Canada Ping!
Posted on 07/17/2015 9:32:06 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Canada Ping!
The explosive is conjectured to have been fumes of alcohol from casks in the hold that had leaked. The proper response was to open all the vents to the hold and to evacuate everyone into a lifeboat attached by a line, returning after enough time had elapsed for the vapors to disperse. Unfortunately, the line parted, stranding the lifeboat on the open seas and leaving a mystery.
Thank you for the Ghost Ship of New Haven. Have lived near New Haven all my life and had never heard that story.
OK. Now you have me hooked. They keep advertising the Mystery of the Mary Celeste on one of the History Channels, and I keep skipping it when I’m setting my DVR. I’ll record it the next time it shows up.
There was no known passenger list but the people at the time, of course, would have known which relatives were aboard. And we do know the Captain's name, Lamberton (?)
Anyway it's a little more special to me because a direct ancestor grandfather to about the 8th generation was believed to have been aboard. His name was John Taylor.
It looks like a distant cousin of mine has put up this page and told the story. It lends strength to my belief that my ancestor was on the ghost ship.
There is a colored portion of the commemorative painting on the page.
A Halloween Ghost Story - The Phantom Ship of New Haven, CT (taylorbakercousins)
Success!
;’)
It’s difficult to reconstruct what happened; the only reason the captain would have ordered abandon ship is rough seas, they were down to one pump, alcohol was in the 3.5 foot of water they couldn’t bail, suggesting leaking barrels, and the weather cleared enough to make taking to the sole lifeboat seem like a good idea. His judgment may have been impacted by the presence of his wife and child.
The only alternative is, they were taken off the ship by pirates — but then, why didn’t they take over the ship? In this case, the answer is, they did take it over. By that time they’d put the captain and crew adrift in the lifeboat, tried their best to get the pump working, figured out the cargo wasn’t actually worth either the risk or the effort, and the ship appears to have been close to the point of needing the breaker’s dock by the time it was christened. :’) So, the pirates abandoned it.
Fascinating. Don’t understand all nautical terms but enough to get jist of writings. Education greatly appreciated
The story of the Lady Be Good inspired a Twilight Zone episode and I believe was the inspiration for the novel and movie Flight of the Phoenix. Had they known where they were they could have walked south to an oasis, but that was the problem, they didn’t know. New in country, they probably thought they were still over the Mediterranean.
For some reason the captain must have thought his situation was more dire than it was. The disassebled pump indicates for some reason it may have failed. Maybe he thought he was taking on more water and leaking alcohol than he actually was and decided to make for land, which was in sight?
UFO. It’s the only explanation that makes sense. ;’)
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