:''"The land was first seen by a sailor called Rodrigo de Triana, although the [[Admiral]] at ten o'clock that evening standing on the quarter-deck saw a light, but so small a body that he could not affirm it to be land; calling to Pero Gutierrez, groom of the King's wardrobe, he told him he saw a light, and bid him look that way, which he did and saw it; he did the same to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, whom the King and Queen had sent with the squadron as comptroller, but he was unable to see it from his situation. The Admiral again perceived it once or twice, appearing like the light of a wax candle moving up and down, which some thought an indication of land. But the Admiral held it for certain that land was near..."''
Modern scholars checking the original log books have surmised that the lights he saw were the cooking fires of [[Taino]] natives in their canoes or on the beach; the compass problems were the result of a false reading based on the movement of a star. The flames in the sky were undoubtedly falling meteors, which are easily seen while at sea[http://www.christopher-columbus.eu/logs.htm]
The first article of any kind in which the legend of the Triangle began appeared in newspapers by E.V.W. Jones on [[September 16]], [[1950]], through the Associated Press. Two years later, ''[[Fate (magazine)|Fate]]'' magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door", a short article by George X. Sand in the October 1952 issue covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of [[Flight 19]], a group of five [[U.S. Navy]] [[TBM Avenger]] bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of ''American Legion'' Magazine in an article titled "The Lost Patrol", by Allen W. Eckert. In Eckert’s story it was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." "The Lost Patrol" was the first to connect the supernatural to Flight 19, but it would take another author, Vincent Gaddis, writing in the February 1964 issue of ''[[Argosy]]'' Magazine to take Flight 19 together with other mysterious disappearances and place it under the umbrella of a new catchy name: "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle"[http://www.physics.smu.edu/~pseudo/BermudaTriangle/vincentgaddis.txt]; he would build upon that article with a more detailed book, ''Invisible Horizons'' the following year. Others would create their own works: John Wallace Spencer (''Limbo of the Lost'', 1969); [[Charles Berlitz]] (''The Bermuda Triangle'', 1974); [[Richard Winer]] (''The Devil's Triangle'', 1974), and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12789881_ITM]
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. [[United States 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.
The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/moa/reportindexcas.htm] contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker ''[[V.A. Fogg]]'' in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/moa/boards/vafog.pdf], despite one Triangle author stating that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup (''Limbo of the Lost'' by John Wallace Spencer, 1973 edition).
Skeptical researchers such as Ernest Taves and Barry Singer have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or not accurate, but its producers continue to market it. They have therefore claimed that the market is biased in favour of books, TV specials, etc. which support the Triangle mystery and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint .<ref>Taves, Ernest ''[[The Skeptical Inquirer]],'' 1978, 111(1), p.75-76; Singer, Barry ''[[The Humanist]],'' XXXIX (3), 1979, p.44-45</ref>.
== The Triangle area ==
==Famous incidents==
==='''Theodosia Burr Alston'''===
[[Image:theodosiaburr.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''Theodosia Burr Alston'', by John Vanderlyn (1802)]]
[[Theodosia Burr Alston]] was the daughter of former [[United States]] [[Vice-President]] [[Aaron Burr]]. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle, in ''The Bermuda Triangle'' by Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey (1975). She was a passenger on board the ''Patriot'', which sailed from [[Charleston, South Carolina]] to [[New York City]] on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. Both piracy and the [[War of 1812]] have been posited as explanations. Other theories have been presented, including one placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.
*Winer, Richard. ''From the Devil's Triangle to the Devil's Jaw'', Bantam, New York (1977).
==Newspaper articles:==
'''Flight 19'''
*"Great Hunt On For 27 Navy Fliers Missing In Six Planes Off Florida," New York Times, December 7, 1945.
'''DC-3 Airliner (NC16002)'''
*"30-Passenger Airliner Disappears In Flight From San Juan To Miami," New York Times, December 29,1948.
*"Check Cuba Report Of Missing Airliner," New York Times, December 30, 1948.
*"Airliner Hunt Extended," New York Times, December 31, 1948.
*"Ship Missing In Bermuda Triangle Now Presumed To Be Lost At Sea," New York Times, October 19, 1976.
*"Distress Signal Heard From American Sailor Missing For 17 Days," New York Times, October 31, 1976.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==