home / Self-development/ Legendary ghost ships and their mysterious stories. Pavel Komarnitsky the last ship to the immortal lands USS Insurgent: the mysterious disappearance of a warship

Legendary ghost ships and their mysterious stories. Pavel Komarnitsky the last ship to the immortal lands USS Insurgent: the mysterious disappearance of a warship

In 1872, a ship traveling from New York to Genoa with a cargo of alcohol on board was discovered by the Dei Grazia without a single person on board. All the personal belongings of the crew were in their places; in the captain’s cabin there was a box with his wife’s jewelry and her own sewing machine with unfinished sewing. True, the sextant and one of the boats disappeared, which suggests that the crew abandoned the ship.

"Lady Lovibond"

According to legend, the ship's captain, Simon Reed, contrary to naval beliefs, took a woman, his young wife, on board the ship. According to one version, his assistant was secretly in love with the young Mrs. Reed and at night steered the ship onto a sandbank. According to another, the crew members coveted the charms of the captain’s wife and, having hanged him, raped the woman and drank for three days. As a result, the ship crashed. One way or another, the woman was to blame.

Exactly fifty years after the sinking of the Lady Lovibond, several crews of merchant ships claimed to have seen the Lady at the wreck site. Boats were sent there, but rescuers were unable to find anyone.

"Octavius"

One of the first ghost ships. The Octavius became such because its crew froze to death in 1762 (at least that is the year the last entry in the logbook is dated), and the ship drifted for another 13 years and ended its voyage with the dead on board. The captain tried to find a shortcut from China to England through the Northwest Passage (a sea route through the Arctic Ocean), but the ship was covered in ice.

"Beichimo"

The cargo ship was built in 1911 and transported hides to northwest Canada. In 1931, the ship got stuck in ice during its next voyage. Only a week later the ice broke under the weight of the ship, and the voyage continued. However, 8 days later, history repeated itself. The crew went ashore, planning to wait for the thaw. But the next day the ship disappeared. The crew decided that the ship had sunk, but the coast guard reported that they saw the “Baichimo” 60 kilometers from the coast in the ice. The owner company decided to abandon the ship, as it was badly damaged, but it again escaped from captivity in the ice and plied the Bering Strait for another 38 years. In 2006, the Alaska government launched a campaign to capture "Baychimo", but the search was unsuccessful.

"Carroll A. Dearing"

An American five-masted cargo schooner was abandoned by its crew under unknown circumstances off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina (USA). The ship was returning from Rio de Janeiro, where it was transporting coal.

On January 9, 1921, the schooner left Barbados, where it made an intermediate stop. After that, a few days later she was seen in the area of the Bahamas, then in Cape Canaveral, and on January 31 she was found stranded off Cape Hatteral. There was not a single person on the ship. There were no rescue boats, but food was prepared in the galley. Rescuers also found a gray cat on the deck, which they took with them.

"Urang Medan"

In June 1947, the Silver Star received a distress signal from the Dutch ship Ourang Medan, which was in the Gulf of Malacca. Along with the signal, the message “Everyone is dead” was received. It will come for me soon." Inspired by this life-affirming message, Silver Star set out on a quest. The ship was found, but the entire crew, including the ship's dog, was dead. Despite the fact that death occurred about 8 hours ago, the corpses were still warm. There were no signs of violence on the bodies, but the arms of all the dead were extended forward, as if they were defending themselves.

It was decided to tow the ship to the port, but a fire started on it and then it exploded. As it later turned out, Ourang Medan was not assigned to any port. According to one version, the cause of death of the crew and the ship itself was the smuggling of nitroglycerin or nerve gas left over from the Second World War.

"Valencia"

The passenger liner Valencia sank off the coast of Vancouver in 1906. There were not enough rescue boats for everyone (it feels like we not only heard something similar, but even watched a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio...), and most of the passengers died. This, of course, led to the tragic story becoming overgrown with myths, and the Valencia is regularly seen by local sailors before a storm. And in 1970, a completely empty lifeboat from the Valencia washed ashore in excellent condition.

Part 1

Prologue

The bottomless black sky sparkled with myriads of sharp, unblinking stars, mercilessly suppressing with their radiance the faint glow of nebulae and distant galaxies. A cloudy whitish stripe crossed the firmament - this is exactly what the pancake of a spiral galaxy looks like from the inside. A mass of stars, indistinguishable to the eye... And only one celestial body stood out among the others - a dazzling white tiny disk, like a red-hot nail head driven into the vault of heaven. A violet flash flashed briefly, and where a moment before there was nothing, a cyclopean ball appeared, like a giant drop of mercury, shrouded in a ghostly fiery shell with prominences. Another moment, and the phenomenon disappeared again - the camouflage system turned on. Of course, in this wild system, no one is able to detect not only the starship itself, but also the characteristic flash of exit from hyperspace into reality, which for any control system of a highly developed civilization would mean an invasion. However, the quasi-brain of the starship did not know such a term - “maybe”. That is why the ship came out of the hypertransition so far from the local star, beyond the orbit of the last major planet. Reducing risk to an absolute minimum - all points of this instruction were hardwired into memory during the creation of the ship. Deep in the depths of the colossal machine - or, rather, quasi-organism - four creatures rested in capsules that looked like large transparent eggs, tightly curled up in a fetal position. Listening closely, the ship's quasi-brain felt a certain satisfaction - to the extent that the creators had equipped it with quasi-emotions. The crew was alive, did not receive the slightest damage, and the next stage of the expedition could begin. The hibernators' compartment expanded abruptly, turning into a real hall worthy of receiving the ship's owners. The transparent eggs filled with a pink glow, began to stretch, and suddenly burst, freeing the prisoners at once. Remnants of pink radiance were still melting in the air when the outermost figure moved, turned around, groping for solid support with its feet. After a couple of moments, the others began to stir. The figure who stood up first snapped his fingers, and the walls of the hall became transparent. Green letters and symbols ran against the background of a starry panorama. - Get up, lazybones! You are welcome! The crew members of the starship Star of Hope rose to their feet, examining themselves and each other, not at all embarrassed by their nakedness. - What already? Va, I just woke up... The first one to get up, whom the awakened one called Va, made a barely noticeable gesture, and a luminous circle appeared against the background of the starry sky. An image of a blue-white ball appeared inside the circle - powerful optics magnified the image of a target almost invisible to the naked eye. “Here she is, Gromma Three,” the girl who stood up last looked at the image of the planet. - Well, hello, wild world! We have arrived... - Don’t relax, colleagues,” the one they called Va turned around. - The first is the procedure for determining the absence of external control. The second is the collection of preliminary data on the state of the planet. And in general, we have a lot of work. In the meantime, breakfast! Festive, in honor of the completion of the hypertransition.

