"Ghost ship" - this is the name of a ship whose crew is dead or disappeared without a trace, while he himself is afloat. Some of these ships appear periodically after it became known that they sank, while others repeatedly demonstrate their death to observers. The image of a ghost ship is used in literature, and much of what is written is just fiction. However, there are many documented evidence of such phenomena.
The Ghosts of the Sands of Goodwin
There are a lot of legends about ghost ships. Many are associated with the English Channel. Since the time people began to travel by sea, a huge number of ships have been wrecked in the strait. They say that to this day, ships with high masts are often seen here, heading swiftly towards the British coast, and then disappearing into the fog. Their names are unknown. A number of such stories are associated with the infamous Goodwin Sands, a sandbank that appeared on the site of the island of Lomeo, which sank in the 11th century. However, there is no evidence that the island actually existed, but rumors say that at least 50,000 people died in these places. Ghost ships are still found there.
The most famous ghost of these places is the schooner Lady Lavigne Bond. It is known that she sank on February 13, 1748. Everyone on board was killed. Nevertheless, the ship is seen in the same location every 50 years. In 1798, he was observed by the teams of two ships at once. The schooner looked so real that the captain of the oncoming ship was afraid of a collision with her. The next time - in 1848 - she "demonstrated" her death to the audience. Lifeboats were launched into the sea to rescue the crew in distress, but no sign of a wreck was found. The ghost schooner also appeared in 1898 and 1948. Whether anyone saw her in 1998 is unknown.
The Flying Dutchman and Maria Celeste
The Cape of Good Hope is probably the most famous of the sea stories - the legend of the Flying Dutchman. There are several options. As is often the case, it is based on true facts. In 1641, a merchant ship under the command of Captain Van der Decken sailed to the East Indies, bypassing the Cape of Good Hope. When the storm began, the team asked the captain to wait out the danger. But Van der Decken was very stubborn and just obsessed with the idea of continuing to sail. One of the versions of the legend says that the stubborn man cursed God for the trials sent down to him and vowed to bypass the Cape of Good Hope at all costs. Despite all efforts, the ship sank, and Van der Decken, along with the ship and the crew, was doomed to wander at sea forever. According to another version, the captain was extremely cruel, for which he was sentenced to wander the sea until the Last Judgment. It is believed that meeting the Flying Dutchman portends misfortune. They say that the ship was seen near the Cape of Good Hope in 1835 and 1881, and already in the 20th century - in 1923 and 1934.
The history of the ship "Maria Celeste" is also very famous. The ship, named Amazon, was launched in 1861. Misfortune haunted him from the very first day - the captain of the ill-fated ship died 48 hours after it was launched. During its maiden voyage, the Amazon damaged the hull, crashing into the dam, immediately after repairing the ship, there was a fire, and when it was nevertheless repaired, it crashed into another ship. In 1867, the brigantine was wrecked off the coast of Newfauland. The owner abandoned the ship, but it was rebuilt by an American company. After that, it was bought by the American sailor Benjamin Briggs. He named the ship "Maria Celeste". With the whole family, Briggs went to the Mediterranean Sea. On December 3, 1872, a ship with sails raised was discovered 600 miles from Gibraltar. There was not a single person on board. The last entry in the logbook was made on 24 November. The ship was in excellent condition. The reasons why people left him have not been clarified. Briggs, his family and the crew of the brigantine were never found.
Ghosts of the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes in the United States also have their famous ghost ships. Swimming in the Great Lakes, especially in winter, is more dangerous than in the ocean. Strong and sudden winter storms have sunk many ships here. One of the most famous is "Griffon", which disappeared in September 1679. According to legend, the ship was cursed by the Iroquois prophet Metiomek. The ghost of the "Griffon" is still seen floating on misty nights on Lake Huron.
In 1648, in New Haven, another ghost ship "demonstrated" the shipwreck in front of a crowd. The event was taken as a sign of God, because revealed the fate of a ship that had disappeared a few months earlier.
