The Bermuda Mystery

What is it? Where is it located?

The Bermuda Triangle could be considered the most baffling mystery in our supposedly well understood world. It is the region of the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda, Miami, Florida, San Juan and Puerto Rico where dissaperance of ships and planes still continue with no possible explanation.

Some Disappearances:

January 8 1962:

A 4 engine KB 50 aerial tanker was enroute from the east coast to Lajes in Azores. The captain, Major Bob Tawney, reported in at the expected time. All was normal, routine. But he, his 8 crew and big tanker, never made the Azores. FLASH! the media broadcast issued press statement, that a large oil slick was sighted 300 miles off Norfolk, Virginia, in the plane’s proposed route. But that was the only clue. It was obvious, the tanker and its qualified crew met a horrid and sudden death by crashing headlong into the sea. However, the report which finished months later-- confirmed no such thing. Tawney had been clearly overheard by a Navy transport hours after his last message. This placed him north of Bermuda, hundreds of miles past the spot of the oil slick. There is no evidence, therefore, that the plane and its crew ever met any known fate.

The Witchcraft (Dec 22 1967):

On this beautiful evening, hotelier, Dan Burack, in company of Father Patrick Horgan left Miami’s yacht marina in Burack’s 23-foot cabin cruiser Witchcraft. They were only going to cruise out a short way and then stop and, in the silence of a dark sea, take in the panorama of Miami’s lit skyline. Burack went to the area of Buoy no. 7 in Miami’s Harbor, less than a mile from the shore. Exactly 9 p.m. that night Burack sent a message to RCC Miami that he had hit something below. There was no emergency. However, he would need a tow back into the marina. Since Burack felt there was no emergency, it is logical to assume whatever he hit (if he knew) had damaged his propeller or rudder but not his hull. The Coast Guard responded immediately. At 9:19 p.m. only nineteen minutes after Burack signaled them— their searchlight beams were streaming the ocean in that vicinity. However, there was no sign of the Witchcraft, of debris, life jackets, bodies or any flotsam. In that interim and short 19 minutes Burack had never sent another message to Miami’s RCC to indicate the situation had become critical, nor had he fired flares. The most unusual part, however, is the total lack of the cabin cruiser. Despite the Coast Guard expanding the search by 1,200 square miles that night, including requesting all private vessels as far as Bimini to be on the look out (50 miles distant), no trace was found. Burack was big on safety. He had plenty of life saving gear aboard (all very floatable, like seat cushions, jackets, etc), and had even spent extra, naturally, to have floatation built in.

Theories of disappearance:

Countless theories attempting to explain the many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area called Bermuda Triangle. The most practical seem to be environmental and those citing human error. However, the most attractive to the public are supernatural explanations. Some of the common reasons could be:
1. Bad Weather
2. Sea Pirates: Thieves who make a living by stealing goods from after killing the onboard sailors.
3. Methane Hydrates: Some of the disappearances focuses on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates on the continental shelves. Periodic methane eruptions may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. Laboratory experiments have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water. Methane gas might also be involved in airplane crashes, as it is not as dense as normal air and thus would not generate the amount of lift required to keep the airplane flying. Methane can cut out an aircraft engine with very little levels of it in the atmosphere.

4. Tidal Waves: Research has shown that tidal, freak, or rogue waves can reach up to 30 m (100 feet) in height and are capable of sinking large ships within moments. Although these are very rare, in some areas ocean currents mean happen more often than the normal. Such waves have now been hypothesized as a cause for many unexplained shipping losses over the years. Some research suggests that some of these waves are caused by giant bubbles of methane rising to the surface. These giant bubbles are created when methane vents at the ocean bottom become clogged; then pressure builds up and eventually the gas bursts out and rises rapidly to the surface thus generating the wave. Research has shown that such bubbles are able to sink scale sized ships with great ease and speed.