Chapter 1

First contacts

A-hyr! - Gee! - Gyr-gyr-gyr! The screams spurred him on, burned like the blows of a burning branch, and Ad-Amm kept increasing the pace. The lowbrows gradually began to fall behind - it is true that the spears hindered them even more than Ad-Ammu himself - but the hunter did not relax. It is difficult to break away from lowbrows. Yes, in short-distance running they are far from Real people, but they can trot for at least half a day... However, here it’s already close to the edge of their hunting grounds, they won’t go any further... If only they could reach their own... trouble , if caught by surprise... seven women and children, and almost no hunters... He missed the moment when the furious screams of his pursuers gave way to screams of horror. But even if he did catch it, what would be the point? The lone lion was old. Apparently, not so long ago this was the leader of the pride, but his time has passed. Some young lion drove away an old man who had lost his former strength and dexterity in battle - recently healed scars left by a more successful opponent flaunt on his face. And now the former leader is forced to wander around the outskirts of the pride’s hunting grounds, feeding on carrion and random prey. Which is what Ad-Amm was at the moment. The lion jumped out of the bushes with a menacing growl, but without much tension. Probably, the cunning cat's brain fully appreciated the situation - both the fact that the hunted hunter has nowhere to go, and the fact that the screaming bipeds will not come to the aid of the victim with their sharp sticks. Dinner is ready... Ad-Amm still managed to put his spear in front of him, but the lion casually knocked it off with his paw. Time seemed to stretch. As in a dream, Ad-Amm looked numbly at the advancing gaping mouth with long yellow fangs... Some terrible invisible force suddenly lifted him into the air, simultaneously throwing the predator away like a bunch of dry grass. Out of the corner of his eye, Ad-Amm only managed to notice a strange creature surrounded by a luminous halo. And darkness came... The walls of the hall looked like an amber honeycomb, in the hexagonal cells of which weightless fog flickered and shimmered with rainbow colors. The floor, on the contrary, was an ideal uniform plane of deep blue color, as if carved from a single aquamarine crystal. A large ball, carelessly painted with strokes of white, through which green, yellow, and an indefinite gray-brown color showed through, rotated in the air, not supported by anything. However, among the colors after white, greenish-blue predominated. “Yeah... Harsh planet.” The owners of the hall exchanged glances. They didn't have to speak out loud; telepathic mental images are much more convenient for communication. One of them, standing closer to the ball, made a short movement with his fingers, and the hologram obediently changed. The randomly scattered white smears of clouds disappeared, the thick white foamy whirlwinds of the cyclones disappeared. But even after this there was plenty of white left - the entire northern hemisphere was white. "Snow cover to such low latitudes... is unthinkable" "The cover is temporary. With such an inclination of the planet's axis to the orbit, there is nothing surprising - rather natural. But look at this, colleagues" A new movement of the fingers, and the globe finally lost its resemblance to original, acquiring a conditionally schematic form. The snow cover has disappeared. However, even after this, white color did not completely lose its position. Colossal white spots occupied a considerable part of the land, and the polar ocean retained the color unchanged. “The cover glaciers... just some kind of horror” “And the non-melting polar ice on the sea” “Not everything is so terrible, colleagues. In low latitudes, the temperature regime is quite suitable for the development of primary civilization” “You are still an incorrigible optimist, Ilu. Unknown , are there any bearers of intelligence here at all" "And pessimists have nothing to do in our service, Maiar. There must be - simply because we are already here. And the Soothsayers are rarely mistaken in identifying promising worlds" "Well, well... Remember Lioka. About I don’t mention the Fourth Enigma at all, so as not to injure our respected boss” “Exceptions exist for this reason, to confirm the rules, May. Attention, Eli is in touch!” The virtual globe disappeared instantly, as befits a hologram. The three creatures turned their heads at once, listening - as if it were not telepathy, but sound transmission. "Well, Elentari?" “Who doubted about the bearers of intelligence? But here they are simply swarming! I literally ran into two different species right away, apparently... however, research is needed” “Don’t talk me down, Eli, I can feel it. Why Are you dragging him to the Star of Hope?" “Wa, well, I couldn’t leave him! They would have eaten him there in an instant.” “You’re like little, honestly. The bearer of a great mission... I would have taken him away and released him, that’s all.” “Well, don’t swear, Va, please. I already in orbit, welcome." Four tall figures stood around a transparent capsule hanging in the air, in which rested a motionless body lying on its back with its arms outstretched. The shaggy head, which clearly did not know about the existence of a comb and scissors, was slightly thrown back, and under the sparse beard the muscles moved every now and then - obviously the savage’s sleep was restless. “This one.” The owners of the hall exchanged glances. Doubt mixed with cautious hope - this was the general emotional background. “Well... Elentari, wake him up.” The named Elentari, standing at the head of the capsule with a guest or captive - or maybe prey? - made a short wave of her hand. The capsule immediately reacted, smoothly lowered the native to the floor and melted away without a trace. The savage lay motionless for a couple more seconds, then he sighed convulsively, swallowed and opened his eyes. He sat down, looking around wildly, and suddenly jumped back with a scream to the nearest wall - since there were no corners in the hall. “He’s excited and scared. It’s unlikely that he’s able to have a normal conversation right now.” “And yet we’ll try.” - Don’t be afraid, Ad-Amm. We won't kill you. “How difficult it is to communicate in a primitive language. Even the phrase “we will not harm you” is impossible to formulate normally.” Ad-Amm looked hauntedly at the owners of this strange cave standing in front of him. He had never seen such creatures before. Tall - Ad-Amm would not have reached the armpits of any of them - very slender bodies, covered in robes made of magical skins, white and shiny. He even doubted for a moment - maybe it’s not clothes, but their skin? However, the exposed hands and head looked completely different. Thin pale pink skin, incredibly soft and smooth, small mouths with neat lips, high open foreheads, narrow graceful noses... here are the ears on the sides of the head of an unusual shape, pointed upward and mobile... Huge eyes with an unusual cut, incredibly deep , completed the picture. The creatures' hair was so long and well-groomed that Ad-Amm was even surprised, despite all the despair of his situation - how did they manage to do this? Even if you dunk your head in a stream all day and comb it with your fingers, you still won’t get such hair... But all this could not be compared with their legs. Because the unusually long, strong legs of the inhabitants of the magic cave ended in intricately decorated cloven hooves. “Don’t be afraid of us,” repeated the creature standing at the edge, in which the high chest betrayed a woman. - Who you are? - Ad-Amm finally croaked, finally finding the gift of speech. “Well, what are you going to answer him, Eli?” “Well, yes... I’m afraid it will be difficult to briefly explain to him the purpose of our mission.” “Nothing, Eli. Your job is to create problems, solving them is the business of your superiors. Don’t bother, I’ll answer.” “It’s a long time to say,” the second of them spoke out loud. figures, also clearly female. The