It’s unfortunate that the initials for Bermuda Triangle are one off from those for. . . well, you know. So many seem to get them confused. In this article we’ll stick merely to Flight 19 and its recent misrepresentation.
Since so many have died who were associated with the actual incident, there is opportunity for those who, in journalistic parlance, are pejoratively called “bottom feeders.” They rise to the forefront of the food-chain because no one else is left. For Flight 19, this means they may have had some vague connection with the Naval Base or perhaps stood in the same crowd with one of the pilots, but as for anything more substantive than that they are want. It also means that their stories were of little import or interest when the main players were alive. For this one, we’ll find the story could not have been told until the main players were dead, for it would have been immediately )contradicted by those who were real players in the drama of Flight 19.
Through the Hoaxing GlassRemembering Flight 19Edition release
A 6th Avenger?
Views of the Okefenokee
Flight DUI
BT or BS?
PBM Mariner
Bad Navigation?BUYThis is the evolving story of Calvin Shoemaker. Followers of this web site are already familiar with his tale, for which we now provide a new chapter. ( Shoemaker’s tale the reader should access first, if they are not familiar with it, before continuing. it is tale proves somewhat boring except for the entertainment value inherent in audacity. He first told it on December 2, 1990, in the Los Angles Daily Breeze, entitled Triangle’s Truth. In this germinal story he also expresses what I believe is the motivation behind his novel claims. To be brief, he seems to have such a loath for the idea of mystery and “magnetic forces” involving the loss of the flight that he has, wittingly or unwittingly, constructed a tale to prove them false. To give his tale authority, he promotes the idea he was there, and even better that he had a personal stake in the flight by having been the “6th pilot.”But being the 6th pilot left standing on the runway isn’t enough to debunk the sensational from Flight 19. He has to be in a place to hear the last dialogue and thereby confirm today that Flight 19 suffered a mere ditching at sea after getting lost, after mutiny and confusion. He even gives the exact magnetic bearings (which are completely apocryphal), and the last words of the flight (which are also apocryphal). The article implies there’s a lot of “unofficial conclusions” which bear him out, (thereby preventing an historian from cross referencing his claims in the Report) which do not appear in the ReportI wonder why Calvin waited all these years until 1990 to come out with his story? Flight 19 and the Triangle certainly weren’t hot news at the time. Perhaps it was the death of Robert F. Cox? He was the pilot who truly did have contact with Flight 19, who, when landing, requested to take the ready plane out and find the planes, for he was sure he knew where they were. His request was denied, so he waited around the tower until past 6 o’clock that evening, listening to what brief dialogue Fort Lauderdale could overhear. Later investigation by the Board proved Cox was right, but that was no help for Cox. He had spoken out strongly about dereliction of duty on the ground, and it is for this he believed he had been retired only as a Commander instead of the rank of Captain which would usually have been forthcoming after a successful and long Naval career of the kind he had.But back to Calvin Shoemaker. The coincidence that is hard to escape is that Shoemaker also promotes himself as being the man who insisted on taking the ready plane and then, when denied, waited around the tower to hear all the dialogue— more than anybody else present ever heard! But the position he gives himself provides him with the authority to dogmatically debunk any notion that Flight 19’s disappearance was anything but the slip-up of Charles Taylor. This, I think, is his solitary purpose. This, and that his buddy, Joe Bossi, actually took over the flight and headed them west until they ditched. End of mystery, end of anything unusual. As the article reads: “Shoemaker considers himself an His brief sortie out into the world of Flight 19 wasn’t much until those five bogus Avengers were found in 1991. Shoemaker claims he was in Fort Lauderdale at the time and made a big noise at the hotel that he knew it was false, and that the clerk called ABC to let them know they had one of the pilots and an “authority” there. He got on ABC briefly, and was then filed away.This landed him in some newspapers. The most tragic of which was the Arkansas City Traveler, which relied on the Daily Breeze article “that revealed more information about that day than has Shoemaker offered this photo to the Daily Breeze. It purports to have himself, Bossi, and Taylor in it. Taylor is supposed to be the second from left. It is not Taylor. Taylor was 6.1 and towered over other pilots. None of the other pilots of Flight 19 are in there. This is a squadron photo. Their training squadron comprised 9 pilots, but this is not it.Shoemaker was true to his word. He took up so much time that those really involved with the incident were cut short or canceled altogether, like Bill and Rita Smith.I was first clued into this when I received a Christmas card from friends in Florida closely associated with the Service and with Flight 19. In it was a newspaper clipping showing Shoemaker saluting his departed “friends” at the Service. It was then that I began some inquiries to discover if he had been interviewed. Well, when I broached the subject to the producer, informing him that the documentation is so clear on this incident, and that reliable witnesses are still alive, the general reaction was that “documentation proves nothing and government documents can be doctored, you know that.”Whoa! Eleven years working on these stories, and now I am told what the lay-of-the-land is by a man surfing in and out on an assigment?!?! Documents doctored to prove Bossi actually checked-out the plane he disappeared in so there is no room for Shoemaker’s fanciful account of switching planes on the runway? Whoa! For the first time ever I have had to withdraw from a TV show, this one to air later in 2002 for Discovery Channel.
You can put what label on it you want. The Sun Sentinel pic by R.C. Rique.
Those like Shoemaker are surviving because no one bothers to look into the details beyond their claims. On the day Shoemaker arrived at the museum, he told his tale to “military historian,” Mike McGee. Both Bill and Rita Smith were waiting and overheard the tale. Bill’s first impression was “bull.” But McGee thought it sounded plausible. A couple of others have recalled somebody mentioning a 6th plane (Shoemaker has claimed this since 1990 and got on ABC, no doubt where they heard it). The museum has checked and indeed there were brakes on an Avenger, but no one has bothered to realize it is a holding brake. (The foot comes off and the plane takes off!) Most everybody, it seems, is eager to promote another story on the face of it, with faulty reasoning. Not a sensational tale— a dull debunking tale that gives its talebearer a place in history. Why bother to check on any details or even to consult the voluminous accident report of which the museum holds a copy?—it’s all doctored, is it not? We are living in a country of such hyper-con$piracy rubbish, it becomes possible for someone to promote such a conspiracy is responsible for trying to squelched Shoemaker’s tale. This would indeed be a heinous conspiracy. One that is capable of changing the report and all the minds of eyewitnesses. One that is capable of inventing all the inefficiency of transmitting the radio fix about Flight 19’s position, and all the damage to officer’s careers it caused— just so Shoemaker’s bizarre claim of having a magnetic bearing on the flight from Fort Lauderdale could be deleted from history. In essence, the conspiracy requires that the Navy 56 years ago foment a plan with the following logic: “Now, how can we prevent a simple solution to this Flight 19? I know, let’s cut out all references to the man who can mundanely blame it on ditching at sea! For it may be that in 45 years (1990) he may come forward and expose everything as being simple. Let’s give ourselves court martials and disciplinary action. Let’s stand amazed at Flight 19 just so Shoemaker doesn’t look right.” I think that those who provide themselves with the appearance of historian, researcher and expert will find the people not so stupid. It won’t be breaking news when it airs. For over 11 years too many have known about Shoemaker’s grandstanding. Shoemaker never got on the tube because so many are quite familiar with the impossibility of a 6th plane in Flight 19, and the Board of Inquiry Report made it clear what the last dialogue was. The Board of Inquiry Report is easily and cheaply attainable at the Navy Historical Center. There is no room for Shoemaker’s inventive and detailed dialogue. But because a producer can’t imagine why he would make this up, and that it seems possible, and that documentation proves nothing, it will get on the tube. Other offers will no doubt follow. But as we all know lie begets lie and one soon becomes entangled therein. When other producers ask him about why Bossi signed and accepted T-3, Shoemaker will, like when he is asked about the brake mistake, wrack his forehead and think up an excuse. Somehow he switched planes without turning the engine off. Somehow, he will convince another producer the documents prove nothing. ‘Somehow I got in that plane. Somehow I switched without it taking off. Somehow I’m a part of Flight 19’ . . .In essence, ‘Somehow I’m a part of history.’ It’s only going to get him and Discovery a lot of heartache. As the Comedy Francaise said, “When an audience laughs with you, you are a success. When they laugh at you, you are ruined.”It’s unfortunate that the initials for Bermuda Triangle are one off from those for. . . well, you know. So many seem to get them confused. In this article we’ll stick merely to Flight 19 and its recent misrepresentation. Since so many have died who were associated with the actual incident, there is opportunity for those who, in journalistic parlance, are pejoratively called “bottom feeders.” They rise to the forefront of the food-chain because no one else is left. For Flight 19, this means they may have had some vague connection with the Naval Base or perhaps stood in the same crowd with one of the pilots, but as for anything more substantive than that they are want. It also means that their stories were of little import or interest when the main players were alive. For this one, we’ll find the story could not have been told until the main players were dead, for it would have been immediately )contradicted by those who were real players in the drama of Flight 19. Through the Hoaxing GlassRemembering Flight 19The BookForeword OnlinePress ReleaseLimited Edition releaseHomeA 6th AvengeViews of the OkefenokeeFlight DUIBT or BS? PBM MarinerBad Navigation?BUYThis is the evolving story of Calvin Shoemaker. Followers of this web site are already familiar with his tale, for which we now provide a new chapter. ( Shoemaker’s tale the reader should access first, if they are not familiar with it, before continuing.His tale proves somewhat boring except for the entertainment value inherent in audacity. He first told it on December 2, 1990, in the Los Angles Daily Breeze, entitled Triangle’s Truth. In this germinal story he also expresses what I believe is the motivation behind his novel claims. To be brief, he seems to have such a loath for the idea of mystery and “magnetic forces” involving the loss of the flight that he has, wittingly or unwittingly, constructed a tale to prove them false. To give his tale authority, he promotes the idea he was there, and even better that he had a personal stake in the flight by having been the “6th pilot.”
But being the 6th pilot left standing on the runway isn’t enough to debunk the sensational from Flight 19. He has to be in a place to hear the last dialogue and thereby confirm today that Flight 19 suffered a mere ditching at sea after getting lost, after mutiny and confusion. He even gives the exact magnetic bearings (which are completely apocryphal), and the last words of the flight (which are also apocryphal). The article implies there’s a lot of “unofficial conclusions” which bear him out, (thereby preventing an historian from cross referencing his claims in the Report) which do not appear in the ReportI wonder why Calvin waited all these years until 1990 to come out with his story? Flight 19 and the Triangle certainly weren’t hot news at the time. Perhaps it was the death of Robert F. Cox? He was the pilot who truly did have contact with Flight 19, who, when landing, requested to take the ready plane out and find the planes, for he was sure he knew where they were. His request was denied, so he waited around the tower until past 6 o’clock that evening, listening to what brief dialogue Fort Lauderdale could overhear. Later investigation by the Board proved Cox was right, but that was no help for Cox. He had spoken out strongly about dereliction of duty on the ground, and it is for this he believed he had been retired only as a Commander instead of the rank of Captain which would usually have been forthcoming after a successful and long Naval career of the kind he had.But back to Calvin Shoemaker. The coincidence that is hard to escape is that Shoemaker also promotes himself as being the man who insisted on taking the ready plane and then, when denied, waited around the tower to hear all the dialogue— more than anybody else present ever heard! But the position he gives himself provides him with the authority to dogmatically debunk any notion that Flight 19’s disappearance was anything but the slip-up of Charles Taylor. This, I think, is his solitary purpose. This, and that his buddy, Joe Bossi, actually took over the flight and headed them west until they ditched. End of mystery, end of anything unusual. As the article reads: “Shoemaker considers himself an authority on Flight 19.”
day,” Gertrude told the Traveler. “I was so glad to get the information from him because I felt the truth of the story had never been told yet. So many bad things had been published, never the truth. That really touched me to find the truth of the story.” Gertrude was 94 at the time, and passed away shortly thereafter.
The article conveys how Shoemaker’s Bovine Story got to the family. It is because of the Daily Breeze that Bossi’s sister, Bernice, in Santa Monica, read the article and contacted him. The snowball started and he told his elaborate story to the Bossi family in Arkansas. It then grew until he wrote some more down for Mr. Marrs in 1994, in which he invents other dialogue about the last moments of Flight 19.
A full copy of this letter is provided here, so that the reader can enjoy the imagination of Shoemaker before continuing.
To review a few of the absurd points of his letter before continuing, we should note, once again, you cannot switch pilots in an Avenger with its engine going. 2, it takes at least a 12-foot ladder to climb up to an Avenger cowling; this is not done spur-of-the-moment. 3, Avengers cruised at 147 mph; it was impossible for Shoemaker to have even caught up with the flight, and the suggestion is ludicrous. 4, Each pilot was to lead a leg of the flight, but Shoemaker has Powers leading the whole time, with Taylor following at a high altitude (in actuality being the training officer Taylor would have to circle over the hulk at a much lower altitude in order to record the bomb hits on his knee pad). 5, the bad weather set in that night; there was no bad weather during the flight. 6, and worst of all for Shoemaker, there was no magnetic bearing on the flight from Fort Lauderdale. If there had been, it would have solved the dilemma immediately about where to tell the flight to go. Fort Lauderdale could have quickly told Taylor he was in the Atlantic at xx magnetic bearing from the base. Shoemaker being able to tell how close or how far the pilots were flying near each other is yet another strand of comedy in this cloth of absurdity.For anybody who has a remote knowledge of Flight 19 and Naval training of the time, Shoemaker’s story borders on the bizarre. His story never really cleared anything up. The Navy had always assumed they ditched. All Shoemaker did was add himself to the story and usurp Cox’s roll in the drama to add more authority to his tale. He added the magnetic bearing to pinpoint the location out in the ocean, not in some limbo or UFO. This hoax was made successful by the fact no member of the Bossi family bothered to read a book about the subject, nor to have ever obtained the Board of Inquiry Report. When I asked John Bossi whether he believed the story, I received a quick and definite yes. “He was there. I believe it to be 100 per cent accurate.”Despite the fast growing world of documentary TV in the 1990s, Shoemaker was never sought out to do any shows. TV— well, most everybody— knew there was no 6th plane with Flight 19. In 1994 he wrote that letter mentioned above in which he ad libbed more dialogue and claimed he was the 6th pilot. That was about it.This brings us now to the recent December 5, 2001, Memorial Service for Flight 19 at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association. A television crew was there, the producer of which I was familiar with as I had been asked to be interviewed later in California for this same show. Because a TV producer was there, Alan McElhiney said “Would you like to appear on the show they are taping? I’ll get you on if you make it brief.” According to Alan, Shoemaker said, “I don’t know how to make it brief.” Calvin was ushered into an office at the museum in order to give this “breaking story,” though the producer did not realize the only thing breaking from the story was from Shoemaker. The producer was “enraptured” by the story, so much so he didn’t bother to pursue how Shoemaker braked and switched planes with a 1,700 horsepower engine Shoemaker offered this photo to the Daily Breeze. It purports to have himself, Bossi, and Taylor in it. Taylor is supposed to be the second from left. It is not Taylor. Taylor was 6.1 and towered over other pilots. None of the other pilots of Flight 19 are in there. This is a squadron photo. Their training squadron comprised 9 pilots, but this is not it.
