Mary Celeste

For other uses, see Mary.

The Mary Celeste was a sea-faring vessel, a brigantine on Earth in the 19th century. In 1872, Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Portugal. Devoid of her crew, she was found unmanned and under full sail heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar. How and why the ship lost her crew remains a mystery to this day.

The Mary Celeste became the basis of a Human popular culture "ghost ship" legend, and is often used to describe a situation when the crew or populous of something or somewhere has inexplicably disappeared. The fate of the crew is the subject of much speculation, with theories ranging from alcoholic fumes to underwater earthquakes, and a large number of fictional accounts.

Service history

With her CO Benjamin Spooner Briggs, his wife, their daughter, and several personnel aboard, Marie Celeste departed from Staten Island, New York on 7 November 1872. The brigantine was sighted on 4 December by Captain David Reed Morehouse of the Dei Gratia under partial sail, and when he got no response from hails, his crew boarded the vessel. Media reported that they found warm food, a sleeping cat, and Briggs' pipe still lit, but no people and a missing lifeboat. (TOS novel: Shell Game)

Legacy

In 2254 when the USS Enterprise was sent to investigate after a number of ships were discovered adrift, Captain Pike described the situation in his log entry as investigating a "fleet of Marie Celestes". (EV comic: "Flesh of My Flesh")

In the late 2260s, the USS Enterprise discovered the empty Albion-class science vessel SS Giordano Bruno in orbit of Artemys 314. When Montgomery Scott reported that there were indications of movement aboard the empty vessel, James T. Kirk wondered if it was a "space-borne Marie Celeste." (TOS - New Visions comic: "All the Ages Frozen")

By the 2270s decade, the prevailing theory was that an alcohol explosion threatened the ship's seaworthiness, and all hands abandoned ship in the lifeboat. However, during the harsh New England winter weather, the lifeboat capsized, killing them all at sea. Captain James T. Kirk saw parallels between the fate of Marie Celeste and the Stephanie Emilia. (TOS novel: Shell Game)

The mystery of the Mary Celeste was Benjamin Sisko's favorite seagoing legend. He was fascinated that the ship's stoves were still on, the crew's meals half eaten and that its crew went missing in the middle of an ocean. (DS9 novel: The Long Night)

Appendices

External link

• Mary Celeste article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.