creatures' speech was even, the words came out as if they had lived side by side in a cave with Ad-Amm's relatives all their lives. - After. Rest for now. Now they will give you something to eat. Ad-Amm straightened up and sucked in air through his widened nostrils. It looks like they have a big woman, he determined the status of the second woman who spoke to him. But these two hunters are guarding the cave. - Ad-Amm thanks. May your fire always have plenty of meat. Ad-Amm is hungry, but he won’t eat. You need to run, run very quickly. Give Ad-Amm the spear. If the lowbrows find children and women, there will be trouble. The lowbrows will kill everyone and roast them at the stake. We need it quickly! Waves of anxiety emanated from the savage with such force that the owners looked at each other again. “It seems you were not mistaken, Elentari. Only a creature with a spiritual basis can be so worried about others.” “I would not rush to conclusions, Iluvatar. High emotionality is not spirituality. The usual reaction of an animal to a threat to its own pack is as a threat to its own well-being.” You're a pessimist, Varda" - You didn't have time. The lowbrows found a camp and killed everyone. There was only one left, hidden in the bushes. Ad-Amm stood motionless for a couple more moments until the meaning of what was said dawned on him. - Aiiiiiiiii!!! He lay face down on the floor, kicking his legs, clasping his unkempt, curly head in his hands, and an animal howl burst from his chest. "Perhaps you're right, Eli." The howling finally died down. Ad-Amm sat down, moving slowly, as if in a dream. - You said you're the only one alive. Who? Strange, but Ad-Amm did not even think of doubting that magical creatures knew the names of people from his family. That's why they are magical. - Uh-Uh. The man took a deep breath. His facial features hardened, determination appeared in his eyes. - She's small. Even jackals can kill her. Ad-Ammu must hurry! "Yes, Ilúvatar, you and Elentari are right. This is indeed a being with a spiritual basis" - Okay, Ad-Amm. We will help you,” Varda nodded slightly. ... The water in the pool rippled, reflecting the light of numerous ceiling sources, creating the effect of a starry sky. Ilúvatar chuckled. The holographic setting of the ceiling screens obediently depicted the sky of the native Valara, festively shining with myriads of bright stars, among which stood out a clot of heavenly fire - the core of the Galaxy. Here, on this planet, lost on the outskirts, even the starry sky is dark, as if reflecting the hopeless darkness of this world. Ilúvatar sighed and leaned back, enjoying how the warm water sucked away the fatigue that had accumulated during the hectic day from his body. Wow, he had no idea it was possible to be so tired. Fatigue is generally a rare guest for the Valar - genetically modified bodies allow them to withstand loads that are beyond the strength of most natural creatures. But this is just the beginning. There was a resounding clatter of hooves, and Varda entered the pool hall, having managed to take off her work clothes. Iluvatar involuntarily fell in love. They've been together for a long time now, and they still can't get used to her elastic-dancing and at the same time elusively sliding gait... "Did it?" “I did” “Move over” - Varda dove into the pool with a splash, swam up and settled down on the side, relaxed in the same way, hovering motionless on the surface of the crystal-clear water. “Doubts torment me, Va. How will we work? This world is too wild. There is nothing to grab hold of in it. Even if there were not four of us, but forty...” “Where four cannot cope, even forty cannot cope. You’re right, It's all about the leads. How do you like the current Aborigine?" “One drop is not rain, Va. In order to awaken the desert to life, you need many, many drops.” “Maiar believes that one should not rely only on this species. Those whom he calls low-brow also deserve close attention. In general, this is the first time I see a world populated by so many intelligent races." "Yes, the world is rich... However, it is hardly worth exaggerating their intelligence. Many species are clearly dead-end." "All these are just words for now, Ilu. We need to test everyone without exception." We'll get busy tomorrow morning. And now I intend to rest. With my wife, by the way." For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, Varda's face lit up with a smile. “Well, if together with your wife... By the way, how do you like the fleeting days and nights here?” “It’s no big deal, I’ve already adjusted. After all, on Elend the days and nights are a little longer.” Ilúvatar suddenly hugged his wife. The water in the pool bent into a hump, and a second later it formed a kind of bed. “For what I’m planning to do to you, this night is quite enough.” “And what special thing are you planning to do to me?” - Now the woman smiled mischievously and alluringly. "Oh! This is so brilliant... In short, you will love it!" ... Gy-Khyrr sucked in air through his nostrils and carefully exhaled. Yes, it's a bull. Lonely and old. He was afraid to move the branches - now there was no way to scare off the beast. Today they will have meat. Gy-Khyrr shook his palm from right to left, and immediately the hunters glided like inaudible shadows, bending down to the ground. No one made a sound. Why words? On a hunt, everyone knows their place. Having waited a little to give his hunters the opportunity to surround the victim, Gy-Khyrr still could not resist and slightly moved the branches apart. A seasoned bull with a half-broken horn was lazily chewing grass in the middle of the clearing. Apparently he was driven out of the herd by a younger and more powerful rival. However, the old bull was still very, very strong. The orc chieftain clutched the shaft of his spear in his sweaty palm. It's time. The thickets exploded with a howl, and all the orcs jumped out into the clearing at once, surrounding their prey in a tight ring. The bull roared and rushed forward - an unmistakable instinct told the beast that now delay was like death, and only an immediate breakthrough in the ring of enemies could save him. However, the moment was lost, and sharp spears from all sides were already making holes in his skin. Gy-Khyrr, finding himself in front of the face of the enraged beast, with one precise blow drove his spear under the collarbone, and the bull immediately sank, roaring dully and gutturally. Young Boo-Ga jumped up and, with all his might, hit the victim who had fallen to his knees on the skull with his club. The belly roar stopped, the carcass of the beast fell to one side, twitched and froze. - Boo-Ga well done! - the leader roared approvingly. The young orc grinned joyfully and dealt the bull another blow, just to be sure. - Enough! - Gy-Khyrr stopped the zealous hunter. The hunters were catching their breath, hooting and grinning joyfully. Indeed, the booty is notable. And the ghost of hunger, already groping your throat, will retreat for a while. - Prepare a fire! Let's eat meat! The hunters were already carrying dead wood and dead wood. The bull is big, and it’s very nice to carry some of the meat in your own stomach. The most reliable storage. And at that time a roar was heard from the bushes. Gy-Khyrr turned sharply towards the source of the sound and swallowed convulsively. A whole flock of cave hyenas came out of the bushes into the clearing. - All come here! Ryr-Ga! Fire, quickly! - Gy-Khyrr roared in a strangled, whistling voice. The leader of the pack looked without fear at the orcs surrounding the much-coveted prey. The beast assessed his strength. More than once he had taken away killed bulls, horses and deer from bipeds. Will they give in without a fight this time? Or will a couple of yearlings have to be sacrificed, having received one of the enemies in addition to the bull? - Gee-hyrr! - the leader of the two-legged barked, shaking a spear covered in blood in front of him. In response, the animal leader growled and bared his long yellow fangs. The flock surrounded bipeds huddled in a tight ring, bristling with