Shoemaker was true to his word. He took up so much time that those really involved with the incident were cut short or canceled altogether, like Bill and Rita SmithI was first clued into this when I received a Christmas card from friends in Florida closely associated with the Service and with Flight 19. In it was a newspaper clipping showing Shoemaker saluting his departed “friends” at the Service. It was then that I began some inquiries to discover if he had been interviewed. Well, when I broached the subject to the producer, informing him that the documentation is so clear on this incident, and that reliable witnesses are still alive, the general reaction was that “documentation proves nothing and government documents can be doctored, you know that.”Whoa! Eleven years working on these stories, and now I am told what the lay-of-the-land is by a man surfing in and out on an assigment?!?! Documents doctored to prove Bossi actually checked-out the plane he disappeared in so there is no room for Shoemaker’s fanciful account of switching planes on the runway? Whoa! For the first time ever I have had to withdraw from a TV show, this one to air later in 2002 for Discovery Channel.You can put what label on it you want. The Sun Sentinel pic by R.C. Rique.Those like Shoemaker are surviving because no one bothers to look into the details beyond their claims. On the day Shoemaker arrived at the museum, he told his tale to “military historian,” Mike McGee. Both Bill and Rita Smith were waiting and overheard the tale. Bill’s first impression was “bull.” But McGee thought it sounded plausible. A couple of others have recalled somebody mentioning a 6th plane (Shoemaker has claimed this since 1990 and got on ABC, no doubt where they heard it). The museum has checked and indeed there were brakes on an Avenger, but no one has bothered to realize it is a holding brake. (The foot comes off and the plane takes off!) Most everybody, it seems, is eager to promote another story on the face of it, with faulty reasoning. Not a sensational tale— a dull debunking tale that gives its talebearer a place in history. Why bother to check on any details or even to consult the voluminous accident report of which the museum holds a copy?—it’s all doctored, is it not? We are living in a country of such hyper-con$piracy rubbish, it becomes possible for someone to promote such a conspiracy is responsible for trying to squelched Shoemaker’s tale. This would indeed be a heinous conspiracy. One that is capable of changing the report and all the minds of eyewitnesses. One that is capable of inventing all the inefficiency of transmitting the radio fix about Flight 19’s position, and all the damage to officer’s careers it caused— just so Shoemaker’s bizarre claim of having a magnetic bearing on the flight from Fort Lauderdale could be deleted from history. In essence, the conspiracy requires that the Navy 56 years ago foment a plan with the following logic: “Now, how can we prevent a simple solution to this Flight 19? I know, let’s cut out all references to the man who can mundanely blame it on ditching at sea! For it may be that in 45 years (1990) he may come forward and expose everything as being simple. Let’s give ourselves court martials and disciplinary action. Let’s stand amazed at Flight 19 just so Shoemaker doesn’t look right.” I think that those who provide themselves with the appearance of historian, researcher and expert will find the people not so stupid. It won’t be breaking news when it airs. For over 11 years too many have known about Shoemaker’s grandstanding. Shoemaker never got on the tube because so many are quite familiar with the impossibility of a 6th plane in Flight 19, and the Board of Inquiry Report made it clear what the last dialogue was. The Board of Inquiry Report is easily and cheaply attainable at the Navy Historical Center. There is no room for Shoemaker’s inventive and detailed dialogue. But because a producer can’t imagine why he would make this up, and that it seems possible, and that documentation proves nothing, it will get on the tube. Other offers will no doubt follow. But as we all know lie begets lie and one soon becomes entangled therein. When other producers ask him about why Bossi signed and accepted T-3, Shoemaker will, like when he is asked about the brake mistake, wrack his forehead and think up an excuse. Somehow he switched planes without turning the engine off. Somehow, he will convince another producer the documents prove nothing. ‘Somehow I got in that plane. Somehow I switched without it taking off. Somehow I’m a part of Flight 19’ . . .In essence, ‘Somehow I’m a part of history.’
It’s only going to get him and Discovery a lot of heartache. As the Comedy Francaise said, “When an audience laughs with you, you are a success. When they laugh at you, you are ruined.”
It’s unfortunate that the initials for Bermuda Triangle are one off from those for. . . well, you know. So many seem to get them confused. In this article we’ll stick merely to Flight 19 and its recent misrepresentation.
Since so many have died who were associated with the actual incident, there is opportunity for those who, in journalistic parlance, are pejoratively called “bottom feeders.” They rise to the forefront of the food-chain because no one else is left. For Flight 19, this means they may have had some vague connection with the Naval Base or perhaps stood in the same crowd with one of the pilots, but as for anything more substantive than that they are want. It also means that their stories were of little import or interest when the main players were alive. For this one, we’ll find the story could not have been told until the main players were dead, for it would have been immediately )contradicted by those who were real players in the drama of Flight 19.
Through the Hoaxing GlassRemembering Flight 19The BookForeword OnlinePress ReleaseLimited Edition releaseHomeA 6th Avenger?Views of the OkefenokeeFlight DUIBT or BS?PBM Mariner
BUY
This is the evolving story of Calvin Shoemaker. Followers of this web site are already familiar with his tale, for which we now provide a new chapter. ( Shoemaker’s tale the reader should access first, if they are not familiar with it, before continuing.
His tale proves somewhat boring except for the entertainment value inherent in audacity. He first told it on December 2, 1990, in the Los Angles Daily Breeze, entitled Triangle’s Truth. In this germinal story he also expresses what I believe is the motivation behind his novel claims. To be brief, he seems to have such a loath for the idea of mystery and “magnetic forces” involving the loss of the flight that he has, wittingly or unwittingly, constructed a tale to prove them false. To give his tale authority, he promotes the idea he was there, and even better that he had a personal stake in the flight by having been the “6th pilot.”
But being the 6th pilot left standing on the runway isn’t enough to debunk the sensational from Flight 19. He has to be in a place to hear the last dialogue and thereby confirm today that Flight 19 suffered a mere ditching at sea after getting lost, after mutiny and confusion. He even gives the exact magnetic bearings (which are completely apocryphal), and the last words of the flight (which are also apocryphal). The article implies there’s a lot of “unofficial conclusions” which bear him out, (thereby preventing an historian from cross referencing his claims in the Report) which do not appear in the ReportI wonder why Calvin waited all these years until 1990 to come out with his story? Flight 19 and the Triangle certainly weren’t hot news at the time. Perhaps it was the death of Robert F. Cox? He was the pilot who truly did have contact with Flight 19, who, when landing, requested to take the ready plane out and find the planes, for he was sure he knew where they were. His request was denied, so he waited around the tower until past 6 o’clock that evening, listening to what brief dialogue Fort Lauderdale could overhear.
Later investigation by the Board proved Cox was right, but that was no help for Cox. He had spoken out strongly about dereliction of duty on the ground, and it is for this he believed he had been retired only as a Commander instead of the rank of Captain which would usually have been forthcoming after a successful and long Naval career of the kind he had.
But back to Calvin Shoemaker. The coincidence that is hard to escape is that Shoemaker also promotes himself as being the man who insisted on taking the ready plane and then, when denied, waited around the tower to hear all the dialogue— more than anybody else present ever heard! But the position he gives himself provides him with the authority to dogmatically debunk any notion that Flight 19’s disappearance was anything but the slip-up of Charles Taylor. This, I think, is his solitary purpose. This, and that his buddy, Joe Bossi, actually took over the flight and headed them west until they ditched. End of mystery, end of anything unusual. As the article reads: “Shoemaker considers himself an authority on Flight 19.”
day,” Gertrude told the Traveler. “I was so glad to get the information from him because I felt the truth of the story had never been told yet. So many bad things had been published, never the truth. That really touched me to find the truth of the story.” Gertrude was 94 at the time, and passed away shortly thereafter.
The article conveys how Shoemaker’s Bovine Story got to the family. It is because of the Daily Breeze that Bossi’s sister, Bernice, in Santa Monica, read the article and contacted him. The snowball started and he told his elaborate story to the Bossi family in Arkansas. It then grew until he wrote some more down for Mr. Marrs in 1994, in which he invents other dialogue about the last moments of Flight 19.
A full copy of this letter is provided here, so that the reader can enjoy the imagination of Shoemaker before continuing.
To review a few of the absurd points of his letter before continuing, we should note, once again, you cannot switch pilots in an Avenger with its engine going. 2, it takes at least a 12-foot ladder to climb up to an Avenger cowling; this is not done spur-of-the-moment. 3, Avengers cruised at 147 mph; it was impossible for Shoemaker to have even caught up with the flight, and the suggestion is ludicrous. 4, Each pilot was to lead a leg of the flight, but Shoemaker has Powers leading the whole time, with Taylor following at a high altitude (in actuality being the training officer Taylor would have to circle over the hulk at a much lower altitude in order to record the bomb hits on his knee pad). 5, the bad weather set in that night; there was no bad weather during the flight. 6, and worst of all for Shoemaker, there was no magnetic bearing on the flight from Fort Lauderdale. If there had been, it would have solved the dilemma immediately about where to tell the flight to go. Fort Lauderdale could have quickly told Taylor he was in the Atlantic at xx magnetic bearing from the base. Shoemaker being able to tell how close or how far the pilots were flying near each other is yet another strand of comedy in this cloth of absurdity.
For anybody who has a remote knowledge of Flight 19 and Naval training of the time, Shoemaker’s story borders on the bizarre. His story never really cleared anything up. The Navy had always assumed they ditched. All Shoemaker did was add himself to the story and usurp Cox’s roll in the drama to add more authority to his tale. He added the magnetic bearing to pinpoint the location out in the ocean, not in some limbo or UFO. This hoax was made successful by the fact no member of the Bossi family bothered to read a book about the subject, nor to have ever obtained the Board of Inquiry Report. When I asked John Bossi whether he believed the story, I received a quick and definite yes. “He was there. I believe it to be 100 per cent accurate.”
Despite the fast growing world of documentary TV in the 1990s, Shoemaker was never sought out to do any shows. TV— well, most everybody— knew there was no 6th plane with Flight 19. In 1994 he wrote that letter mentioned above in which he ad libbed more dialogue and claimed he was the 6th pilot. That was about it.
This brings us now to the recent December 5, 2001, Memorial Service for Flight 19 at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association. A television crew was there, the producer of which I was familiar with as I had been asked to be interviewed later in California for this same show. Because a TV producer was there, Alan McElhiney said “Would you like to appear on the show they are taping? I’ll get you on if you make it brief.” According to Alan, Shoemaker said, “I don’t know how to make it brief.” Calvin was ushered into an office at the museum in order to give this “breaking story,” though the producer did not realize the only thing breaking from the story was from Shoemaker. The producer was “enraptured” by the story, so much so he didn’t bother to pursue how Shoemaker braked and switched planes with a 1,700 horsepower engine Shoemaker offered this photo to the Daily Breeze. It purports to have himself, Bossi, and Taylor in it. Taylor is supposed to be the second from left. It is not Taylor. Taylor was 6.1 and towered over other pilots. None of the other pilots of Flight 19 are in there. This is a squadron photo. Their training squadron comprised 9 pilots, but this is not it.
Shoemaker was true to his word. He took up so much time that those really involved with the incident were cut short or canceled altogether, like Bill and Rita Smith.
I was first clued into this when I received a Christmas card from friends in Florida closely associated with the Service and with Flight 19. In it was a newspaper clipping showing Shoemaker saluting his departed “friends” at the Service. It was then that I began some inquiries to discover if he had been interviewed.
Well, when I broached the subject to the producer, informing him that the documentation is so clear on this incident, and that reliable witnesses are still alive, the general reaction was that “documentation proves nothing and government documents can be doctored, you know that.”
Whoa! Eleven years working on these stories, and now I am told what the lay-of-the-land is by a man surfing in and out on an assigment?!?! Documents doctored to prove Bossi actually checked-out the plane he disappeared in so there is no room for Shoemaker’s fanciful account of switching planes on the runway? Whoa! For the first time ever I have had to withdraw from a TV show, this one to air later in 2002 for Discovery Channel.
You can put what label on it you want. The Sun Sentinel pic by R.C. Rique.
Those like Shoemaker are surviving because no one bothers to look into the details beyond their claims. On the day Shoemaker arrived at the museum, he told his tale to “military historian,” Mike McGee. Both Bill and Rita Smith were waiting and overheard the tale. Bill’s first impression was “bull.” But McGee thought it sounded plausible. A couple of others have recalled somebody mentioning a 6th plane (Shoemaker has claimed this since 1990 and got on ABC, no doubt where they heard it). The museum has checked and indeed there were brakes on an Avenger, but no one has bothered to realize it is a holding brake. (The foot comes off and the plane takes off!) Most everybody, it seems, is eager to promote another story on the face of it, with faulty reasoning. Not a sensational tale— a dull debunking tale that gives its talebearer a place in history. Why bother to check on any details or even to consult the voluminous accident report of which the museum holds a copy?—it’s all doctored, is it not?
