We’re usually focused on sharing fantastic charter offers, destinations, and sailing guides here at SamBoat, but we also love an excellent maritime story. For some Halloween fun, we thought we would share some spooky nautical mysteries.
The Flying Dutchman
Arguably the most famous ghost ship legend, the tale of the Flying Dutchman has been featured in fictional works such as Pirates of the Caribbean, literature, and music. The cursed ship, which is destined to sail the seas forever, is infamous for being a harbinger of doom at sea. It is thought the myth comes from the time of the 17th century Dutch East India Company and thousands of sailors in the 19th and 20th centuries have claimed to see the ghostly sight of the ship glowing with light.
Mary Celeste
Captain Benjamin Briggs boarded the Mary Celeste along with his wife, child, and crew, for a transatlantic journey from New York to Genoa on 7 November 1872. A month later on December 5, she was found floating off the coast of Portugal, with none of her seven crew on board and no lifeboat present. There is no explanation for the disappearance of the crew; the weather was reportedly good and no distress signal was sent. There are multiple theories about what happened to the 100ft Brigantine, some of which even include paranormal activity.
Carroll A. Deering
Featuring among the most famous maritime mysteries, the Carroll A. Deering was found run aground on a shoal off the coast of Cape Hatteras North Carolina in 1921. The five-masted cargo schooner set sail from Norfolk, Virginia to Rio de Janeiro on September 8 1920 but it was the return leg to North America that was to be her last voyage. She was found wrecked with no crew on January 31 1921, two days after her last contact with land. Even after six investigations by the US Government, no conclusive explanation has been given for what happened.
Palatine Light
This 18th-century ghost ship legend originates from a true story – the shipwreck of Princess Augusta which sank off Rhode Island in the US on December 27, 1738. There are several versions of what happened, but one is that the crew abandoned the ship and rowed to shore while leaving the passengers to save themselves. The legend of the Palatine Light derives from Princess Augusta. It is an apparition that is said to appear off Block Island, and when seen it bursts into flames and sinks.