spears. Yes, there will be losses on both sides. However, hunger is worse. Because it can kill everyone. And at that moment, Ryr-Ga, pounding flint against flint, finally managed to strike a spark and ignite the dry moss, without which no self-respecting hunter would set out. There was a whiff of smoke, just a moment later, and a tongue of flame soared over the fire and danced, devouring small twigs. - Gee! - Gy-Khyrr extended his hand back without looking, and a second later he was already holding a burning branch in front of him. The beast growled in disappointment, his eyes flashing, and the whole flock disappeared into the bushes at once. Sharp sticks are one thing, but fire is another. I'll have to look for other prey, unfortunately. Gy-Khyrr took a breath, but did not have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead. A thin ringing rang across the clearing, and in the place where the leader of a pack of hyenas had just flashed his fangs, a tall figure in white appeared out of nowhere. What is this new attack?! - Gy-Khyrr, I want to talk to you! - the creature said in an even voice, clearly pronouncing the growling words. - This is our meat! - just in case, the orc said gloomily, without lowering his spear. "Colleagues, did you hear?" “Calm down, Maiar. Don’t despise it right away. Now this corpse means life itself for them.” “I won’t touch your prey or yourself,” the alien said evenly from nowhere. - There is a conversation, Gy-Khirr. The leader thought for another second, then lowered his spear. - Fine. Sit down by the fire, Talking Horse. Don't you eat meat? "How did he guess?" “He called you a talking horse, obviously because of your hooves. And these animals are herbivores” ... - Wow! Wow! Aaaand!!! A herd of chimpanzees galloped along the branches with all the agility available to such large primates. The leader led his men into the thick of the forest, a little more, and the prey would slip away... - Ahrrrr!!! Gryr threw his club, no longer hoping for luck, and sure enough, he hit. The leader of the chimpanzee fell noisily from a high tree, and hitting the ground completed the job. Urura jumped up to the fallen man, grabbed him by the leg, and forcefully grunted his prey against the tree trunk. Brains splashed out. “Urrrr...” leader Grur muttered approvingly, catching his breath after the chase. The ogres gathered around, Grur was the first to tear off the chimpanzee’s hand and began to gnaw it. The remaining limbs were torn off by other hunters and munched deliciously. Ogres actually prefer fried meat, but the cave is far away, and the fire is there, and hunger is tormenting here and now. Grur and his relatives did not know the secret of making fire. A thin ringing sound rang through the air, and a strange figure appeared ten steps from the feasting ogres. She was only a head shorter than Grur in height, but she was extremely thin and weak throughout her appearance. “Elentari,” the creature poked itself in the chest with a finger, and from the bulge of that chest, Grur realized that in front of him was a female of a foreign kind. - I want to talk to Grur. “No, Varda, this is unthinkable. In the language of these creatures it is almost impossible to express even the least complex thought” “Calm down, Elentari” - What do you need? - the leader of the ogres purred, interrupting his meal. - Want to help. Grur becomes strong and well-fed. To live well. All ogres live well. Grur began to sniffle. Individual words were clear, but the overall meaning eluded. What do you want? What to help? “Meat,” he pointed to the mutilated remains of a hefty male chimpanzee. - There is an ogre, don’t give it to someone else. - The ogre will have a lot of meat. Always. Grur rumbled inwardly, irritated. What does she want, this strange creature in shiny skin? Not otherwise, he’s sucking up, he wants meat. Come on! - Leave! - Grur growled, clearly taking the club into his paw. - There is meat! Then it will happen again! The ogre will find it! - It's hard for an ogre to look for meat. It will be easy, no need to search. - Ahrrrr! - Having lost patience, Grur raised his club. There are a lot of them, such helpers when you eat meat. The air hit the ogre leader in the chest, throwing him away and knocking him over. The rest of the relatives jumped up with a roar, grabbing their clubs. The hunting instinct of the Gigantrops clearly dictated that a dangerous and strong enemy should be attacked all at once and immediately. Attack or die. And no one can resist a herd of ogres. And again an invisible tight wave struck, scattering the mighty hunters like little mice. Grur shook his head in shock, but there was no time to think. He grabbed the club. - Agryrrrr! The ogres, who came to their senses, also grabbed their clubs and surrounded the white figure, who was still standing motionless in the same place and, apparently, not even thinking about running away. - Ahrrrr! The concentric attack of four adult Gigantropes is crushing and inevitable. However, the alien figure made only a barely noticeable movement, and again the giants fly to the ground. “Varda, I’m curling up,” Elentari watched the growling hairy creatures with acute disappointment. "Maybe all is not lost?" “So far they are not communicating with me, but with personal security automation” - Why would the ogre attack? Elentari is easy to say. - Ahrrrr! The clubs bounce powerlessly off an invisible barrier, and after them the owners fly away - the security machine is cold and impassive. “And I’m already wondering. Are they actually able to retreat? Or will they fight until exhaustion?” “You’re interested, Maiar, but I’m tired of looking at these terrible faces. That’s it, I’m curling up.” “Wait. Try to strengthen the blow to the point of injury. Will they understand or not?” - Ahrrrr! Grur put all the strength and fury he had into this blow. The answer was terrible, as if a rhinoceros had struck him from a running start. A very, very large rhinoceros. - Ayyy! Four giant ogres lay haphazardly, knocked down by a terrible blow. Having caught his breath a little, the leader fumbled for the club, staggered, and stood up. Yes, this enemy is the enemy of all enemies. - Rrahrrrr! And again four monstrous primates go on the attack. “That’s it, Elentari. I understand. They do not instinctively have an escape option. This happens with very strong predators that no one except their brothers can resist. Remember that monstrous lizard on the Fourth Enigma? He attacked until the automatic defense beat him to death" "Try the plasma, Eli" A blinding ring of fire appeared around the white figure and quickly rushed towards the ogres, expanding. - Aaaaaaa!!! Grur rolled on the ground, the stench of burnt skin filled his nostrils. What pain... He already understood that he had lost. This creature is incredibly strong and terrible, it is stronger than all the ogres combined. They are defeated and now, without a doubt, they will die. No! Get up! Attack! - Ahrrrr!!! "Enough! , Eli. Leave them." The white figure disappeared the same way it appeared - it didn’t leave, didn’t run away, and didn’t even fall in place. Just once, and it was gone. “Hrrrr!” Grur was breathing heavily, whistling. The singed skin stung unbearably, but the soul was filled with joy. They still stood against the terrible alien. Ogres never retreat! Victory! ... The rabbit jumped out of the bushes, and Bumuba threw a stone at him with all his might. Blow! The animal jumped and fell to the ground, shaking its paws. The next moment, Bumuba caught up with his escaping prey. A couple of blows with a stick, and the rabbit fell silent. A soft glow spread in the air, overpowering the darkness that reigned under the jungle canopy. And right out of the air in front of Bumuba, a creature he had never heard of appeared. twice the height of any of Bumuba's relatives, with white shiny skin and hooves on long, strong legs. Bumuba did not look at the rest of the details, rushing away along with his prey. Anything incomprehensible is dangerous, especially if it is twice as tall as you. Some kind of strength suddenly braked him and lifted him into the air. The