We are living in a country of such hyper-con$piracy rubbish, it becomes possible for someone to promote such a conspiracy is responsible for trying to squelched Shoemaker’s tale. This would indeed be a heinous conspiracy. One that is capable of changing the report and all the minds of eyewitnesses. One that is capable of inventing all the inefficiency of transmitting the radio fix about Flight 19’s position, and all the damage to officer’s careers it caused— just so Shoemaker’s bizarre claim of having a magnetic bearing on the flight from Fort Lauderdale could be deleted from history. In essence, the conspiracy requires that the Navy 56 years ago foment a plan with the following logic: “Now, how can we prevent a simple solution to this Flight 19? I know, let’s cut out all references to the man who can mundanely blame it on ditching at sea! For it may be that in 45 years (1990) he may come forward and expose everything as being simple. Let’s give ourselves court martials and disciplinary action. Let’s stand amazed at Flight 19 just so Shoemaker doesn’t look right.”
I think that those who provide themselves with the appearance of historian, researcher and expert will find the people not so stupid. It won’t be breaking news when it airs. For over 11 years too many have known about Shoemaker’s grandstanding. Shoemaker never got on the tube because so many are quite familiar with the impossibility of a 6th plane in Flight 19, and the Board of Inquiry Report made it clear what the last dialogue was. The Board of Inquiry Report is easily and cheaply attainable at the Navy Historical Center. There is no room for Shoemaker’s inventive and detailed dialogue. But because a producer can’t imagine why he would make this up, and that it seems possible, and that documentation proves nothing, it will get on the tube. Other offers will no doubt follow. But as we all know lie begets lie and one soon becomes entangled therein. When other producers ask him about why Bossi signed and accepted T-3, Shoemaker will, like when he is asked about the brake mistake, wrack his forehead and think up an excuse. Somehow he switched planes without turning the engine off. Somehow, he will convince another producer the documents prove nothing. ‘Somehow I got in that plane. Somehow I switched without it taking off. Somehow I’m a part of Flight 19’ . . .In essence, ‘Somehow I’m a part of history.’
It’s only going to get him and Discovery a lot of heartache. As the Comedy Francaise said, “When an audience laughs with you, you are a success. When they laugh at you, you are ruined.”
It’s unfortunate that the initials for Bermuda Triangle are one off from those for. . . well, you know. So many seem to get them confused. In this article we’ll stick merely to Flight 19 and its recent misrepresentation.
Since so many have died who were associated with the actual incident, there is opportunity for those who, in journalistic parlance, are pejoratively called “bottom feeders.” They rise to the forefront of the food-chain because no one else is left. For Flight 19, this means they may have had some vague connection with the Naval Base or perhaps stood in the same crowd with one of the pilots, but as for anything more substantive than that they are want. It also means that their stories were of little import or interest when the main players were alive. For this one, we’ll find the story could not have been told until the main players were dead, for it would have been immediately )contradicted by those who were real players in the drama of Flight 19.
Through the Hoaxing Glass
Remembering Flight 19
The Book
Foreword Online
Press Release
Limited Edition release
Home
A 6th Avenger?
Views of the Okefenokee
Flight DUI
BT or BS?
PBM Mariner
Bad Navigation?
BUY
This is the evolving story of Calvin Shoemaker. Followers of this web site are already familiar with his tale, for which we now provide a new chapter. ( Shoemaker’s tale the reader should access first, if they are not familiar with it, before continuing.
His tale proves somewhat boring except for the entertainment value inherent in audacity. He first told it on December 2, 1990, in the Los Angles Daily Breeze, entitled Triangle’s Truth. In this germinal story he also expresses what I believe is the motivation behind his novel claims. To be brief, he seems to have such a loath for the idea of mystery and “magnetic forces” involving the loss of the flight that he has, wittingly or unwittingly, constructed a tale to prove them false. To give his tale authority, he promotes the idea he was there, and even better that he had a personal stake in the flight by having been the “6th pilot.”
But being the 6th pilot left standing on the runway isn’t enough to debunk the sensational from Flight 19. He has to be in a place to hear the last dialogue and thereby confirm today that Flight 19 suffered a mere ditching at sea after getting lost, after mutiny and confusion. He even gives the exact magnetic bearings (which are completely apocryphal), and the last words of the flight (which are also apocryphal). The article implies there’s a lot of “unofficial conclusions” which bear him out, (thereby preventing an historian from cross referencing his claims in the Report) which do not appear in the ReportI wonder why Calvin waited all these years until 1990 to come out with his story? Flight 19 and the Triangle certainly weren’t hot news at the time. Perhaps it was the death of Robert F. Cox? He was the pilot who truly did have contact with Flight 19, who, when landing, requested to take the ready plane out and find the planes, for he was sure he knew where they were. His request was denied, so he waited around the tower until past 6 o’clock that evening, listening to what brief dialogue Fort Lauderdale could overhear.
Later investigation by the Board proved Cox was right, but that was no help for Cox. He had spoken out strongly about dereliction of duty on the ground, and it is for this he believed he had been retired only as a Commander instead of the rank of Captain which would usually have been forthcoming after a successful and long Naval career of the kind he had.
But back to Calvin Shoemaker. The coincidence that is hard to escape is that Shoemaker also promotes himself as being the man who insisted on taking the ready plane and then, when denied, waited around the tower to hear all the dialogue— more than anybody else present ever heard! But the position he gives himself provides him with the authority to dogmatically debunk any notion that Flight 19’s disappearance was anything but the slip-up of Charles Taylor. This, I think, is his solitary purpose. This, and that his buddy, Joe Bossi, actually took over the flight and headed them west until they ditched. End of mystery, end of anything unusual. As the article reads: “Shoemaker considers himself an authority on Flight 19.”
day,” Gertrude told the Traveler. “I was so glad to get the information from him because I felt the truth of the story had never been told yet. So many bad things had been published, never the truth. That really touched me to find the truth of the story.” Gertrude was 94 at the time, and passed away shortly thereafter.
The article conveys how Shoemaker’s Bovine Story got to the family. It is because of the Daily Breeze that Bossi’s sister, Bernice, in Santa Monica, read the article and contacted him. The snowball started and he told his elaborate story to the Bossi family in Arkansas. It then grew until he wrote some more down for Mr. Marrs in 1994, in which he invents other dialogue about the last moments of Flight 19.
A full copy of this letter is provided here, so that the reader can enjoy the imagination of Shoemaker before continuing.
To review a few of the absurd points of his letter before continuing, we should note, once again, you cannot switch pilots in an Avenger with its engine going. 2, it takes at least a 12-foot ladder to climb up to an Avenger cowling; this is not done spur-of-the-moment. 3, Avengers cruised at 147 mph; it was impossible for Shoemaker to have even caught up with the flight, and the suggestion is ludicrous. 4, Each pilot was to lead a leg of the flight, but Shoemaker has Powers leading the whole time, with Taylor following at a high altitude (in actuality being the training officer Taylor would have to circle over the hulk at a much lower altitude in order to record the bomb hits on his knee pad). 5, the bad weather set in that night; there was no bad weather during the flight. 6, and worst of all for Shoemaker, there was no magnetic bearing on the flight from Fort Lauderdale. If there had been, it would have solved the dilemma immediately about where to tell the flight to go. Fort Lauderdale could have quickly told Taylor he was in the Atlantic at xx magnetic bearing from the base. Shoemaker being able to tell how close or how far the pilots were flying near each other is yet another strand of comedy in this cloth of absurditedFor anybody who has a remote knowledge of Flight 19 and Naval training of the time, Shoemaker’s story borders on the bizarre. His story never really cleared anything up. The Navy had always assumed they ditched. All Shoemaker did was add himself to the story and usurp Cox’s roll in the drama to add more authority to his tale. He added the magnetic bearing to pinpoint the location out in the ocean, not in some limbo or UFO. This hoax was made successful by the fact no member of the Bossi family bothered to read a book about the subject, nor to have ever obtained the Board of Inquiry Report. When I asked John Bossi whether he believed the story, I received a quick and definite yes. “He was there. I believe it to be 100 per cent accurate.”
Despite the fast growing world of documentary TV in the 1990s, Shoemaker was never sought out to do any shows. TV— well, most everybody— knew there was no 6th plane with Flight 19. In 1994 he wrote that letter mentioned above in which he ad libbed more dialogue and claimed he was the 6th pilot. That was about it.
This brings us now to the recent December 5, 2001, Memorial Service for Flight 19 at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association. A television crew was there, the producer of which I was familiar with as I had been asked to be interviewed later in California for this same show. Because a TV producer was there, Alan McElhiney said “Would you like to appear on the show they are taping? I’ll get you on if you make it brief.” According to Alan, Shoemaker said, “I don’t know how to make it brief.” Calvin was ushered into an office at the museum in order to give this “breaking story,” though the producer did not realize the only thing breaking from the story was from Shoemaker. The producer was “enraptured” by the story, so much so he didn’t bother to pursue how Shoemaker braked and switched planes with a 1,700 horsepower engine
Disappearances and Strange Occurrences - 1901 to 1925
Sunday, August 29, 2010
1902
FREYA
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A German bark lost with all hands prior to October 21st, 1902 while en route to Punta Arenas from Manzanillo
Mexico. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
A German bark found deserted at sea presumably off the west coast of Mexico. Possible seaquake activity in
the area at the time.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A bark found abandoned on a course from Cuba to Chili. (book says "Chili"... possible misprint for Chile?)
1908, January 22
BALTIMORE
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
A bark that disappeared east of Hampton Roads, Virginia with 9 persons.
1908, January 27 top
GEORGE R. VREELAND
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
A schooner that disappeared east of Hampton Roads, Virginia with 7 persons.
1909, September 18
GEORGE TAULANE JR.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
A schooner that vanished off the coast of Georgia with 7 persons.
1909, November 14
SPRAY - A 30 something foot vessel owned and sailed by Joshua Slocum. A world famous sailor and the first
man to sail around the world in a small boat. He is the author of the book "Sailing Alone Around the World".
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
The yawl SPRAY left Martha's Vineyard on November 14th with Joshua Slocum at the helm, he was considered
one of the best sailors in the world at that time. No sources.
"More Haunted Houses" - Richard Winer & Nancy Osborn Ishmael
Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail around the world in a small boat. At one point during that three year
voyage he became sick. As he lay in his cabin a storm hit but he was too sick to go topside and shorten the
sails. He says he lost consciousness for some hours, after he awakened the storm was still raging. Looking out
of the companionway Slocum saw a man at the helm holding the SPRAY on a steady course in spite of the
wild sea. The man was dressed in clothing from centuries past and introduced himself as being a member of
Columbus' crew. No less than the pilot of the PINTA. He said he had come to guide Slocum's ship that night.
When Slocum woke up the next morning, he had recovered enough to go on deck. The gale had become calmed
a bit and the sun was shining. The man was nowhere to be found. Everything that had not been secured had
been washed away. The sails were still set, but under the circumstances should have been very damaged due
to the storm, also the SPRAY had made 90 miles that night right on course. No sources.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
SPRAY was a 36 foot yawl skippered by Joshua Slocum who wrote the book "Sailing Alone Around the World"
He sailed from Martha's Vineyard sometime in the autumn of 1909 heading for Miami. On November 14th he left
Miami possibly headed for the West Indies and was never seen again. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffery
Listed as a 36' sloop. Reports the boat had been inspected at Herreshoff Works in Bristol, Rhode Island by Nat
Herreshoff himself who said it was in top shape. No trace of the SPRAY was ever found. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
The SPRAY, a 37' yawl set sail from Martha's Vineyard on November 14th heading for South America. Rumors
of Slocum having possible health problems, also some question as to the sea worthiness of the SPRAY. Reports
of various sightings of the SPRAY and Slocum throughout South America.
"The Cousteau Almanac" - Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Slight mention of the incident.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
Listed as a 36' 9" yawl with a beam of 14' 2". Lists the same story of Slocum's first voyage around the world
and the phantom pilot of the PINTA. (see the "More Haunted Houses" listing above.) Also states that Slocum
could not swim. He was 65 when he sailed from Miami on November 14th, never to be seen again. No Sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A yawl piloted by Joshua Slocum vanished between Miami and the West Indies with one person.
1909, December 16 top
MARTHA S. BEMENT
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 7 persons
1909, December 18
MAGGIE S. HART
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 8 persons.
1909, December 23
AUBURN
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 9 persons.
1909, December 25
ANNA R. BISHOP
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 7 persons
1910, March 15
U.S.S. NINA - US Navy Steam Tug Boat. The first steamship on record to vanish in the triangle.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 66
Departed Norfolk navy yard March 15th, 1910 bound for Havana Cuba to serve as a support ship for the salvage
operation for the battleship MAINE. The tug was last seen off Savannah, Georgia steaming south. It was never
seen again. This is the first steam powered navy vessel lost in the triangle. No sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
First steamship to vanish in the triangle. Disappeared somewhere south of Savannah Georgia.
COORDINATES: 27032.3, 42450.7
The USS Niña, a 4th rate iron screw steamer, was laid down by Reaney, Son, and Archbold, Chester, Pennsylvania in 1864.
The 137 foot-long tug was launched 27 May 1865, delivered to the New York Navy Yard 26 September 1865, and placed in service
as a yard tug at the Washington Navy Yard 6 January 1866. The Niña operated as a yard tug for the Washington Naval Gun Factory
through May 1869 and was then converted to a torpedo boat. The ship served as a torpedo boat at Newport through 1883, refitting in
May 1884 for special service, and next operated from August to October salvaging the wreck of sidewheel gunboat Tallapoosa, which had
sunk in Martha's Vineyard Sound. From 1885 to 1889, Niña served in various capacities at New York Navy Yard, and then returned to Newport from 1890 to 1891.
