The Bermuda Triangle

Introduction

The Bermuda triangle is a large triangle-shaped area of the North Western Atlantic Ocean where strange events are said to take place. The unusual events are generally associated with mysterious maritime disasters. They consist normally of the disappearance of planes, ships, and people. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, it covers approximately about 1,140,000 sq km (about 440,000 sq mi). Its three corners are made up of

(1) the island of Bermuda, (2) Miami, the coast of Florida, and (3) San Juan, Puerto Rico.

First Reports

The first to report strange occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle, thus giving it this sinister name, was Christopher Columbus in the fifteenth century. During his journey in 1492 in the Sargasso Sea where masses of gulfweed were floating (these were regarded as creepy and dangerous by early sailors), Columbus reported bizarre compass readings in the Bermuda Triangle. Moreover, he and his crew declared that they had seen a mysterious light and a "flame of fire" in the sky.

The bad name of the area dated to the mid-19th century of a number of unexplained disappearances and oddly abandoned ships. The earliest recorded disappearance of a United States vessel, the USS Cyclops vanished in the area occurred in March 1918.

Other Cases

The most renowned Bermuda Triangle incident is "Flight 19." On the 5th December 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger Torpedo Bombers disappeared in the Triangle. The five aircraft flew from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on a training mission. Lieutenant Charles Taylor led the flight. When Lieutenant Taylor's compass failed, he, being a Florida citizen, tried to guide the planes using only landmarks. The last words heard from the aircraft were "Everything is wrong.....ocean doesn't look as it should". Did flight 19 simply get lost and smash into the Atlantic never to be seen again, or was it something more puzzling?

However, the case of Marie Celeste may be found the most intriguing. On November 5th, 1872, the ship departed from New York Harbour with a cargo of industrial alcohol. Aboard were Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs and his family and eight crewmembers. A month later, a ship found the Marie Celeste floating in the Atlantic Ocean with no one in sight as well as the only lifeboat. The cargo, supplies, and personal belongings were all safely on the Marie Celeste. Evidence clearly showed that the Marie Celeste had been abandoned rapidly. Why it was deserted so hastily remains one of the great maritime mysteries.

Trying To Solve The Cases

People theorize that the Devil Triangle contains an important concentration of vortexes. These could be gateways transporting the vanished crafts and ships to other era and places. The unsteady and transitory nature assumed in certain vortexes could account for their presence one instant, and then disappearance. Sceptics draw attention on the fact that the Triangle is rather large and there are tough currents and intense traffic in the profound waters. They are fairly sure that some ships are somehow bound to be lost in the area. Of course, they are not entirely wrong, as it is quite possible. That is why it makes the Bermuda Triangle an ideal place for unquestioned and unexplained abductions.


Theories

The books and articles published as well as television broadcasts, investigating the Bermuda Triangle stress that, where most of the disappearances were concerned, the conditions were favorable. All the pieces of data gathered, match: the disappearances normally occurred in daylight after a sudden rupture in radio contact and then, the vessels vanished without any clue. However, skeptics point out that many believed mysteries result from irresponsible or subjective consideration of records.

For instance, some disasters attributed to the Bermuda Triangle actually occurred outside the area of the triangle in inclement weather conditions or in obscurity and there were cases that had known mechanical problems or insufficient equipment. In the case of Flight 19, for example, the squadron commander was rather inexperienced and failed to follow instructions, a compass was faulty and the aircraft was operating under worsening weather and visibility, with a low fuel supply.

Other people suggested explanations such as: the action of physical forces unknown to science or a "hole in the sky," an unusual chemical component in the region's seawater for disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. It is also assumed that the Bermuda Triangle is a center of UFO activity. And the people had been seized by extraterrestrial beings. People feel that the missing crafts are actually being abducted by extra-terrestrials. Scientific evaluations of the Bermuda Triangle have concluded that the number of disappearances in the area is not really abnormal and that most of the disappearances have rational explanations. Despite this, paranormal associations with the Bermuda Triangle continue to persist in the public mind.

Conclusion

For all these cases, could it have been just mere accident or was there something more mystifying?