hunter fluttered desperately, but an invisible force held him gently and tenaciously. Don't break out. - Why should the hobbat run away? Mine won't make Bumuba feel bad. Bumuba twitched convulsively one last time and fell silent. Talking. But the monstrous kugus don’t talk. As soon as they see the hobbat, they overtake him and beat him with a club. And they eat. Maybe this one won't eat Bumubu? “It won’t,” the strange alien confirmed out loud the hobbat’s unspoken thought. - Mine doesn't eat meat. The hobbat is not afraid. Bumubu finally dared to look at the strange newcomer. Huge eyes, frightening in their depth, attracted. - My want to talk to you. Now the hobbat was completely at a loss. What, oh what should we talk about? If this lanky guy doesn’t eat meat, then why did he catch it? The red huru buru, which lives in trees, also does not eat meat. He eats fruits. But no one had ever seen Huru-Buru become interested in the hobbat. Don't touch him, and he won't touch you. - My desire is to help the hobbats. Despite the complexity and incomprehensibility of the situation, Bumuba could not stand it and laughed. He imagined how a lanky alien catches rabbits and looks for tasty larvae in rotten fallen trunks, and gives everything to Bumuba... no, this is very funny. “Let Bumubu go,” the hobbat asked quietly. For some time the stranger was silent, and only ants seemed to be running around in the hunter’s head. A very unpleasant feeling. “Varda, this is hopeless. The level of thinking... well, this is not thinking at all, to be honest. So, slightly voiced instincts and reflexes” “You’re probably right, Maiar” The force holding Bumuba in the air disappeared, and he plopped down on the ground Prone - All. Leave. The hobbat did not force himself to beg. He jumped up and dived into the bushes with enviable agility. The branches lashed his face and sides, scratched him, but the hobbat did not stop. Away from the strange alien! Having run a considerable distance, Bumuba finally stopped to catch his breath. And then I just remembered the rabbit. What a shame! What a loss... ... Soft music flowed, as if emerging from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, and through the overflow of the melody the barely audible murmur of water made its way. A tiny spring, lined with mossy stones, was hidden in thickets of exotic luminous flowers. Today the crew dined in the greenhouse. Near the table, laden with dishes, vases and tall jugs, Ilúvatar reclined on a transparent elastic bed. The rest of the crew chose to rest in gravitational cradles and hung in the air, not relying on anything. “So, let’s sum up the first results.” A three-dimensional image appeared in the air - a huge, furry hominid, only the face and hands were free of thick fur. "Elentari called him Yeti, for convenience. A large hominid, almost as tall as the Valar. Omnivorous, lives in mountainous regions of low latitudes and in high latitudes throughout the forest zone. Very strong and hardy. Solitary, secretive lifestyle. However, once a year, in the spring, when the local moon is in full phase, they gather together for mating games. There are only a few such places on the entire continent, but yetis easily cover long distances. They generally run quite quickly, despite their apparent clumsiness." "How they run is not important to us. But what about thinking?" “Well, what kind of thinking can a creature leading a solitary life, Varda, have? Reflexes and rudimentary speech, fifty monosyllable words. More like animal signals, even." "Iluvatar?" "My opinion is an absolutely hopeless species. Solitary creatures are practically unable to develop abstract thinking due to the lack of systematic communication with their relatives." For some time, the Valar looked at the image of a yeti slowly rotating in the air on a one-to-one scale. "It's a pity. Such a brain... Elentari?" "I agree with Ilu" "Well, Mayar has already spoken... Okay, colleagues." The image changed - instead of a tall hominid dressed in fur, a small and naked one hung in the air. Only on the head was preserved hairline. "The Hobbat, as one of them mentally called himself. Omnivorous, lives in the tropical zone. The basis of its diet is insects and wild fruits, but it does not disdain hunting small animals. The lifestyle is gregarious, with up to two dozen individuals in a flock. Females belong to all males according to the hierarchy in the pack." For some time, everyone looked at the image of the hobbat. "Ilu?" "I am in doubt. In great doubt, Va. Well, look, is this a brain? This is the cerebellum. It is unlikely that there are resources for development there. Even if instead of the current three hundred or four hundred words they master three thousand... In short, they will never have any giants of spirit and geniuses. All that can be obtained is a herd of trained talking animals, incapable of further independent development." "Eli?" "And again, Ilu and I agree in opinion." "Maiar?" "Also" "Good" A new picture appeared to replace the hobbat. Huge a hominid leaning on a club, fiercely and sullenly peering into the distance. “Creator, what a monster... Eli, you are a desperate woman.” “You’re funny, Ilu, but I still imagine these muzzles.” “So, colleagues, troll. An outright predator, and a very large one at that. They can lead a solitary lifestyle, but prefer a gregarious one. The brain volume is considerable, although the bulk of the neurons are motor, which is natural for such a large creature. Nevertheless, the brain potential is there. What are your opinions? Ilu?" "Perhaps. Although the level is still extremely low. They don't even know how to make fire, only maintain it. And speech is so primitive..." "It's not about speech. Speech can be easily structured, vocabulary can be increased... I am against it, Varda. Categorically. You did not look these creatures in the eyes. Believe me guys, nothing good will come of them. It is impossible to imagine that this planet will belong to such people... It will be horror. Killings for any reason and war to the end. Until the common end." For some time the Valar looked at the ogre in silence. "Eli is right. These are truly creatures" "I support" "Okay. Then here." In the place of the ogre-troll, a new character. Dressed in the skins of a hominid with a spear, the flint tip is tied with sinews. On the belt is a leather pouch with a stone ax. "Goblins, as Ilu dubbed them, or as they call themselves, orcs. A small hominid, omnivorous, but with a bias towards predators. They lead a gregarious lifestyle. The level is relatively high, they know how to make fire, make clothes and composite tools..." "Don't exaggerate. Of all the component weapons, they only have spears." "It's a start, then it's easier." "So shall I continue?" "Sorry, Varda." "Thank you. So, goblins. Brain resources are available, although not very large. What is your opinion, Ilu?" "I would take a closer look." "Eli?" "Their faces are stupid, whatever you want." "Faces, Eli, already faces." "Yes, let them be faces. Still stupid." "Maiar?" "Everything is better than trolls. You can try" "Okay. Well, the last view." A new image hung in the air - a man clutching a girl of about eight years old. "This is the one we saved. Homo, or in their language, “a real person.” Those sitting at the table began to smile. “So, a real one?” And all the others are fake, then?" "You know, Va, but I agree." - Elentari looked at Ad-Amm's face. - "He is the most like a genuine bearer of the High Intelligence, even if it is still latent." "But I don't" - Iluvatar changed his position: “As you wish, friends, but I am for genetic methods. Both orcs and homos do not fully meet the criteria of a carrier of High Intelligence." The orc and the man appeared nearby. The Valar looked at them for some time. "Well, then, so" - Varda stood up on her feet in one movement. - "This is what you will do, Ilu . Based on these” - a nod towards the aborigine with the girl - “you can try to create your ideal carriers of the High Intelligence” “I’ll do it, Va, you’re being ironic in vain” “Okay, okay. Well, for now we’ll work with the original views" ...