The converted tugboat returned to New York Navy Yard in 1892 to resume her original duties, continuing her yard work and towing services there for a decade.
Niña was next loaned to the Lighthouse Department to verify aids to navigation near Puerto Rican waters to protect the Fleet conducting Winter maneuvers
from October 1903 to April 1904. The Niña was ordered converted into a submarine tender on 28 December 1905. On 25 May 1906, she arrived at the Newport Naval Torpedo Station,
and following a year's service, was assigned as tender for the 1st Torpedo Flotilla. For the next four years, she served with the Atlantic Fleet's infant submarine force in its
pioneer coastal operations form Newport to Annapolis and Norfolk. From 1 December 1908 to 22 February 1909, she participated in the great Review in Hampton Roads following
the return of the Great White Fleet from its globe girdling cruise and joined submarines in exercises off the Virginia coast.
The USS Nina ultimately foundered at sea during a storm on 6 February 1910. Sitting in 80 feet, she was rediscovered in 1977. Many artifacts including the bell,
portholes, lanterns, and Morse diving equipment were recovered soon thereafter. Towards the bow, personal effects can still be recovered by digging where the crew's
quarters used to be. The stern is not as prominent as the bow, being close to the sand.
1910, March 26
CHARLES W. PARKER
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A steamship that disappeared east of the southern Jersey coast with 17 persons.
1913, December 17 top
GEORGE A. LAWRY
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner, disappeared east of Jacksonville Florida with 6 persons on board.
1914, January 29
BENJAMINE F. POOLE
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Wilmington North Carolina.
1914, February 27
FITZ J. BABSON
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville Florida with 7 persons.
1915, April
BERTHA L. BASKER
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A freighter that disappeared while en route from New York to St. Martin.
SILVA
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A freighter that disappeared while en route from New York to the Netherlands Antilles.
1915, April 20
MAUDE B. KRUM
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner that disappeared east of St. Andrews Florida with 7 persons.
1916, November 3
BROWN BROTHERS, or BROWN BROS.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A bark that disappeared east of Savannah Georgia with 12 persons on board.
1917, March 6
TIMANDRA
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A freighter that vanished east of Norfolk Virginia with 19 persons on board.
1918, March 17 top
U.S.S. CYCLOPS - This is one of the classic Bermuda Triangle disappearances. Volumes have been written
about this vessel, and the more that come to light, the more confusing and mysterious it becomes. Two of her
sister ships the PROTEUS and the NEREUS disappeared on almost the same route in 1941. The loss of those
two ships was overshadowed by the onset of World War II. Click here for a list of the 21 officers and 285
enlisted men officially listed as dead on June 14th, 1918.The ironclad steamer KICKAPOO carried the name
CYCLOPS from 15 June to 10 August 1869, then was renamed KEWAYDIN.The second Cyclops, a collier,
was launched 7 May 1910 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa., and placed in service 7 November 1910,
G. W. Worley, Master, Navy Auxiliary Service, in charge. Operating with the Naval Auxiliary Service, Atlantic Fleet,
the collier voyaged in the Baltic during May to July 1911 to supply 2d Division ships. Returning to Norfolk, she operated
on the east coast from Newport to the Caribbean servicing the fleet. During the troubled conditions in Mexico in 1914 and
1915, she coaled ships on patrol there and received the thanks of the State Department for cooperation in bringing refugees
from Tampico to New Orleans.
With American entry into World War I, Cyclops was commissioned 1 May l917, Lieutenant Commander G. W. Worley in command.
She joined a convoy for St. Nazaire, France, in June 1917, returning to the east coast in July. Except for a voyage to Halifax,
Nova Scotia, she served along the east coast until 9 January 1918 when she was assigned to Naval Overseas Transportation Service.
She then sailed to Brazilian waters to fuel British ships in the south Atlantic, receiving the thanks of the State Department and
Commander-in-Chief, Pacific. She put to sea from Rio de Janiero 16 February 1918 and after touching at Barbados on 3 and 4 March,
was never heard from again. Her loss with all 306 crew and passengers, without a trace, is one of the sea's unsolved mysteries.
cyclopsa.jpg (55732 bytes) cyclopsb.jpg (51246 bytes)
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash, Picture of the CYCLOPS on page 381
A 19,600 ton, 502" Navy collier that vanished en route from Barbados to Norfolk Virginia on March 4 1918 with 307
crew and passengers on board. On of the largest ships afloat at the time. Never seen again. No sources.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A 14,500 ton, 540' Navy collier built in 1910. Left Bahia Brazil on January 28th, 1918 with a cargo of Manganese.
Word War I was also in progress at the time. First stop was Georgetown, British West Indies on March 3rd to
take on coal. On March 4th she headed out to sea bound for Norfolk Virginia with one of two engines damaged.
The CYCLOPS had a sister ship called the ORION. This book covers various theories as to what happened.
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 23
A 19,000 plus ton Navy fuel supply ship built in 1910. It left Norfolk in January of 1918 bound for U.S. warships
off the east coast of South America, with a cargo of coal, mail and other supplies to refit the warships. Captain
George W. Worley was in command of the ship, and had been ever since her commission in 1910. It had been
quite an eventful last voyage for the CYCLOPS. She had almost collided with the U.S.S. SURVEY leaving Norfolk,
then a short while later a head had blown off one of her engines. The rest of the voyage would have to be made
with one engine. Entering the port at Rio de Janeiro on January 28th, 1918 she almost went onto the rocks. One
crewman was killed by the propellers and she was damaged by the cruiser U.S.S. RALEIGH while offloading
coal.( I think I would have called it quits at this point and headed back home. - byerly ) She took on 11,000 tons
of Manganese ore while in Rio. There is some speculation as to whether she was overloaded or improperly loaded.
Five prisoners involved in a murder on the U.S.S. PITTSBURGH were also taken on board the CYCLOPS as well
as some others from the PITTSBURGH. The CYCLOPS left Rio bound for Bahia, Brazil - date unknown. She
arrives in Brazil on February 21st, 1918. Counsel General Alfred L. M. Gottschalk arrives onboard to be taken back
America. CYCLOPS leaves Bahia on February 22nd, 1918 bound directly for Baltimore by direct order. Against
orders Captain Worley puts in outside Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown in Barbados. Worley requests coal and money
to make it back to Baltimore. Some questions arise as to whether the supplies are really needed. The American
Counsel in Barbados fills Worley's requests. In two days she sets off for Baltimore and vanishes.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Listed as a 542 foot, 19,600 ton U.S. Navy Collier with 309 men and a load of Manganese ore at the time of her
disappearance somewhere between Barbados and Baltimore/Norfolk. In 1941 two of her sister ships the NOREUS
and the PROTEUS disappeared on almost the same route. The CYCLOPS was one of the biggest ships afloat
at the time. She vanished with no trace, no S.O.S. and no debris. Captain Worley had 28 years with the navy
and had been the ship's master since she was built in 1910. There was documentation of engine trouble onboard.
She was the first large ship equipped with radio. The Navy called the search off in May of 1918 for the ship. There
is documentation of a storm hitting the general area of the CYCLOPS at that time.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 77
A 14,500 ton U.S. Navy fuel ship bound for Norfolk, Virginia. Submerged wreckage found at the time of this books
writing could possibly be the CYCLOPS as she had a very unique superstructure.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Pages 85, 97 - This book has pictures of the CYCLOPS
the PROTEUS and the NOREUS, as well as one of Captain Worley.
A 19,000 ton coaling ship with the crew listed as 308 men and 309 men. It left Norfolk with a cargo of coal, mail
and supplies to refit a fleet of U.S. warships operating of the east coast of South America in January of 1918. ( This
version paints the captain as quite a tyrant and a poor navigator. - byerly ) Captain George W. Worley had was
in command of the CYCLOPS since the ship was built back in 1910. On her final voyage she almost collided
with the U.S.S. SURVEY leaving Norfolk, she blew a head on one of the engines, and had to complete the
mission with only one engine, she passed the port of Rio de Janeiro and almost went aground on rocks due to
changes Worley made on some navigation charts, a seaman was killed by the propeller and after the coaling the
the cruiser RALEIGH, the CYCLOPS scraped the side of the ship causing some damage. In Rio some prisoners
were taken onboard involved with a murder which had taken place on the U.S.S. PITTSBURGH. ( good detail as
to the murder onboard the U.S.S. PITTSBURGH - byerly) Also some men were being taken back who where
friends of the prisoners aboard the CYCLOPS. The CYCLOPS loaded about 11,000 tons of Manganese Ore from
a bulk cargo dock, evidently after loading, the Plimsoll Mark was under water, which signifies overloading, but
nothing was done about it. After a couple of days she set sail for Bahia, Brazil. On February 21st she was seen in
Bahia Harbor by witnesses. She appeared ship shape with everything stowed and chained down for sea. It was
reported that the ship may have entered the harbor from the north, when it should have been arriving from the
south. More possible evidence of poor navigational skills onboard. The ship may have overshot the harbor and
had to backtrack to find it. CYCLOPS was ordered to leave Bahia on February 22nd and proceed to Baltimore.
Prior to the ships departure, Counsel General Alfred L. M. Gottschalk came onboard for transport to the U.S. No
Homeward Bound Pennant was flown as is Navy tradition. The starboard engine repaired in Rio had again broken
down, limiting the ship to a sustained speed of 8 knots. It was reported that Worley was drinking to excess.
Against orders Captain Worley orders the CYCLOPS to put in at Carlisle Bay, Barbados on March 3rd. The small
harbor would not accommodate the ship so she was at anchor 1 mile off shore. Brockhols Livingston, the United
States Counsel General at Barbados went out to the ship, Worley stated that the reason he had stopped there
was that he was in need of money, coal and other supplies to make it home. Supposedly when CYCLOPS left
Bahia it was outfitted with everything it needed for the return voyage back home. Worley possibly asked for a
large store of foodstuffs despite protests by Livingston as to price and availability. The Ship departed on March
4th with the requested supplies. However, it was observed that the ship steamed south after leaving anchor, the
wrong way for Baltimore. Radio contact was exchanged between CYCLOPS and the British liner VESTRIS on
March 5th. The CYCLOPS was never heard from again. She was reported overdue by the U.S. Navy on March 13.
Page 114 of this book has Livingston's reply to the Navy's telegram of inquiry and a list of extra provisions supplied
to the ship. It also mentions discrepancies in quantities.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A Navy collier that disappeared en route from Barbados to Norfolk, Virginia.
1919, January 4 top
BAYARD HOPKINS
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, page 24
A schooner that disappeared east of Norfolk Virginia with 6 persons.
1920, February 20
AMELIA ZEMAN
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, page 24
A schooner that disappeared east of Norfolk, Virginia with 9 persons.
1920, April 18
WILLIAM O'BRIEN - Wooden steamship, new, 3143 tons, going from New York to Rotterdam
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A 3143 ton wooden steamship owned by the France and Canada Steamship Company. The ship left New York on April 14th, 1920
bound for Rotterdam. The O'Brien was back in port the next day due to trouble with the crew. No details are given. It set out again on
April 15th. On April 18th, the steamer BALTIC receives a radio message from O'BRIEN stating that she is 500 miles east of the Delaware
River and in need of assistance. The O'BRIEN is not found.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Rumors of possible Soviet involvement with the crew and mutiny. O'BRIEN puts back into port the next day after leaving due to problems
with the crew. No details. Left the next day and is never seen again.
1920, October 1
ALBYAN - Russian bark sailing from Norfolk, Virginia
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A Russian bark sailed from Norfolk, Virginia destination unknown, on October 1st, 1920. No wreckage or trace was ever found. No sources.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
A Russian bark sailed October 1st, 1920
1920, October 19
GENERAL MORNE - British schooner, Lisbon to Newfoundland
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A British schooner sailing from Lisbon, Portugal to Newfoundland was never seen again. No sources.
1920, November 17 top
YUTE - 2974 ton, Spanish Steamer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A Spanish steamer at 2,974 tons. She sailed from Baltimore on November 14th, 1920. On November 17th she was heard
calling for help and gave her position as 240 miles off the New Jersey Coast, south east of Cape May. No trace found.
Page 79
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, A Spanish Steamer. The winter of 1920 - 21 was one of the worst on record. Limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A steamship sailing from New York to Europe, by way of the Bermuda Triangle. Date is given as 1921.
1920, November 25
FLONINE - Bark, Norwegian, possibly the same as the FLORINO?
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
Left Hampton Roads on November 25th, 1920. No trace , no sources.
1921
STEINSUND, Bark, Norwegian
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
A Norwegian Bark, no trace The winter of '20-'21 was one of the worst on record, limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe by way of the triangle.
FLORINO - Bark, Norwegian, possibly the same as the FLONINE
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
A Norwegian Bark, no trace The winter of '20-'21 was one of the worst on record, limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe by way of the triangle.
SVARTSKOG - Bark, Norwegian
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
Reported as a Norwegian Bark, the winter of 1920-21 was one of the worst on record. Limited sources
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
The date is given as 1921. A cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe by way of The Triangle, no life count given
1921, January, After the 20th
HEWITT- Steel Steamer, between Texas and Boston
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
An American Steel Steamer that sailed from Sabine, Texas for Boston and Portland, Maine with a cargo of sulfur.
She was last seen about 250 miles north of Jupiter Inlet, Florida. No trace. Possibly lost off Diamond Shoals as extreme
weather was reported in the area at the time as the loss of the CARROLL A. DEERING. No sources listed.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
American Steel Steamer that sailed from Sabine, Texas on January 20th, 1921 bound for Boston and Portland, Maine with a cargo
of sulfur.She was last seen about 250 miles north of Jupiter Inlet, Florida. No trace. Sometime in early February of 1921, residents
along the New Jersey coast report seeing a bright flash of light and high pillars of smoke out at sea. Possibly the ships load of sulfur
exploding. It has been theorized that the Hewitt could possibly have had the crew from the CARROLL A. DEERING on board.
