The crew quickly cleaned up all evidence of murder. Then the crew got to the lifeboat bringing only what they needed with them, but forgot to tie the wheel so that the ship wouldn’t rock. The crew came back to the ship and found that the ship was wildly shaking (which was why the ship was lightly damaged). Knowing the ship’s “haunted” reputation, they thought the ship was coming toward them and was mad that they had killed the captain. The crew, scared quickly rowed away to safety on an island and died of hunger.

Mysteries of History -World History Book, teacher created resources Bibliography/Credits Mysteries of History -World History Book, teacher created resources www.fortogden.com www.staightdope.com

Thanks for listening, but… What’s YOUR theory?