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Originally christened the ''Amazon'', the 103-foot (31 m), 282-ton brigantine was built in 1861 at Spencer's Island, [[Nova Scotia]], the first large vessel built in this community. Even from the beginning, the ship was regarded as unlucky. Her first captain, Robert McLellan, died nine days into its maiden voyage; he was one of three captains to die in command of the ship.<ref>http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/wrecks/wrecks/shipwrecks.asp?ID=256</ref>

Originally christened the ''Amazon'', the 103-foot (31 m), 282-ton brigantine was built in 1861 at Spencer's Island, [[Nova Scotia]], the first large vessel built in this community. Even from the beginning, the ship was regarded as unlucky. Her first captain, Robert McLellan, died nine days into its maiden voyage; he was one of three captains to die in command of the ship.<ref>http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/wrecks/wrecks/shipwrecks.asp?ID=256</ref>

Within the next five years, the ship endured three collisions and a shipboard fire. In 1867, it ran aground off Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and her owners sold her to James H. Winchester of [[New York City]], who re-named her ''Mary Celeste''. James H. Winchester of New York City, who re-named it ''Mary Celeste.''<ref>http://www.articlesbase.com/spirituality-articles/the-most-mysterious-maritime-mystery-the-marie-celeste-951410.html</ref>.

Within the next five years, the ship endured three collisions and a shipboard fire. In 1867, it ran aground off Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and her owners sold her to James H. Winchester of [[New York City]], who re-named her ''Mary Celeste''. James H. Winchester of New York City, who re-named it ''Mary Celeste.''.<ref>http://www.articlesbase.com/spirituality-articles/the-most-mysterious-maritime-mystery-the-marie-celeste-951410.html</ref>

== Disappearance and discovery ==

== Disappearance and discovery ==

On November 5, 1872, under the command of 37-year-old Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs, the ship picked up a cargo of industrial alcohol and set sail from Staten Island, New York to Genoa, Italy. The ship carried seven crewmen, the captain and his family: 30-year-old Sarah E. Briggs, and their two-year-old daughter, Sofia Mathilda. Their eight-year-old son did not accompany them on the voyage.<ref>http://www.deafwhale.com/maryceleste/</ref>

On November 5, 1872, under the command of 37-year-old Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs, the ship picked up a cargo of industrial alcohol and set sail from Staten Island, New York to Genoa, Italy. The ship carried seven crewmen, the captain and his family: 30-year-old Sarah E. Briggs, and their two-year-old daughter, Sofia Mathilda. Their eight-year-old son did not accompany them on the voyage.<ref>http://www.deafwhale.com/maryceleste/</ref>

On December 4, 1872, the merchant ship ''Dei Gratia,'' under the command of Captain David Reed Morehouse, spotted the Mary Celeste some six hundred miles off the coast of Portugal. The ship was under full sail and showed no signs of distress, but close observation revealed that the vessel was drifting. Morehouse ordered his crewmen to board the ship and investigate. <ref>http://www.maryceleste.net/part2.htm</ref>

On December 4, 1872, the merchant ship ''Dei Gratia,'' under the command of Captain David Reed Morehouse, spotted the Mary Celeste some six hundred miles off the coast of Portugal. The ship was under full sail and showed no signs of distress, but close observation revealed that the vessel was drifting. Morehouse ordered his crewmen to board the ship and investigate.<ref>http://www.maryceleste.net/part2.htm</ref>

Oliver Deveau, the chief mate of the ''Dei Gratia,'' led a party in a small boat to board the Mary Celeste. He found the ship in generally good condition, though he reported that "the whole ship was a thoroughly wet mess". There was only one operational pump, with a lot of water between decks and three-and-a-half feet (1.1 m) of water in the hold. The forehatch and the lazarette were both open, the clock was not functioning and the compass was destroyed. The sextant and marine chronometer were missing, and the only lifeboat appeared to have been intentionally launched rather than torn away, suggesting the ship had been deliberately abandoned.  

Oliver Deveau, the chief mate of the ''Dei Gratia,'' led a party in a small boat to board the Mary Celeste. He found the ship in generally good condition, though he reported that "the whole ship was a thoroughly wet mess". There was only one operational pump, with a lot of water between decks and three-and-a-half feet (1.1 m) of water in the hold. The forehatch and the lazarette were both open, the clock was not functioning and the compass was destroyed. The sextant and marine chronometer were missing, and the only lifeboat appeared to have been intentionally launched rather than torn away, suggesting the ship had been deliberately abandoned.  

The cargo was intact, although when it was eventually unloaded in Genoa, nine barrels were found to be empty. A six-month supply of food and water was aboard. All of the ship's papers, except the captain's logbook, were missing. The last log entry was dated November 24 and placed her 100 miles (160 km) west of the Portuguese islands of the [[Azores]]. The last entry on the ship's slate showed her as having reached the island of Santa Maria in the Azores on November 25.

The cargo was intact, although when it was eventually unloaded in Genoa, nine barrels were found to be empty. A six-month supply of food and water was aboard. All of the ship's papers, except the captain's logbook, were missing. The last log entry was dated November 24 and placed her 100 miles (160&nbsp;km) west of the Portuguese islands of the [[Azores]]. The last entry on the ship's slate showed her as having reached the island of Santa Maria in the Azores on November 25.

Popular myths exist that the boarding party discovered half-eaten meals, still warm, in the galley, or found the deck covered in blood. There is no proof of these stories.<ref>http://www.deafwhale.com/maryceleste/</ref>

Popular myths exist that the boarding party discovered half-eaten meals, still warm, in the galley, or found the deck covered in blood. There is no proof of these stories.<ref>http://www.deafwhale.com/maryceleste/</ref>

=== Evacuation and accident ===  

=== Evacuation and accident ===  

The theory that has gained the most credence among historians is that the crew evacuated the ship after several barrels of alcohol in the cargo hold sprung leaks. The potent fumes from the alcohol would have caused sickness among the crew and posed a threat of explosion. Since the ''Dei Gratia's'' boarding party found all the ship's hatches and portholes open, the argument continues that the crew likely left the ship to air it out by boarding the ship's lifeboat and floating some distance away, while remaining tied to the ship. The rope broke and the lifeboat drifted off, marooning the crew in the open sea, where they eventually died. There is much evidence to support this theory: the empty barrels of alcohol, the abundance of open hatches, the missing lifeboat and discovery of a frayed, broken rope hanging over the ship's edge, to which the lifeboat may have been tied. <ref>''Ghost Ship: The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew'' by Brian Hicks, p.294</ref>

The theory that has gained the most credence among historians is that the crew evacuated the ship after several barrels of alcohol in the cargo hold sprung leaks. The potent fumes from the alcohol would have caused sickness among the crew and posed a threat of explosion. Since the ''Dei Gratia's'' boarding party found all the ship's hatches and portholes open, the argument continues that the crew likely left the ship to air it out by boarding the ship's lifeboat and floating some distance away, while remaining tied to the ship. The rope broke and the lifeboat drifted off, marooning the crew in the open sea, where they eventually died. There is much evidence to support this theory: the empty barrels of alcohol, the abundance of open hatches, the missing lifeboat and discovery of a frayed, broken rope hanging over the ship's edge, to which the lifeboat may have been tied.<ref>''Ghost Ship: The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew'' by Brian Hicks, p.294</ref>

==References==

==References==

[[Category:Ships]]

[[Category:Ships]]

[[Category:Paranormal]]

[[Category:Paranormal]]