No sources listed.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
She was a sulfur ship owned by the Union Sulfur Company, sailing from Sabine, Texas to Boston and Portland, Maine. Lost
with no trace. The winter of 1920-21 was reported as one of the worst on record. She was seen rounding the Florida Keys and entering
the Straights of Florida. She communicated with another vessel north of Jupiter Island, Florida. Limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Gives the date as 1920, states she was sailing from New York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, January 31 top
CARROLL A. DEERING - Size given as either a 2,114 or 3,500 ton five masted schooner found abandoned and aground
on Diamond Shoals.
The launching of the Carroll A Deering at Bathe, Maine in 1919.
Deeringlaunch.gif (135947 bytes)
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A five masted schooner found aground on Diamond Shoals with all sails set and two lifeboats gone. Two cats were found onboard.
The evening meal was found on the stove but luggage and clothing were missing. She was under the command of Captain Wormwell.
She had sailed to South America having left in September of 1920 and was on her return voyage. There were rumors of piracy
and abductions involving other ships in that same area for a few months that also disappeared. There were also reports of exceptionally
bad weather in the area. Good reference, sources listed.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
Lists the ship as 3,500 tons.
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Found abandoned except for two cats off Cape Hatteras.
1921, February 2
MONTE SAN MICHELE - Italian steamer, 4,061 tons. Sailing from Portland, Maine to Genoa.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date given as just 1921, New York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, February 3
CABEDELLO - Steamer sailing from Norfolk, Virginia
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date listed only as 1921 also reports that ship is a cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, February 2 top
ESPERANZA DE LARRINAGA - British Schooner sailing from Norfolk, Virginia
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date listed only as 192, listed as a steamship sailing from new York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, February 6
OTTAWA - Steamer, sailing from Norfolk, Virginia to Manchester, England
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date only listed as 1921also reports ship as a tanker.
1921, April 4
CANADIAN MAID - British Schooner sailing from Monte Cristo to New York.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1921, October 27
BAGDAD - Schooner
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Lost off Key West, Florida with eight persons.
1922, February 11 top
SEDGWICK - Schooner
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Lost east of Charleston, South Carolina with 6 persons.
1925, April
RAIFUKU MARU - This is the ship responsible for the famous "DANGER LIKE DAGGER NOW" radio message.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Spelled as "RAIFUKA" in the index.
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
Shows the date to be April of 1924.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Shows a map of the area and lists the cargo as wheat.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Listed as a freighter lost east of the Bahamas.
1925, December
COTOPAXI - Steamer, possibly two vessels with the same name as records indicate another COTOPAXI
sighted an unknown 35 foot abandoned craft in 1969.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 44.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Lists the cargo as coal.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 178.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Lists the date only as 1925 and reports the vessel as a cargo ship in the proximity of Charleston, South Carolina.
FREYA
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A German bark lost with all hands prior to October 21st, 1902 while en route to Punta Arenas from Manzanillo
Mexico. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
A German bark found deserted at sea presumably off the west coast of Mexico. Possible seaquake activity in
the area at the time.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A bark found abandoned on a course from Cuba to Chili. (book says "Chili"... possible misprint for Chile?)
1908, January 22
BALTIMORE
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
A bark that disappeared east of Hampton Roads, Virginia with 9 persons.
1908, January 27 top
GEORGE R. VREELAND
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
A schooner that disappeared east of Hampton Roads, Virginia with 7 persons.
1909, September 18
GEORGE TAULANE JR.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
A schooner that vanished off the coast of Georgia with 7 persons.
1909, November 14
SPRAY - A 30 something foot vessel owned and sailed by Joshua Slocum. A world famous sailor and the first
man to sail around the world in a small boat. He is the author of the book "Sailing Alone Around the World".
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
The yawl SPRAY left Martha's Vineyard on November 14th with Joshua Slocum at the helm, he was considered
one of the best sailors in the world at that time. No sources.
"More Haunted Houses" - Richard Winer & Nancy Osborn Ishmael
Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail around the world in a small boat. At one point during that three year
voyage he became sick. As he lay in his cabin a storm hit but he was too sick to go topside and shorten the
sails. He says he lost consciousness for some hours, after he awakened the storm was still raging. Looking out
of the companionway Slocum saw a man at the helm holding the SPRAY on a steady course in spite of the
wild sea. The man was dressed in clothing from centuries past and introduced himself as being a member of
Columbus' crew. No less than the pilot of the PINTA. He said he had come to guide Slocum's ship that night.
When Slocum woke up the next morning, he had recovered enough to go on deck. The gale had become calmed
a bit and the sun was shining. The man was nowhere to be found. Everything that had not been secured had
been washed away. The sails were still set, but under the circumstances should have been very damaged due
to the storm, also the SPRAY had made 90 miles that night right on course. No sources.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
SPRAY was a 36 foot yawl skippered by Joshua Slocum who wrote the book "Sailing Alone Around the World"
He sailed from Martha's Vineyard sometime in the autumn of 1909 heading for Miami. On November 14th he left
Miami possibly headed for the West Indies and was never seen again. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffery
Listed as a 36' sloop. Reports the boat had been inspected at Herreshoff Works in Bristol, Rhode Island by Nat
Herreshoff himself who said it was in top shape. No trace of the SPRAY was ever found. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
The SPRAY, a 37' yawl set sail from Martha's Vineyard on November 14th heading for South America. Rumors
of Slocum having possible health problems, also some question as to the sea worthiness of the SPRAY. Reports
of various sightings of the SPRAY and Slocum throughout South America.
"The Cousteau Almanac" - Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Slight mention of the incident.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
Listed as a 36' 9" yawl with a beam of 14' 2". Lists the same story of Slocum's first voyage around the world
and the phantom pilot of the PINTA. (see the "More Haunted Houses" listing above.) Also states that Slocum
could not swim. He was 65 when he sailed from Miami on November 14th, never to be seen again. No Sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A yawl piloted by Joshua Slocum vanished between Miami and the West Indies with one person.
1909, December 16 top
MARTHA S. BEMENT
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 7 persons
1909, December 18
MAGGIE S. HART
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 8 persons.
1909, December 23
AUBURN
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 9 persons.
1909, December 25
ANNA R. BISHOP
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville, Florida with 7 persons
1910, March 15
U.S.S. NINA - US Navy Steam Tug Boat. The first steamship on record to vanish in the triangle.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 66
Departed Norfolk navy yard March 15th, 1910 bound for Havana Cuba to serve as a support ship for the salvage
operation for the battleship MAINE. The tug was last seen off Savannah, Georgia steaming south. It was never
seen again. This is the first steam powered navy vessel lost in the triangle. No sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
First steamship to vanish in the triangle. Disappeared somewhere south of Savannah Georgia.
COORDINATES: 27032.3, 42450.7
The USS Niña, a 4th rate iron screw steamer, was laid down by Reaney, Son, and Archbold, Chester, Pennsylvania in 1864.
The 137 foot-long tug was launched 27 May 1865, delivered to the New York Navy Yard 26 September 1865, and placed in service
as a yard tug at the Washington Navy Yard 6 January 1866. The Niña operated as a yard tug for the Washington Naval Gun Factory
through May 1869 and was then converted to a torpedo boat. The ship served as a torpedo boat at Newport through 1883, refitting in
May 1884 for special service, and next operated from August to October salvaging the wreck of sidewheel gunboat Tallapoosa, which had
sunk in Martha's Vineyard Sound. From 1885 to 1889, Niña served in various capacities at New York Navy Yard, and then returned to Newport from 1890 to 1891.
The converted tugboat returned to New York Navy Yard in 1892 to resume her original duties, continuing her yard work and towing services there for a decade.
Niña was next loaned to the Lighthouse Department to verify aids to navigation near Puerto Rican waters to protect the Fleet conducting Winter maneuvers
from October 1903 to April 1904. The Niña was ordered converted into a submarine tender on 28 December 1905. On 25 May 1906, she arrived at the Newport Naval Torpedo Station,
and following a year's service, was assigned as tender for the 1st Torpedo Flotilla. For the next four years, she served with the Atlantic Fleet's infant submarine force in its
pioneer coastal operations form Newport to Annapolis and Norfolk. From 1 December 1908 to 22 February 1909, she participated in the great Review in Hampton Roads following
the return of the Great White Fleet from its globe girdling cruise and joined submarines in exercises off the Virginia coast.
The USS Nina ultimately foundered at sea during a storm on 6 February 1910. Sitting in 80 feet, she was rediscovered in 1977. Many artifacts including the bell,
portholes, lanterns, and Morse diving equipment were recovered soon thereafter. Towards the bow, personal effects can still be recovered by digging where the crew's
quarters used to be. The stern is not as prominent as the bow, being close to the sand.
1910, March 26
CHARLES W. PARKER
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A steamship that disappeared east of the southern Jersey coast with 17 persons.
1913, December 17 top
GEORGE A. LAWRY
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner, disappeared east of Jacksonville Florida with 6 persons on board.
1914, January 29
BENJAMINE F. POOLE
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Wilmington North Carolina.
1914, February 27
FITZ J. BABSON
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner disappeared east of Jacksonville Florida with 7 persons.
1915, April
BERTHA L. BASKER
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A freighter that disappeared while en route from New York to St. Martin.
SILVA
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A freighter that disappeared while en route from New York to the Netherlands Antilles.
1915, April 20
MAUDE B. KRUM
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A schooner that disappeared east of St. Andrews Florida with 7 persons.
1916, November 3
BROWN BROTHERS, or BROWN BROS.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A bark that disappeared east of Savannah Georgia with 12 persons on board.
1917, March 6
TIMANDRA
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A freighter that vanished east of Norfolk Virginia with 19 persons on board.
1918, March 17 top
U.S.S. CYCLOPS - This is one of the classic Bermuda Triangle disappearances. Volumes have been written
about this vessel, and the more that come to light, the more confusing and mysterious it becomes. Two of her
sister ships the PROTEUS and the NEREUS disappeared on almost the same route in 1941. The loss of those
two ships was overshadowed by the onset of World War II. Click here for a list of the 21 officers and 285
enlisted men officially listed as dead on June 14th, 1918.The ironclad steamer KICKAPOO carried the name
CYCLOPS from 15 June to 10 August 1869, then was renamed KEWAYDIN.The second Cyclops, a collier,
was launched 7 May 1910 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pa., and placed in service 7 November 1910,
G. W. Worley, Master, Navy Auxiliary Service, in charge. Operating with the Naval Auxiliary Service, Atlantic Fleet,
the collier voyaged in the Baltic during May to July 1911 to supply 2d Division ships. Returning to Norfolk, she operated
on the east coast from Newport to the Caribbean servicing the fleet. During the troubled conditions in Mexico in 1914 and
1915, she coaled ships on patrol there and received the thanks of the State Department for cooperation in bringing refugees
from Tampico to New Orleans.
With American entry into World War I, Cyclops was commissioned 1 May l917, Lieutenant Commander G. W. Worley in command.
She joined a convoy for St. Nazaire, France, in June 1917, returning to the east coast in July. Except for a voyage to Halifax,
Nova Scotia, she served along the east coast until 9 January 1918 when she was assigned to Naval Overseas Transportation Service.
She then sailed to Brazilian waters to fuel British ships in the south Atlantic, receiving the thanks of the State Department and
Commander-in-Chief, Pacific. She put to sea from Rio de Janiero 16 February 1918 and after touching at Barbados on 3 and 4 March,
was never heard from again. Her loss with all 306 crew and passengers, without a trace, is one of the sea's unsolved mysteries.
cyclopsa.jpg (55732 bytes) cyclopsb.jpg (51246 bytes)
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash, Picture of the CYCLOPS on page 381
A 19,600 ton, 502" Navy collier that vanished en route from Barbados to Norfolk Virginia on March 4 1918 with 307
crew and passengers on board. On of the largest ships afloat at the time. Never seen again. No sources.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A 14,500 ton, 540' Navy collier built in 1910. Left Bahia Brazil on January 28th, 1918 with a cargo of Manganese.
Word War I was also in progress at the time. First stop was Georgetown, British West Indies on March 3rd to
take on coal. On March 4th she headed out to sea bound for Norfolk Virginia with one of two engines damaged.
The CYCLOPS had a sister ship called the ORION. This book covers various theories as to what happened.
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 23
A 19,000 plus ton Navy fuel supply ship built in 1910. It left Norfolk in January of 1918 bound for U.S. warships
off the east coast of South America, with a cargo of coal, mail and other supplies to refit the warships. Captain
George W. Worley was in command of the ship, and had been ever since her commission in 1910. It had been
quite an eventful last voyage for the CYCLOPS. She had almost collided with the U.S.S. SURVEY leaving Norfolk,
then a short while later a head had blown off one of her engines. The rest of the voyage would have to be made
with one engine. Entering the port at Rio de Janeiro on January 28th, 1918 she almost went onto the rocks. One
crewman was killed by the propellers and she was damaged by the cruiser U.S.S. RALEIGH while offloading
coal.( I think I would have called it quits at this point and headed back home. - byerly ) She took on 11,000 tons
of Manganese ore while in Rio. There is some speculation as to whether she was overloaded or improperly loaded.
Five prisoners involved in a murder on the U.S.S. PITTSBURGH were also taken on board the CYCLOPS as well
as some others from the PITTSBURGH. The CYCLOPS left Rio bound for Bahia, Brazil - date unknown. She
arrives in Brazil on February 21st, 1918. Counsel General Alfred L. M. Gottschalk arrives onboard to be taken back
America. CYCLOPS leaves Bahia on February 22nd, 1918 bound directly for Baltimore by direct order. Against
orders Captain Worley puts in outside Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown in Barbados. Worley requests coal and money
to make it back to Baltimore. Some questions arise as to whether the supplies are really needed. The American
Counsel in Barbados fills Worley's requests. In two days she sets off for Baltimore and vanishes.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Listed as a 542 foot, 19,600 ton U.S. Navy Collier with 309 men and a load of Manganese ore at the time of her
disappearance somewhere between Barbados and Baltimore/Norfolk. In 1941 two of her sister ships the NOREUS
and the PROTEUS disappeared on almost the same route. The CYCLOPS was one of the biggest ships afloat
at the time. She vanished with no trace, no S.O.S. and no debris. Captain Worley had 28 years with the navy
and had been the ship's master since she was built in 1910. There was documentation of engine trouble onboard.