Sailing remains a dangerous activity in the 21st century. Even a person armed with technology is helpless in the face of the sea elements. History knows a lot of cases when ships and their crews disappeared into the sea without a trace. We have collected the 10 most mysterious shipwrecks, the causes of which remain a mystery today.

1. USS Wasp - missing escort

There were actually several ships called USS Wasp but the strangest was Wasp, which disappeared in 1814. Built in 1813 for the war with England, Wasp was a fast sloop with a square sail, 22 guns and a crew of 170 men. Wasp participated in 13 successful operations. On September 22, 1814, the ship captured the British merchant brig Atalanta. Typically, the Wasp's crew would simply burn enemy ships, but Atalanta was deemed too valuable to destroy. As a result, an order was received to escort Atalanta to the allied harbor, and Wasp set off towards the Caribbean Sea. He was never seen again.

2. SS Marine Sulfur Queen - a victim of the Bermuda Triangle

The ship was a 160-meter tanker that was originally used to transport oil during World War II. The ship was later rebuilt to carry molten sulfur. Marine Sulfur Queen was in excellent condition. In February 1963, two days after leaving Texas with a cargo of sulfur, a routine radio message was received from the ship saying that everything was in order. After that the ship disappeared. Many speculate that it simply exploded, while others blame the “magic” of the Bermuda Triangle for its disappearance. The bodies of 39 crew members were not found, although a life jacket and a piece of board with a piece of the inscription "arine SULPH" were recovered.

3. USS Porpoise - lost in typhoon

Built during the golden age of sailing ships, Porpoise was originally known as a "hermaphrodite brig" because its two masts used two different types of sails. She was later converted to a traditional brigantine with square sails on both masts. The ship was first used to chase pirates, and in 1838 it was sent on an exploration expedition. The team managed to travel around the world and confirm the existence of Antarctica. After exploring a number of islands in the South Pacific, Porpoise sailed from China in September 1854, after which no one heard from him. It is likely that the crew encountered a typhoon, but there is no evidence of this.

4. FV Andrea Gail – victim of the “perfect storm”

The fishing trawler Andrea Gai was built in Florida in 1978 and was subsequently purchased by a company in Massachusetts. With a crew of six, Andrea Gail sailed successfully for 13 years and disappeared during a voyage to Newfoundland. The Coast Guard launched a search, but were only able to find the ship's distress beacon and some debris. After a week of searching, the ship and its crew were declared missing. Andrea Gail is believed to have been doomed when a high-pressure front crashed into a massive area of low-pressure air and then the incipient typhoon merged with the remnants of Hurricane Grace. This rare combination of three separate weather systems eventually became known as the "perfect storm." According to experts, Andrea Gail could have encountered waves more than 30 meters high

5. SS Poet - the ship that did not send a distress signal

At first, this ship was called Omar Bundy and was used to transport troops during the Second World War. It was later used to transport steel. In 1979, the ship was purchased by the Hawaiian corporation Eugenia Corporation of Hawai, which named it Poet. In 1979, the ship left Philadelphia for Port Said with a cargo of 13,500 tons of corn, but never reached its destination. The last communication with Poet occurred just six hours after leaving the port of Philadelphia, when one of the crew members spoke with his wife. After this, the ship did not make a scheduled 48-hour communication session, and the ship did not issue a distress signal. Eugenia Corporation did not report the ship's loss for six days, and the Coast Guard did not respond for another 5 days after that. No traces of the ship were ever found.

6. USS Conestoga - the missing minesweeper

USS Conestoga was built in 1917 and served as a minesweeper. After the end of the First World War it was converted into a tugboat. In 1921 she was transferred to American Samoa, where she was to become a floating station. On March 25, 1921, the ship set sail, and nothing more is known about it.

7. Witchcraft - a pleasure boat that disappeared on Christmas

In December 1967, Miami hotelier Dan Burak decided to admire the city's Christmas lights from his personal luxury Witchcraft boats. Accompanied by his father Patrick Hogan, he went about 1.5 km out to sea. It is known that the boat was in perfect order. Around 9 p.m., Burak radioed to request a tow back to the pier, reporting that his boat had been struck by an unknown object. He confirmed his coordinates to the coast guard and specified that he would launch a flare. Rescuers reached the scene within 20 minutes, but Witchcraft had disappeared. The Coast Guard combed more than 3,100 square kilometers of ocean, but neither Dan Burak, nor Patrick Hogan, nor Witchcraft were ever found.

8. USS Insurgent: the mysterious disappearance of a warship

US Navy frigate Insurgent The Americans captured it in battle with the French in 1799. The ship served in the Caribbean, where she had many glorious victories. But on August 8, 1800, the ship sailed from Virginia Hampton Roads and mysteriously disappeared.

