On 4 December 1872, midway between the Azores and Portugal, the Dei Gratia found the brigantine Mary Celeste under partial sail, dishevelled but seaworthy, and nobody aboard. Rigging was damaged with ropes over the side, hatches open with the covers on deck. Missing: the yawl, the captain’s navigational instruments, most of the ship’s papers, and every one of the ten people on board including the captain’s wife and two-year-old daughter. Untouched: 1,701 barrels of alcohol, plenty of provisions, and the crew’s own belongings. She was 400 nautical miles further on than her last log entry nine days earlier. The serious explanations are a waterspout or a faulty sounding rod convincing the captain she was flooding, or alcohol vapour going off with little fire damage. No body was ever found and there was never evidence of violence.
North Atlantic, between the Azores and Portugal
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