She was the first large ship equipped with radio. The Navy called the search off in May of 1918 for the ship. There
is documentation of a storm hitting the general area of the CYCLOPS at that time.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 77
A 14,500 ton U.S. Navy fuel ship bound for Norfolk, Virginia. Submerged wreckage found at the time of this books
writing could possibly be the CYCLOPS as she had a very unique superstructure.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Pages 85, 97 - This book has pictures of the CYCLOPS
the PROTEUS and the NOREUS, as well as one of Captain Worley.
A 19,000 ton coaling ship with the crew listed as 308 men and 309 men. It left Norfolk with a cargo of coal, mail
and supplies to refit a fleet of U.S. warships operating of the east coast of South America in January of 1918. ( This
version paints the captain as quite a tyrant and a poor navigator. - byerly ) Captain George W. Worley had was
in command of the CYCLOPS since the ship was built back in 1910. On her final voyage she almost collided
with the U.S.S. SURVEY leaving Norfolk, she blew a head on one of the engines, and had to complete the
mission with only one engine, she passed the port of Rio de Janeiro and almost went aground on rocks due to
changes Worley made on some navigation charts, a seaman was killed by the propeller and after the coaling the
the cruiser RALEIGH, the CYCLOPS scraped the side of the ship causing some damage. In Rio some prisoners
were taken onboard involved with a murder which had taken place on the U.S.S. PITTSBURGH. ( good detail as
to the murder onboard the U.S.S. PITTSBURGH - byerly) Also some men were being taken back who where
friends of the prisoners aboard the CYCLOPS. The CYCLOPS loaded about 11,000 tons of Manganese Ore from
a bulk cargo dock, evidently after loading, the Plimsoll Mark was under water, which signifies overloading, but
nothing was done about it. After a couple of days she set sail for Bahia, Brazil. On February 21st she was seen in
Bahia Harbor by witnesses. She appeared ship shape with everything stowed and chained down for sea. It was
reported that the ship may have entered the harbor from the north, when it should have been arriving from the
south. More possible evidence of poor navigational skills onboard. The ship may have overshot the harbor and
had to backtrack to find it. CYCLOPS was ordered to leave Bahia on February 22nd and proceed to Baltimore.
Prior to the ships departure, Counsel General Alfred L. M. Gottschalk came onboard for transport to the U.S. No
Homeward Bound Pennant was flown as is Navy tradition. The starboard engine repaired in Rio had again broken
down, limiting the ship to a sustained speed of 8 knots. It was reported that Worley was drinking to excess.
Against orders Captain Worley orders the CYCLOPS to put in at Carlisle Bay, Barbados on March 3rd. The small
harbor would not accommodate the ship so she was at anchor 1 mile off shore. Brockhols Livingston, the United
States Counsel General at Barbados went out to the ship, Worley stated that the reason he had stopped there
was that he was in need of money, coal and other supplies to make it home. Supposedly when CYCLOPS left
Bahia it was outfitted with everything it needed for the return voyage back home. Worley possibly asked for a
large store of foodstuffs despite protests by Livingston as to price and availability. The Ship departed on March
4th with the requested supplies. However, it was observed that the ship steamed south after leaving anchor, the
wrong way for Baltimore. Radio contact was exchanged between CYCLOPS and the British liner VESTRIS on
March 5th. The CYCLOPS was never heard from again. She was reported overdue by the U.S. Navy on March 13.
Page 114 of this book has Livingston's reply to the Navy's telegram of inquiry and a list of extra provisions supplied
to the ship. It also mentions discrepancies in quantities.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A Navy collier that disappeared en route from Barbados to Norfolk, Virginia.
1919, January 4 top
BAYARD HOPKINS
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, page 24
A schooner that disappeared east of Norfolk Virginia with 6 persons.
1920, February 20
AMELIA ZEMAN
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, page 24
A schooner that disappeared east of Norfolk, Virginia with 9 persons.
1920, April 18
WILLIAM O'BRIEN - Wooden steamship, new, 3143 tons, going from New York to Rotterdam
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A 3143 ton wooden steamship owned by the France and Canada Steamship Company. The ship left New York on April 14th, 1920
bound for Rotterdam. The O'Brien was back in port the next day due to trouble with the crew. No details are given. It set out again on
April 15th. On April 18th, the steamer BALTIC receives a radio message from O'BRIEN stating that she is 500 miles east of the Delaware
River and in need of assistance. The O'BRIEN is not found.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Rumors of possible Soviet involvement with the crew and mutiny. O'BRIEN puts back into port the next day after leaving due to problems
with the crew. No details. Left the next day and is never seen again.
1920, October 1
ALBYAN - Russian bark sailing from Norfolk, Virginia
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A Russian bark sailed from Norfolk, Virginia destination unknown, on October 1st, 1920. No wreckage or trace was ever found. No sources.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
A Russian bark sailed October 1st, 1920
1920, October 19
GENERAL MORNE - British schooner, Lisbon to Newfoundland
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A British schooner sailing from Lisbon, Portugal to Newfoundland was never seen again. No sources.
1920, November 17 top
YUTE - 2974 ton, Spanish Steamer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A Spanish steamer at 2,974 tons. She sailed from Baltimore on November 14th, 1920. On November 17th she was heard
calling for help and gave her position as 240 miles off the New Jersey Coast, south east of Cape May. No trace found.
Page 79
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, A Spanish Steamer. The winter of 1920 - 21 was one of the worst on record. Limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A steamship sailing from New York to Europe, by way of the Bermuda Triangle. Date is given as 1921.
1920, November 25
FLONINE - Bark, Norwegian, possibly the same as the FLORINO?
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
Left Hampton Roads on November 25th, 1920. No trace , no sources.
1921
STEINSUND, Bark, Norwegian
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
A Norwegian Bark, no trace The winter of '20-'21 was one of the worst on record, limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe by way of the triangle.
FLORINO - Bark, Norwegian, possibly the same as the FLONINE
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
A Norwegian Bark, no trace The winter of '20-'21 was one of the worst on record, limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
A cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe by way of the triangle.
SVARTSKOG - Bark, Norwegian
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
Reported as a Norwegian Bark, the winter of 1920-21 was one of the worst on record. Limited sources
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
The date is given as 1921. A cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe by way of The Triangle, no life count given
1921, January, After the 20th
HEWITT- Steel Steamer, between Texas and Boston
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
An American Steel Steamer that sailed from Sabine, Texas for Boston and Portland, Maine with a cargo of sulfur.
She was last seen about 250 miles north of Jupiter Inlet, Florida. No trace. Possibly lost off Diamond Shoals as extreme
weather was reported in the area at the time as the loss of the CARROLL A. DEERING. No sources listed.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
American Steel Steamer that sailed from Sabine, Texas on January 20th, 1921 bound for Boston and Portland, Maine with a cargo
of sulfur.She was last seen about 250 miles north of Jupiter Inlet, Florida. No trace. Sometime in early February of 1921, residents
along the New Jersey coast report seeing a bright flash of light and high pillars of smoke out at sea. Possibly the ships load of sulfur
exploding. It has been theorized that the Hewitt could possibly have had the crew from the CARROLL A. DEERING on board.
No sources listed.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
She was a sulfur ship owned by the Union Sulfur Company, sailing from Sabine, Texas to Boston and Portland, Maine. Lost
with no trace. The winter of 1920-21 was reported as one of the worst on record. She was seen rounding the Florida Keys and entering
the Straights of Florida. She communicated with another vessel north of Jupiter Island, Florida. Limited sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Gives the date as 1920, states she was sailing from New York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, January 31 top
CARROLL A. DEERING - Size given as either a 2,114 or 3,500 ton five masted schooner found abandoned and aground
on Diamond Shoals.
The launching of the Carroll A Deering at Bathe, Maine in 1919.
Deeringlaunch.gif (135947 bytes)
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A five masted schooner found aground on Diamond Shoals with all sails set and two lifeboats gone. Two cats were found onboard.
The evening meal was found on the stove but luggage and clothing were missing. She was under the command of Captain Wormwell.
She had sailed to South America having left in September of 1920 and was on her return voyage. There were rumors of piracy
and abductions involving other ships in that same area for a few months that also disappeared. There were also reports of exceptionally
bad weather in the area. Good reference, sources listed.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
Lists the ship as 3,500 tons.
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Found abandoned except for two cats off Cape Hatteras.
1921, February 2
MONTE SAN MICHELE - Italian steamer, 4,061 tons. Sailing from Portland, Maine to Genoa.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date given as just 1921, New York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, February 3
CABEDELLO - Steamer sailing from Norfolk, Virginia
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date listed only as 1921 also reports that ship is a cargo ship sailing from New York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, February 2 top
ESPERANZA DE LARRINAGA - British Schooner sailing from Norfolk, Virginia
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date listed only as 192, listed as a steamship sailing from new York to Europe via The Triangle.
1921, February 6
OTTAWA - Steamer, sailing from Norfolk, Virginia to Manchester, England
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz,
Date only listed as 1921also reports ship as a tanker.
1921, April 4
CANADIAN MAID - British Schooner sailing from Monte Cristo to New York.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1921, October 27
BAGDAD - Schooner
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Lost off Key West, Florida with eight persons.
1922, February 11 top
SEDGWICK - Schooner
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Lost east of Charleston, South Carolina with 6 persons.
1925, April
RAIFUKU MARU - This is the ship responsible for the famous "DANGER LIKE DAGGER NOW" radio message.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Spelled as "RAIFUKA" in the index.
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
Shows the date to be April of 1924.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Shows a map of the area and lists the cargo as wheat.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Listed as a freighter lost east of the Bahamas.
1925, December
COTOPAXI - Steamer, possibly two vessels with the same name as records indicate another COTOPAXI
sighted an unknown 35 foot abandoned craft in 1969.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic In the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 44.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Lists the cargo as coal.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 178.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz
Lists the date only as 1925 and reports the vessel as a cargo ship in the proximity of Charleston, South Carolina.
Disappearances and Strange Occurrences - 1492 to 1900
The books listed give sources and references except where noted
1492
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 21
Supposed reports of compass malfunctions and a flaming fireball crashing into the sea. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 20, 21
Reports of a fireball crashing into the sea and compass malfunctions in the area of the triangle. No sources
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Reports of a bolt of fire that fell into the sea, compass malfunctions and a light on the horizon in the area
of the triangle. The Sargasso Sea is also referred to. Good detail on the compass problem.
1609, July
SEA VENTURE
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 21
Wrecked off of a reef near Bermuda, first colonization of the Island of Bermuda.
1800 top
U.S.S. PICKERING
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Between Guadeloupe and Delaware, 90 people on board.
1813, January 1
U.S.S. PATRIOT
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 47
Disappeared the week of January 1st, 1813 with Theodosia Alston-Burr on board. Theodosia was the daughter
of former Vice President Aaron Burr, and the wife of Joseph Alston, governor of South Carolina. Supposedly the
American packet ship had permission from the British to sail to New York with their knowledge that the
governor's wife was on board. The PATRIOT had dismantled it's guns and stored them below decks as an act
of peace to the British. The book lists a few seamen's death bed confessions as to what happened onboard and
a few rumors are discussed.
1814, October
U.S.S. WASP - This is the second WASP, the first was captured by the British.
wasp28-0395a.gif (92547 bytes) Marines Aboard USS Wasp Engage HMS Reindeer. June 1814, just months before she disappeared. Copy of painting by Sergeant John Clymer
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 63
Lists the date as the fall of 1814. Captain Johnston Blakeley. This second WASP first set sail on May 1st,1814
with 22 guns and a crew of173. Supposedly disappeared en route to South Carolina. Port of departure not noted.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Has date as October, 1814. Lost in the Caribbean with 140 persons.
1824
U.S.S. WILDCAT
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Disappeared en route from Cuba to Tompson's Island with 14 persons on board.
1840, August top
ROSALIE or ROSSINI - There is confusion as to the actual name, reports show up using both.
"Into Thin Air" - Paul Berg, Page 52
"Mysteries of the Unexplained" - Reader's Digest
Lloyd's of London has a record for the ROSSINI for the time frame involved. It was a large French vessel en
route from Hamburgh to Havana. It was loaded with wines, fruit and silk. It ran aground in the Bahama Channel
on August 3rd, 1840. All hands were rescued and the ship was later towed in by a salvage company. There is
mention of "curious circumstances", but no detail as to what they might be is given.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" James Paul Chaplin, Page 32
French vessel discovered on course from Europe to Havana. Found crewless with sails set and a cargo of
wines, fruits and silks still in her holds. No sources given.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Good information, references and records on file. It appears that the ROSSINI and the ROSALIE are the same
ship.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Found abandoned with only a canary onboard, bound for Cuba from France.
1843, March 3
U.S.S. GRAMPUS
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 67
U.S. Navy ship. Disappeared on the way to port at Charleston. Last seen by the MADISON off St. Augustine,
Florida on March 3rd, 1843
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Disappeared March 1843 off St. Augustine Florida with 48 persons onboard.
1854, April top
BELLA - Cargo schooner
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Disappeared en route from Rio de Janeiro to New York by way of Kingston Jamaica with 40 persons onboard.
No mention of weather conditions. Possible capsize from improperly stowed coffee cargo. Sir Roger Doughty
Tichborne was onboard, there seems to be some controversy surrounding him.
"Without a Trace" Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Schooner abandoned in West Indies area.