9. SS Awahou: lifeboats didn't help

Built in 1912, 44-meter cargo steamer Awahou went through many owners before it was eventually purchased by the Australian Carr Shipping & Trading Company. On September 8, 1952, the ship sailed from Sydney with a crew of 18 people and set sail for the private island of Lord Howe. The ship was in good shape when it left Australia, but within 48 hours the ship received a faint, "crunchy" radio signal. The speech was almost impossible to understand, but it sounded like Awahou was caught in bad weather. Although the ship had enough lifeboats for the entire crew, no traces of the wreck or bodies were found.

10. SS Baychimo - Arctic ghost ship

Some call it a ghost ship, but in reality Baychimo was a real ship. Built in 1911, Baychimo was a huge steam freighter owned by the Hudson's Bay Company. It was primarily used to transport furs from northern Canada, and Baychimo's first nine voyages were relatively quiet. But during the ship's last voyage in 1931, winter came very early. Completely unprepared for bad weather, the ship became trapped in the ice. Most of the crew were rescued by plane, but the captain and several Baychimo crew members decided to wait out the bad weather by setting up camp on the ship. A severe snowstorm began, which completely hid the ship from sight. When the storm subsided, Baychimo disappeared. However, for several decades, Baychimo was allegedly seen drifting aimlessly in Arctic waters.

According to sailors, ghost ships or phantoms that appear on the horizon and disappear, portend trouble. The same goes for ships abandoned by their crews. Mysterious circumstances and an unusual flair of eerie romance accompany these stories. The ocean hides its secrets, and we decided to remember all these legends - from the Flying Dutchman and the Mary Celeste, to lesser-known ghost ships. You may not have known about many of them.

The ocean is one of the largest and most unexplored areas of the Earth. In fact, the ocean covers up to 70% of the globe's surface. The ocean is so little explored that, according to Scientific American, humans have mapped less than 0.05% of the ocean floor.

In this situation, all these stories do not seem so incredible. And there are a great many of them - stories about ships that are lost in the seas, and all these empty ships, drifting without a purpose and a crew on board... They are called ghost ships. The entire crew died, or disappeared for unknown reasons...there were many such finds. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death or disappearance of these teams, even today, with all the technological advances and research methods, remain mysterious. And no one can still explain the disappearance of people on board. Why did the entire crew leave the ship, which is left to drift, and where did they all go? Storms, pirates, disease...maybe they sailed away on boats...one way or another, many crews mysteriously disappeared without explanation. The sea knows how to keep secrets, and is reluctant to part with them. Many disasters that occurred in the sea will remain a mystery to everyone.

15. "Ourang Medan" (Orang Medan, or Orange Medan)

This Dutch merchant ship became known as a ghost ship in the late 1940s. In 1947, the Orang Medan was shipwrecked in the Dutch East Indies, and an SOS signal was received by two American ships, the City of Baltimore and the Silver Star, sailing through the Strait of Malacca.
And the sailors of two American ships received an SOS signal from the cargo ship Orang Medan. The signal was transmitted by a crew member who was extremely frightened and reported that the rest of his crew were dead. After this the connection was interrupted. Arriving on the ship, the entire crew was found dead - the bodies of the sailors froze, as if in an attempt to defend themselves, but the source of the threat was never discovered.

An article written in the late 1960s by the US Coast Guard said the bodies showed no visible signs of damage. The cargo ship was reportedly transporting sulfuric acid that was improperly packaged. After the Silver Star's crew quickly evacuated and the Americans abandoned the ship, they hoped to tow it to shore. But a fire suddenly broke out on the ship, followed by an explosion and the ship sank, which led to the final death of the merchant ship. The widow of one of the sailors who died on Ourang Medan has a photograph of the ship and crew.

14. "Copenhagen"

One of the maritime mysteries is the disappearance without a trace of one of the newest and most reliable ships of the 20th century, the five-masted Copenhagen. In the entire history of the sailing fleet, only six ships similar to the Copenhagen were built, and she was the third largest in the world in the year of construction - in 1921. She was built for the Danish East Asia Company in Scotland - at the shipyard of Romeage and Fergusson in the small town of Leith near Aberdeen. The hull was made of high-quality steel, there was a ship's own power plant on board, all deck winches were equipped with electric drives, which significantly saved time on sailing operations, and even a ship's radio station. The double-deck steel Copenhagen was a training and production vessel that made regular voyages and carried cargo. The last radio communication session with Copenhagen took place on December 21, 1928. There was no reliable information about the fate of the huge sailing ship and the 61 people on board.

A reward was offered to anyone who could indicate the location of the missing ship. Requests were sent to all ports: to report possible contacts with Copenhagen. But the captains of only two ships responded to this call - the Norwegian and English ships. Both stated that, while passing through the southern part of the Atlantic, they contacted the Danes, and they were all right. The East Asian Company first sent the Ducalien ship to search for the missing ship (but it returned empty-handed), and then the Mexico, which also found nothing. In 1929 in Copenhagen, a commission to investigate the disappearance of the ship concluded that “a training sailing ship, the five-masted barque “Copenhagen”, with 61 people on board, died due to the action of irresistible forces of nature... the ship suffered a disaster so quickly that its crew was unable to broadcast an SOS distress signal or launch lifeboats or rafts.”

At the end of 1932, in southwest Africa, in the Namib Desert, one of the British expeditions discovered seven withered skeletons dressed in tattered sea jackets. Based on the structure of the skulls, researchers determined that they were Europeans. Based on the pattern on the copper buttons of the peacoats, experts determined that they belonged to the uniform of the Danish Merchant Navy cadets. However, this time the owners of the East Asian Company no longer had any doubts, because before 1932, only one Danish training ship, the Copenhagen, suffered a disaster. And 25 years later, on October 8, 1959, the captain of the cargo ship from the Netherlands “Straat Magelhes” Piet Agler, while near the southern coast of Africa, saw a sailboat with five masts. It appeared out of nowhere, as if it had emerged from the depths of the ocean, and with all sails was heading straight towards the Dutch... The crew managed to prevent a collision, after which the sailing ship disappeared, but the crew managed to read the inscription on board the ghost ship - “København”.

