The Bermuda Triangle
Vortex of time, space and dimension, many ships and planes lost at sea over the years in the area between Bermuda, Miami, and Puerto Rico
Map of Bermuda Triangle |
The Bermuda Triangle also known as the Devil's Triangle is a 1.5 million square mile area of ocean roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the southern tip of Florida. It is supposedly a paranormal site in which the laws of physics are violated or altered.
It is said that within this area a number of ships and planes have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances. The United States Coast Guard and others disagree with the assessment of paranormal activity, arguing that the number of incidents involving ships and planes is no larger than any other heavily traveled region of the world.
History
First citations and name
Christopher Columbus made mention of sightings of strange-looking animals near the border of the triangle and recorded near the area now designated as the Bermuda Triangle. At one point he reports that he and his crew observed "strange dancing lights on the horizon". On another instance they observed what was most likely a falling meteor.
The first documented mention of disappearances in the area was made in 1951 by E.V.W. Jones as a sidebar on the Associated Press wire service regarding recent ship losses. Jones' article noted the "mysterious disappearances" of ships, aircraft and small boats in the region and gave it the name "The Devil's Triangle". It was next mentioned in 1952 in a Fate Magazine article by George X. Sand, who outlined several "strange marine disappearances". In 1964, Vincent Geddis referred to the area as "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" in an Argosy feature, after which the name "Bermuda Triangle" became most common.
Few of the disappearences that have been reported over the Bermuda Triangle: - The USS Cyclops, captained by the eccentric Lieutenant Commander George W. Worley who frequented the bridge of the ship wearing long underwear and a bowler hat, left Barbados on March 4, 1918 to Baltimore. On March 13, when the ship was long overdue, a massive search ensued but no trace of the largest ship in the Navy or the 300 people on board were ever found.
- In late November and early December 1941, two the USS Cyclop's sister ships, Proteus and Nereus both vanished on separate runs from the Virgin Islands to the USA.
- On January 30, 1948 the aircraft Star Tiger disappeared without a trave en route to Bermuda with 31 people on board, moments ater the pilot radioed to ground crew that they would be shortly arriving on schedule.
- Almost to the year, on January 17, 1949, the Star Tiger's sister, the Star Ariel, was about to switch from radio contact with its departure point in Bermuda to radio contact with its destination Jamaica, when it vanished. The pilot had reported perfect weather.
- On December 28, 1948, a DC-3 carrying 35 people from Puerto Rico also disappeared shortly after the pilot radioed a similar message that it was just 80 kms south of Miami.
- Perhaps the bizarrest episode of them all was the case of the Mary Celeste found drifting in December 1872 minus her captain, his wife and child and eight crewmen. The last position recorded in the log placed her a hundred miles west of the Azores, a path that took her close to the Bermuda Triangle.
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Popularized by Berlitz
The area achieved its current fame largely through the efforts of Charles Berlitz in his 1974 book The Bermuda Triangle and its subsequent film adaptation. The book recounts a long series of mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, in particular the December 1945 loss of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers in the infamous Flight 19 incident.
The book was a bestseller and included several theories about the cause of the disappearances, including accidents due to high traffic volumes; natural storms; "temporal holes"; the lost empire of Atlantis; transportation by extraterrestrial technology; and other natural or supernatural causes.
Skeptical Responses
The marine insurer Lloyd's of London has determined the "triangle" to be no more dangerous than any other area of ocean, and does not charge unusual rates for passage through the region. Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft which pass through on a regular basis.
Skeptics comment that the disappearance of a train between two stops would be more convincing evidence of paranormal activity, and the fact that such things do not occur suggests that paranormal explanations are not needed for the disappearance of ships and aircraft in the far less predictable open ocean.
Kusche's The Bermuda Triangle Mystery -- Solved
Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants and others involved in the initial incidents. He noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence that Crowhurst had fabricated the accounts of his voyage and had probably committed suicide. Another example was the ore-carrier Berlitz recounted as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents attributed to the Bermuda Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it.
Kusche came to several conclusions: - The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than any other part of the ocean.
- In an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were mostly neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious.
- The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat listed as missing would be reported, but its eventual, if belated, return to port, may not be reported.
- The circumstances of confirmed disappearances were frequently misreported in Berlitz's accounts. The numbers of ships disappearing in supposedly calm weather, for instance, did not tally with weather reports published at the time.
In recent years, however, several authors, most notably Gian J. Quasar, have raised serious questions as to the veracity of Kusche's findings, including but not limited to: why Kusche so often brought up as evidence for his claims cases that were already well-known before the writing of his work as not being "Triangle incidents"; his misidentification and mislocation of several ship and aircraft incidents that are well-documented, but then using that inability to properly identify the craft as "proof" that they never existed; holding to his claims that 'nothing out of the ordinary' regularly occurred in and around the area, and yet several times admitting certain cases lacked conventional rational explanation (most notably in the Star Tiger and DC-3 cases), and in other examples openly claiming possibilities for foul weather for certain disappearances where it can be verified that none existed. Quasar's criticisms, however, often remain marginalized or ignored by many attempted debunkers.
Methane Hydrates
An explanation for some of the disappearances focuses on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates on the continental shelves. A paper was published in 1981 by the United States Geological Survey about the appearance of hydrates in the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast. Periodic methane eruptions may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning. Laboratory experiments have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water.
Hypothetically, methane gas might also be involved in aircraft crashes, as it is not as dense as normal air and thus would not generate the amount of lift required to keep the aircraft flying. Low levels of methane have also been shown to cause an aircraft engine to stall when added to the intake of air.
Mysterious Disappearances Aircraft
Many have vanished within sight of land, while on radar and while just about to touch down at runways. Others have vanished over shallow water. Some have been in radio communication, saying their equipment was acting erratic, or that a "weird object" was harrassing them. Sometimes an unusual object was seen in the aftermath of a disappearance.
PBM Martin Mariner | 
Flight 19 |
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C-54 | 
Star Tiger |
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Flight 441 | 
Into the Blue: The DC-3 |
Tyler 41 A KB-50 Tanker | 
C-119 "Flying Boxcar" |
Martin Marlin | 
"Pogo 22" A SAC B-52 |
Fighting Tiger 524 | 
Cherokee 235b |
2 KC-135 Strato-Tankers | 
2 C-133 Cargomasters |
Piper Comanche | |
Mysterious Disappearances Ships
This list is only partial, and has been compiled from Coast Guard reports, US Navy reports, National Archives and Records Administration and Merchant Vessels of the United States Registry.
U.S.S. Cyclops:The most famous of the early 20th century disappearances. She vanished in March 1918 with 309 men aboard. She is the Navy's "greatest mystery of the sea." |
The Rosalie was indeed a real ship. She was built in 1838 of 222 tons of wood. In 1840 she was found deserted but in ship shape near the Bahamas.. | 
Ellen Austin was also a real ship. And her encounter with an unnamed deserted vessel in 1881 in the Triangle is based on reliable witnesses. |
Cotopaxi: Storm warnings had already been hauled down before she sent her last enigmatic message. She vanished without trace on December 1, 1925. | 
Anglo Australian: Signaled "all well" before she vanished in 1938. Captain Parslow was in command of 34 men. |
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Suduffco: Sailing the busy route to Panama, but no ship ever found a trace of her. 1926 | 
Sandra vanished along her course to Puerto Cabello, Venesuela from Savannah, Georgia, 1950. |