1855, February 26, 28
JAMES B. CHESTER
"Into Thin Air" - Paul Berg, Page 56
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" James Paul Chaplin, Page 32
A three masted schooner found abandoned and floundering in the Sargasso Sea by the MARATHON. Personal
effects were strewn about and the lifeboats were in place and the cargo was secured. No sources.
"Mysteries of the Unexplained" - Reader's Digest
Found February 28th in the Mid Atlantic in fine condition. The compass and ship's papers were gone. There were
signs of hastily gathered possessions. All lifeboats were in place.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Found abandoned southwest of the Azores.
1855, March 1
CITY OF GLASGOW
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 86
399 passengers and 81 crew members, a black hulled vessel with sails and a steam engine. It vanished without
a trace. No sources given.
1868 top
VIEGO
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Spanish merchantman. No sources given.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" Lawrence David Kusche
Spanish merchantman. No confirmed record that the ship ever existed.
1872, December
VICTORIA
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A brig that departed New York to England when the MARY CELESTE left. It disappeared with all hands. No
sources given.
1872, December 4
MARY CELESTE - Abandoned brigantine found by the ship DEI GRATIA. The MARY CELESTE had been
originally named the AMAZON and seemed to have a history of bad luck.
captbriggs1.jpg (5499 bytes) Briggsfamily.gif (15746 bytes)
Captain Benjamin S. Briggs-captain of the Mary Celeste on her final voyage Capt. B.S.Briggs' Wife Sarah &Daughter
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
First named AMAZON and launched in 1861, name changed to the MARY CELESTE in 1868. No reason given.
Captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs. From New York to Genoa, Italy with a load of alcohol valued at 3,400
dollars. Found abandoned on December 4th, 1872 by the ship DEI GRATIA, commanded by Captain David Reed
Morehouse, in the proximity of the Azores. The binnacle had been knocked over and the compass destroyed. The
sextant, chronometer and ship's register were reported missing when boarded. Possibly one lifeboat was missing.
The DEI GRATIA then towed the ship to Genoa for salvage rights. - No sources.
"Limbo of the Lost - Today" - John Wallace Spencer - See also AMAZON in book's index.
Brigantine with a crew of 10. Found abandoned on December 4th, 1872 by the ship DEI GRATIA, commanded by
Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4th 1872 in the afternoon, between the Azores and Portugal. No
lifeboats on board and all hatches open. The compass was broken and the ship's chronometer, sextant, ship's
register and navigation book missing. The ship's log was on board with the last entry being: 0800, 11-25,1872 -
passed six mile off the eastern tip of Saint Mary's Island, Azores, 800 miles from Portugal. The ship had a cargo
of 1,701 barrels of alcohol with a value of 42,000 dollars. Money and personal items were found left behind.
Originally named the AMAZON, it was launched in 1861 at Spencer Island Shipyard, Nova Scotia. The first captain
Robert McLellan died 9 days after the registration of the new ship on June 10, 1861. The second captain, John
(Jack) Nutting Parker crashed into a fishing boat. In the Straights of Dover she crashes into a brig, sinking it. On
November 9, 1867 she runs ashore at Cow Bay, Cape Bretton Island. - No sources.
"Mysteries of the Unexplained" - Reader's Digest
Listed as a brigantine captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs en route from New York to Genoa with a load of
alcohol (not the imbibing kind). Found abandoned by the DEI GRATIA with Captain David Reed Morehouse as the
as the master, on December 4, 1872 between the Azores and Portugal. The ship's log was found, the last entry
having been dated November 25, 1872 at 0800 hours. Two hatch covers were off and the ship's boat was gone and
the ship's binnacle had overturned. Morehouse and Briggs had dined together one month before. Sources listed.
"Mystic Places" - Time Life Books
Listed as a brigantine captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs with 10 people on board. Found abandoned by the
bark DEI GRATIA commanded by Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4, 1872 between the Azores and
Portugal. The lifeboat was gone and the binnacle was knocked out of place. The compass was also shattered. Six
foot gashes were discovered on the bow just above the waterline. The ship's log was found with the last entry
having been made 9 days earlier on November 25, 1872. No sources.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin
Listed as a 282 ton brigantine with a length of 103'. Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs sailed November 7th, 1872
from New York to Genoa, with a load of over 1700 barrels of alcohol. The brig was found by the bark DEI GRATIA
commanded by by Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4th, 1872. Money and personal items were left
behind. Navigational instruments missing (no detail). The captain's logbook was missing. A crew was placed on
the MARY CELESTE from the DEI GRATIA and both ships sailed for Gibraltar. The MARY CELESTE arrived
there one day after the DEI GRATIA. No sources.
"Strange Stories, Amazing Facts" - Reader's Digest
Brigantine, two masted square rig with 10 people on board.Listed in the 1871 American Lloyd's Registry as a
brigantine of 206 tons. Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs in command with a cargo of barrels of alcohol. Found
abandoned by the bark DEI GRATIA commanded by Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4th, 1872 at
3pm. Pots of cold food hung over cold fires, and a half eaten breakfast in the captain's cabin were found. Personal
belongings and valuables were left behind. Life boat was still in place. Strange grooves were found cut into the bow.
The last entry in the ship's log was dated November 24th. The chronometer, sextant and cargo documents were
missing. Abel Fosdyk says he was on board and left papers giving detail of what had happened on board,
supposedly the grooves in the bow were to support a deck of some kind and one day during a swimming race it
broke with with everybody on it and dumped them into the ocean with those who were already in the water.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 114
Disappeared in 1872.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Brigantine of 282 tons, 103', mastered by Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs with a cargo of 1700 barrels of alcohol
bound for Genoa from New York. Found abandoned by the bark DEI GRATIA, commanded by Captain David Reed
Morehouse on December 4th, at 38 Degrees, 20' N by 17 Degrees 15' W, or 590 miles west of Gibraltar. Life boat
gone. Logbook was found but the rest of the papers were gone as were the navigation instruments (no detail). Last
entry in the log was November 24th at 100 miles west of the Azores. The forehatch was found open. The swimming
contest is mentioned here also, but with no mention of the marks on the bow. Both ships sailed on to Gibraltar.
Sources are listed.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 160
Brigantine found December 5th by the DEI GRATIA, east of the Azores, some weather damage to ship. No sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Brigantine found north of the Azores, 10 persons on board.
1880, January top
H.M.S. ATALANTA - English naval training ship
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A British training vessel captained by Francis Stirling with 300 trainees vanished from Bermuda to England. A
massive search follows. The British gunboat AVON finds masses of wreckage from an unidentified vessel off
Azores, close to the usual route of training vessels. In April of 1880 there was a report that the steamer TAMAR
had sighted a capsized copper bottomed ship. The captain later denies the report. On April 28, 1880 a message
in a bottle is found from the ATALANTA but is later proved to be a hoax. On April 20th the British ship WYE
leaves Gibraltar to search the area of Vigo Bay, Spain where portions of a wrecked vessel washed onto shore.
Nothing new is discovered. On June 2, 1880 the captain of a vessel that arrived Queenstown from Demerara said
he passed a raft that was bolted together and there were corpses dressed in white. Supposedly the raft and two
corpses dressed in white uniforms was seen by another vessel. On June 15th, 1880 another bottle was picked up
with another note in it. The note stated: "April 17, 1880: training ship ATALANTA. We are sinking in longitude
27 degrees, latitude 32 degrees. Any person finding this note will please advertise in the daily paper. John L.
Hutchings, Distress." On June 21st, 1880 a piece of barrel stave was found on the beach at Cow Bay, Nova Scotia.
A message was written on it with lead pencil which stated: "ATALANTA going down, April 12, 1880; send this to
Mrs. Mary White, piers, Sussex. James White." No sources.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 35
A British naval training ship under the command of Captain Francis Sterling. It sailed from Bermuda bound for
England in the winter of 1880. Extremely bad storms in the area reported at the time. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" Lawrence David Kusche
A British ship with 290 cadets and officers. Sailed from Bermuda to England on January 31st. There was a report
that the steamer TAMAR had sighted a capsized copper bottomed vessel, later the captain of the TAMAR denies
the report. The British gunboat AVON finds masses of wreckage off the Azores. Possible unusually bad weather
reported in the area.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A training ship, vanished while sailing from Bermuda to England with 290 persons onboard.
1884 top
MIRAMON
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Referred to as an Italian schooner bound for New Orleans that disappears in the triangle. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
No record of a ship with this name.
1886
LOTTA
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A Swedish bark bound for Havana from Goteborg, vanished in the triangle north of Haiti. This book says the date
of it's disappearance as 1866. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" Lawrence David Kusche
No record of a ship with this name.
1492
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 21
Supposed reports of compass malfunctions and a flaming fireball crashing into the sea. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 20, 21
Reports of a fireball crashing into the sea and compass malfunctions in the area of the triangle. No sources
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Reports of a bolt of fire that fell into the sea, compass malfunctions and a light on the horizon in the area
of the triangle. The Sargasso Sea is also referred to. Good detail on the compass problem.
1609, July
SEA VENTURE
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 21
Wrecked off of a reef near Bermuda, first colonization of the Island of Bermuda.
1800 top
U.S.S. PICKERING
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Between Guadeloupe and Delaware, 90 people on board.
1813, January 1
U.S.S. PATRIOT
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 47
Disappeared the week of January 1st, 1813 with Theodosia Alston-Burr on board. Theodosia was the daughter
of former Vice President Aaron Burr, and the wife of Joseph Alston, governor of South Carolina. Supposedly the
American packet ship had permission from the British to sail to New York with their knowledge that the
governor's wife was on board. The PATRIOT had dismantled it's guns and stored them below decks as an act
of peace to the British. The book lists a few seamen's death bed confessions as to what happened onboard and
a few rumors are discussed.
1814, October
U.S.S. WASP - This is the second WASP, the first was captured by the British.
wasp28-0395a.gif (92547 bytes) Marines Aboard USS Wasp Engage HMS Reindeer. June 1814, just months before she disappeared. Copy of painting by Sergeant John Clymer
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 63
Lists the date as the fall of 1814. Captain Johnston Blakeley. This second WASP first set sail on May 1st,1814
with 22 guns and a crew of173. Supposedly disappeared en route to South Carolina. Port of departure not noted.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Has date as October, 1814. Lost in the Caribbean with 140 persons.
1824
U.S.S. WILDCAT
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Disappeared en route from Cuba to Tompson's Island with 14 persons on board.
1840, August top
ROSALIE or ROSSINI - There is confusion as to the actual name, reports show up using both.
"Into Thin Air" - Paul Berg, Page 52
"Mysteries of the Unexplained" - Reader's Digest
Lloyd's of London has a record for the ROSSINI for the time frame involved. It was a large French vessel en
route from Hamburgh to Havana. It was loaded with wines, fruit and silk. It ran aground in the Bahama Channel
on August 3rd, 1840. All hands were rescued and the ship was later towed in by a salvage company. There is
mention of "curious circumstances", but no detail as to what they might be is given.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" James Paul Chaplin, Page 32
French vessel discovered on course from Europe to Havana. Found crewless with sails set and a cargo of
wines, fruits and silks still in her holds. No sources given.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Good information, references and records on file. It appears that the ROSSINI and the ROSALIE are the same
ship.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Found abandoned with only a canary onboard, bound for Cuba from France.
1843, March 3
U.S.S. GRAMPUS
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 67
U.S. Navy ship. Disappeared on the way to port at Charleston. Last seen by the MADISON off St. Augustine,
Florida on March 3rd, 1843
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Disappeared March 1843 off St. Augustine Florida with 48 persons onboard.
1854, April top
BELLA - Cargo schooner
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Disappeared en route from Rio de Janeiro to New York by way of Kingston Jamaica with 40 persons onboard.
No mention of weather conditions. Possible capsize from improperly stowed coffee cargo. Sir Roger Doughty
Tichborne was onboard, there seems to be some controversy surrounding him.
"Without a Trace" Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Schooner abandoned in West Indies area.
1855, February 26, 28
JAMES B. CHESTER
"Into Thin Air" - Paul Berg, Page 56
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" James Paul Chaplin, Page 32
A three masted schooner found abandoned and floundering in the Sargasso Sea by the MARATHON. Personal
effects were strewn about and the lifeboats were in place and the cargo was secured. No sources.
"Mysteries of the Unexplained" - Reader's Digest
Found February 28th in the Mid Atlantic in fine condition. The compass and ship's papers were gone. There were
signs of hastily gathered possessions. All lifeboats were in place.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Found abandoned southwest of the Azores.
1855, March 1
CITY OF GLASGOW
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 86
399 passengers and 81 crew members, a black hulled vessel with sails and a steam engine. It vanished without
a trace. No sources given.
1868 top
VIEGO
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Spanish merchantman. No sources given.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" Lawrence David Kusche
Spanish merchantman. No confirmed record that the ship ever existed.
1872, December
VICTORIA
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A brig that departed New York to England when the MARY CELESTE left. It disappeared with all hands. No
sources given.
1872, December 4
MARY CELESTE - Abandoned brigantine found by the ship DEI GRATIA. The MARY CELESTE had been
originally named the AMAZON and seemed to have a history of bad luck.
captbriggs1.jpg (5499 bytes) Briggsfamily.gif (15746 bytes)
Captain Benjamin S. Briggs-captain of the Mary Celeste on her final voyage Capt. B.S.Briggs' Wife Sarah &Daughter
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
First named AMAZON and launched in 1861, name changed to the MARY CELESTE in 1868. No reason given.
Captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs. From New York to Genoa, Italy with a load of alcohol valued at 3,400
dollars. Found abandoned on December 4th, 1872 by the ship DEI GRATIA, commanded by Captain David Reed
Morehouse, in the proximity of the Azores. The binnacle had been knocked over and the compass destroyed. The
sextant, chronometer and ship's register were reported missing when boarded. Possibly one lifeboat was missing.
The DEI GRATIA then towed the ship to Genoa for salvage rights. - No sources.
"Limbo of the Lost - Today" - John Wallace Spencer - See also AMAZON in book's index.
Brigantine with a crew of 10. Found abandoned on December 4th, 1872 by the ship DEI GRATIA, commanded by
Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4th 1872 in the afternoon, between the Azores and Portugal. No
lifeboats on board and all hatches open. The compass was broken and the ship's chronometer, sextant, ship's
register and navigation book missing. The ship's log was on board with the last entry being: 0800, 11-25,1872 -
passed six mile off the eastern tip of Saint Mary's Island, Azores, 800 miles from Portugal. The ship had a cargo
of 1,701 barrels of alcohol with a value of 42,000 dollars. Money and personal items were found left behind.
Originally named the AMAZON, it was launched in 1861 at Spencer Island Shipyard, Nova Scotia. The first captain
Robert McLellan died 9 days after the registration of the new ship on June 10, 1861. The second captain, John
(Jack) Nutting Parker crashed into a fishing boat. In the Straights of Dover she crashes into a brig, sinking it. On
November 9, 1867 she runs ashore at Cow Bay, Cape Bretton Island. - No sources.
"Mysteries of the Unexplained" - Reader's Digest
Listed as a brigantine captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs en route from New York to Genoa with a load of
alcohol (not the imbibing kind). Found abandoned by the DEI GRATIA with Captain David Reed Morehouse as the
as the master, on December 4, 1872 between the Azores and Portugal. The ship's log was found, the last entry
having been dated November 25, 1872 at 0800 hours. Two hatch covers were off and the ship's boat was gone and
the ship's binnacle had overturned. Morehouse and Briggs had dined together one month before. Sources listed.
"Mystic Places" - Time Life Books
Listed as a brigantine captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs with 10 people on board. Found abandoned by the
bark DEI GRATIA commanded by Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4, 1872 between the Azores and
Portugal. The lifeboat was gone and the binnacle was knocked out of place. The compass was also shattered. Six
foot gashes were discovered on the bow just above the waterline. The ship's log was found with the last entry
having been made 9 days earlier on November 25, 1872. No sources.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin
Listed as a 282 ton brigantine with a length of 103'. Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs sailed November 7th, 1872
from New York to Genoa, with a load of over 1700 barrels of alcohol. The brig was found by the bark DEI GRATIA
commanded by by Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4th, 1872. Money and personal items were left
behind. Navigational instruments missing (no detail). The captain's logbook was missing. A crew was placed on
the MARY CELESTE from the DEI GRATIA and both ships sailed for Gibraltar. The MARY CELESTE arrived
there one day after the DEI GRATIA. No sources.
"Strange Stories, Amazing Facts" - Reader's Digest
Brigantine, two masted square rig with 10 people on board.Listed in the 1871 American Lloyd's Registry as a
brigantine of 206 tons. Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs in command with a cargo of barrels of alcohol. Found
abandoned by the bark DEI GRATIA commanded by Captain David Reed Morehouse on December 4th, 1872 at
3pm. Pots of cold food hung over cold fires, and a half eaten breakfast in the captain's cabin were found. Personal
belongings and valuables were left behind. Life boat was still in place. Strange grooves were found cut into the bow.
The last entry in the ship's log was dated November 24th. The chronometer, sextant and cargo documents were
missing. Abel Fosdyk says he was on board and left papers giving detail of what had happened on board,
supposedly the grooves in the bow were to support a deck of some kind and one day during a swimming race it
broke with with everybody on it and dumped them into the ocean with those who were already in the water.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 114
Disappeared in 1872.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Brigantine of 282 tons, 103', mastered by Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs with a cargo of 1700 barrels of alcohol
bound for Genoa from New York. Found abandoned by the bark DEI GRATIA, commanded by Captain David Reed
Morehouse on December 4th, at 38 Degrees, 20' N by 17 Degrees 15' W, or 590 miles west of Gibraltar. Life boat
gone. Logbook was found but the rest of the papers were gone as were the navigation instruments (no detail). Last
entry in the log was November 24th at 100 miles west of the Azores. The forehatch was found open. The swimming
contest is mentioned here also, but with no mention of the marks on the bow. Both ships sailed on to Gibraltar.
Sources are listed.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 160
Brigantine found December 5th by the DEI GRATIA, east of the Azores, some weather damage to ship. No sources.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
Brigantine found north of the Azores, 10 persons on board.
1880, January top
H.M.S. ATALANTA - English naval training ship
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
A British training vessel captained by Francis Stirling with 300 trainees vanished from Bermuda to England. A
massive search follows. The British gunboat AVON finds masses of wreckage from an unidentified vessel off
Azores, close to the usual route of training vessels. In April of 1880 there was a report that the steamer TAMAR
had sighted a capsized copper bottomed ship. The captain later denies the report. On April 28, 1880 a message
in a bottle is found from the ATALANTA but is later proved to be a hoax. On April 20th the British ship WYE
leaves Gibraltar to search the area of Vigo Bay, Spain where portions of a wrecked vessel washed onto shore.
Nothing new is discovered. On June 2, 1880 the captain of a vessel that arrived Queenstown from Demerara said
he passed a raft that was bolted together and there were corpses dressed in white. Supposedly the raft and two
corpses dressed in white uniforms was seen by another vessel. On June 15th, 1880 another bottle was picked up
with another note in it. The note stated: "April 17, 1880: training ship ATALANTA. We are sinking in longitude
27 degrees, latitude 32 degrees. Any person finding this note will please advertise in the daily paper. John L.
Hutchings, Distress." On June 21st, 1880 a piece of barrel stave was found on the beach at Cow Bay, Nova Scotia.
A message was written on it with lead pencil which stated: "ATALANTA going down, April 12, 1880; send this to
Mrs. Mary White, piers, Sussex. James White." No sources.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 35
A British naval training ship under the command of Captain Francis Sterling. It sailed from Bermuda bound for
England in the winter of 1880. Extremely bad storms in the area reported at the time. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" Lawrence David Kusche
A British ship with 290 cadets and officers. Sailed from Bermuda to England on January 31st. There was a report
that the steamer TAMAR had sighted a capsized copper bottomed vessel, later the captain of the TAMAR denies
the report. The British gunboat AVON finds masses of wreckage off the Azores. Possible unusually bad weather
reported in the area.
"Without a Trace" - Charles Berlitz, Page 24
A training ship, vanished while sailing from Bermuda to England with 290 persons onboard.
1884 top
MIRAMON
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Referred to as an Italian schooner bound for New Orleans that disappears in the triangle. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
No record of a ship with this name.
1886
LOTTA
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
A Swedish bark bound for Havana from Goteborg, vanished in the triangle north of Haiti. This book says the date
of it's disappearance as 1866. No sources.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" Lawrence David Kusche
No record of a ship with this name.
Theories
Countless theories attempting to explain the many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be environmental and those citing human error. The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features.
It has been said that the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this is the case and a compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble.
Another environmental factor is the character of the Gulf Stream. It is extremely swift and turbulent and can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster. The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather pattern also plays its role. Sudden local thunder storms and water spouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. Finally, the topography of the ocean floor varies from extensive shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the interaction of the strong currents over the many reefs the topography is in a state of constant flux and development of new navigational hazards is swift. Not to be under estimated is the human error factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the waters between Florida's Gold Coast and the Bahamas. All too often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, insufficient knowledge of the area's hazards, and a lack of good seamanship.
gas Top
Dr. Ben Clennell, of Leeds University, England, is not the first to make note of the possibility of methane hydrates as a source for causing ships to disappear, he has become identified with the theory which, on September 21, 1998, at the Festival of Earth Sciences at Cardiff, Wales, he proposed methane hydrates as the future of energy.As a part of his elaborate dissertation he claimed that methane locked below the sea sediments in the Bermuda Triangle can explain the mysterious disappearances. He told how subterranean landslides can unlock the vast beds of methane hydrate. This would be disastrous, he told the audience, because large amounts of methane would reduce the density of the water. “This would make any ship floating above sink like a rock.” He went on to explain how the highly combustible gas could also ignite aircraft engines and blow them to pieces. Although I believe a certain percentage of flammable gas to air is required for the atmosphere to become combustible.
aliens and time Top
There is another school of thought regarding the disappearance of people along with their craft, it is thought that they are "trapped in-between time dimensions," of which there is "no way out." These disappearances are accidental and not intentional. The victims were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.The "Bermuda Triangle" is one of two portals, used by the "human-like" aliens, to travel from their planet to ours. The "Bermuda Triangle" is not actually a triangle. When it is "in-phase," it is constantly in motion and in intensity (between one to one and a half mile wide). The disappearances occur when caught in the center or within the first two outward radiating rings.
The occurrence takes place 25 times a year and lasts for 28 minutes, for the "Bermuda Triangle." The "Pacific Triangle," takes place only 3 times a year. The "Bermuda and the Pacific Triangles" are linked to other triangles that exist throughout the universe. The "human-like" aliens technology enable them to use "time compression, solar power and the ability to reduce friction," for travelling across vast distances. It takes them approximately 24 hours to travel from their planet to Earth.
These "time holes" can be described as an "accordion in motion." When the "time hole" is compressed, the craft enters one end and when the "time hole" expands itself, the craft is at the opposite end exiting one "time hole" and entering another. The "human-like" aliens know exactly which "time hole" is compressed, at any given time.
atlantis & crystals Top
This theory was helped along in more recent years by the psychic Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) who became the U.S.'s most prominent advocate of a factual Atlantis. Widely known as "The Sleeping Prophet," Cayce claimed the ability to see the future and to communicate with long-dead spirits from the past. He identified hundreds of people...including himself ...as reincarnated Atlanteans.Cayce said that Atlantis had been situated near the Bermuda island of Bimini. He believed that Atlanteans possessed remarkable technologies, including supremely powerful "fire-crystals" which they harnessed for energy. A disaster in which the fire-crystals went out of control was responsible for Atlantis's sinking, he said, in what sounds very much like a cautionary fable (what is that about history repeating itself ?) on the dangers of nuclear power. If still intermitently active beneath the ocean waves, damaged fire-crystals send out energy fields that interfere with passing ships and aircraft...which is how Cayce accounted for the Bermuda Triangle.
Cayce prophesied that "elements of Atlantis would rise in 1968 and 1969". The Bimini Wall or Road was discovered off the coast of Bimini in 1968.
ray brown's crystal Top
In 1970, Dr. Ray Brown, a naturopathic practitioner from Mesa, Arizona, went scuba diving with some friends near the Bari Islands in the Bahamas, close to a popular area known as the Tongue of the Ocean (This was depicted in the television show, "In Search Of...Atlantis," originally made in 1979.During one of his dives, Brown became separated from his friends and while searching for them he was startled when he came across a strange pyramid shape silhouetted against the aquamarine light. Upon investigating further, Brown was surprised by how smooth and mirror-like was the stone surface of the whole structure, with the joints between the individual blocks almost indiscernible. Swimming around the capstone, which Brown thought might have been lapis lazuli, he discovered an entrance and decided to explore inside. Passing along a narrow hallway, Brown finally came to a small rectangular room with a pyramid-shaped ceiling. He was totally amazed that this room contained no algae or coral growing on the inner walls. They were completely spotless! In addition, though Brown had brought no torch with him, he could nevertheless see everything in the room with his normal eyesight. The room was well lit, but no direct light source was visible. Brown's attention was drawn to a brassy metallic rod three inches in diameter hanging down from the apex of the center of the room and at its end was attached a many-facetted red gem, which tapered to a point. Directly below this rod and gem, sitting in the middle of the room, was a stand of carved stone topped by a stone plate with scrolled ends. On the plate there was a pair of carved metal bronze-colored hands, life-sized, which appeared blackened and burnt, as if having been subjected to tremendous heat. Nestled in the hands, and situated four feet directly below the ceiling rod gem point, was a crystal sphere four-inches in diameter. Brown tried to loosen the ceiling rod and red gemstone but neither would move. Returning to the crystal sphere, he found, to his amazement, that it separated easily from the bronze hand holders. With the crystal sphere in his right hand he then made his way out of the pyramid. As he departed, Brown felt an unseen presence and heard a voice telling him never to return!
Fearing, rightly, that his unusual prize might be confiscated as salvage-treasure by the American Government, Dr. Brown did not reveal the existence of his strange crystal sphere, nor did he relate his experiences until 1975, when he exhibited his crystal for the first time at a psychic seminar in Phoenix.
Since that time, the crystal sphere has made only a very few public appearances but on each occasion people who have seen it have experienced strange phenomena directly associated with it.
Deep inside the crystal form, one gazes upon three pyramidal images, one in front of the other,in decreasing sizes. Some people who enter a deep meditative state of consciousness are able to discern a fourth pyramid, in the foreground of the other three.
Elizabeth Bacon, a New York psychic, claimed while in trance, that the crystal sphere had once belonged to Thoth, the Egyptian God who was responsible for burying a secret vault of knowledge in Giza, near the three great Pyramids. Perhaps the positions of the three pyramidal images in the crystal sphere hold the long-sought key to finding a fourth, as yet unfound, subterranean pyramid that will lead us to the Hall of Records? Who knows?
Looking at the crystal sphere from the side, the internal images dissolve into thousands of tiny fracture lines. Brown feels that these may prove to be electrical in nature, like some form of microscopic circuitry. From yet another angle, and under special conditions, many people have been able to see a large single human eye staring out serenely at them. Photographs of this eye have also been taken. I have not been able to find this photo anywhere.
Dr. Brown's crystal sphere has been the source of a wide variety of paranormal and mysterious occurrences. People have felt breezes or winds blowing close to it. Both cold and warm layers surround it at various distances. Other witnesses have observed phantom lights, heard voices or felt strange tingling sensations surrounding it. A compass needle, when placed next to the crystal sphere, will spin counter-clockwise, then commence turning in the opposite direction when moved only inches away. Metals become temporarily magnetized when they come into close contact with the sphere.
There are even recorded instances where healing has taken place by merely touching the sphere.
We may only speculate as to why the crystal sphere was created and what part it once played within the underwater Bahamas pyramid discovered by Ray Brown.
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