13. "Baychimo"

The Baychimo was built in Sweden in 1911 by order of a German trading company. After World War I it was taken over by Great Britain and transported furs for the next fourteen years. In early October 1931, the weather deteriorated sharply, and a few miles off the coast near the town of Barrow, the ship became stuck in the ice. The team temporarily abandoned the ship and found shelter on the mainland. A week later the weather cleared, the sailors returned on board and continued sailing, but already on October 15, Baychimo again fell into an ice trap.
This time it was impossible to get to the nearest city - the crew had to arrange a temporary shelter on the shore, far from the ship, and here they were forced to spend a whole month. In mid-November there was a snowstorm that lasted for several days. And when the weather cleared on November 24, Baychimo was no longer in its original place. The sailors believed that the ship had been lost in a storm, but a few days later a local seal hunter reported seeing Baychimo about 45 miles from their camp. The team found the ship, removed its precious cargo and left it forever.
This is not the end of the Baychimo story. For the next 40 years, it was occasionally seen drifting along the northern coast of Canada. Attempts were made to get on board the ship, some were quite successful, but due to weather conditions and the poor condition of the hull, the ship was abandoned again. The last time Baychimo was seen was in 1969, that is, 38 years after its crew abandoned it - at that time the frozen ship was part of an ice massif. In 2006, the Alaska government made an attempt to determine the location of the "Ghost Ship of the Arctic", but in vain. Where Baychimo is now - whether it lies at the bottom or is covered with ice beyond recognition - is a mystery.

12. Valencia

The Valencia was built in 1882 by William Cramp and Sons. The steamboat was most often used on the California-Alaska route. In 1906, the Valencia sailed from San Francisco to Seattle. A terrible disaster occurred on the night of January 21-22, 1906, when Valencia was near Vancouver. The steamer ran into reefs and received large holes through which water began to flow. The captain decided to run the ship aground. 6 out of 7 boats were launched, but they became victims of a powerful storm; only a few people managed to get to the shore and report the disaster. The rescue operation was unsuccessful and most of the crew and passengers died. According to official information, 136 people became victims of the shipwreck; according to unofficial information, even more - 181. 37 people survived.

In 1933, lifeboat No. 5 was found near Barclay. Its condition was good, the boat retained most of its original paint. The lifeboat was found 27 years after the disaster! After this, local fishermen began to talk about the appearance of a ghost ship, which in outline resembled the Valencia.

11. Yacht SAYO; Manfred Fritz Bayorath

The 12-meter yacht SAYO, which disappeared seven years ago, was found drifting 40 miles from Barobo by Filipino fishermen. The boat's mast was broken and most of the interior was filled with water. When they got on board, they saw a mummified body near the radiotelephone. Based on photographs and documents found on board, it was quickly possible to identify the deceased. It turned out to be the owner of the yacht, yachtsman from Germany Manfred Fritz Bayorat. The mummification of Bayorat's body occurred under the influence of salt and high temperatures.

A drifting ship with the captain's mummy discovered off the coast of the Philippines surprised many. German traveler Manfred Fritz Bayorath was an experienced sailor who traveled on this yacht for 20 years. Judging by the pose in which the captain's mummy froze, in the last hours of his life he tried to contact rescuers. The cause of his death still remains a mystery.

10. "Lunatic"

In 2007, 70-year-old Jure Sterk from Slovenia went on a trip around the world on his “Lunatic”. To communicate with the shore, he used a radio he assembled with his own hands, but on January 1, 2009, he stopped communicating. A month later, his boat washed up on the coast of Australia, but there was no one on board.
Those who saw the ship believe it was approximately 1,000 nautical miles off the coast.
The sailboat was in excellent shape and appeared undamaged. There was no sign of Sterk there. No note or journal entry about the reasons for his disappearance. Although the last entry in the journal dates back to January 2, 2009. And at the end of April 2019, “Lunatic” was spotted at sea by the crew of the research vessel “Roger Revelle”. It was drifting about 500 miles off the coast of Australia. His exact coordinates at that time were Latitude 32-18.0S, Longitude 091-07.0E.

9. "The Flying Dutchman"

The "Flying Dutchman" refers to several different ghost ships from different centuries. One of them is the real owner of the brand. The one with whom the trouble happened at the Cape of Good Hope.
This is a legendary ghost sailing ship that cannot land on the shore and is doomed to forever roam the seas. Usually people observe such a ship from afar, sometimes surrounded by a luminous halo. According to legend, when the Flying Dutchman encounters another ship, its crew tries to send messages ashore to people who have long been dead. In maritime beliefs, an encounter with the Flying Dutchman was considered a bad omen.
Legend has it that in the 1700s, Dutch captain Philip Van Straaten was returning from the East Indies with a young couple on board. The captain liked the girl; he killed her betrothed, and proposed to her to become his wife, but the girl threw herself overboard. While trying to round the Cape of Good Hope, the ship encountered a severe storm. The navigator offered to wait out the bad weather in some bay, but the captain shot him and several dissatisfied people, and then swore by his mother that none of the crew would go ashore until they rounded the cape, even if it took forever. The captain, a foul-mouthed and blasphemous man, brought a curse upon his ship. Now he, immortal, invulnerable, but unable to go ashore, is doomed to plow the waves of the world's oceans until the second coming.
The first printed mention of the Flying Dutchman appeared in 1795 in the book A Voyage to Botany Bay.

8. “High Em 6”

This ghost ship was reported to have left a port in southern Taiwan on October 31, 2002. Subsequently, on January 8, 2003, the Indonesian fishing schooner Hi Em 6 was found adrift without a crew near New Zealand. Despite a thorough search, no trace of the 14 team members could be found. The captain reportedly last contacted the ship's owner, Tsai Huan Chue-er, in late 2002.

Oddly enough, the only crew member who showed up later reported that the captain had been killed. Whether there was a rebellion and its reasons are unclear. Initially, the entire crew was missing, and when the ship was discovered, no one was found. According to the results of the investigation, there were no signs of distress or fire on the ship. However, it was said that the ship could be carrying illegal immigrants. Which also doesn't explain anything...

7. Phantom Galleon

Legends about this ship began in the late 1800s when it was built. The ship was going to be built from wood. Once at sea, among the ice, the wooden ship froze into part of the iceberg. Eventually, the water began to warm up, the weather changed, it became warmer, and the iceberg sank the ship. The White Fleet searched for its ship throughout the winter, each time returning to port empty-handed, under cover of fog. At some point, it became so warm that the ship thawed and separated from the iceberg, and rose to the surface, where it was discovered by the crew of the White Fleet. Unfortunately, the crew of the galleon was killed; the remains of the ship were towed to the port.

6. "Octavius"

One of the first ghost ships, the Octavius became one because its crew froze to death in 1762, and the ship drifted for another 13 years with the dead on board. The captain tried to find a short route from China to England through the Northwest Passage (a sea route through the Arctic Ocean), but the ship was covered in ice. Octavius left England and headed for America in 1761. Trying to save time, the captain decided to follow the then-unexplored Northwest Passage, which was first successfully completed only in 1906. The ship got stuck in the Arctic ice, the unprepared crew froze to death - the discovered remains indicate that this happened quite quickly. It is assumed that some time later Octavius was freed from the ice and, with its dead crew, drifted on the open sea. After an encounter with whalers in 1775, the ship was never seen again.
The English merchant ship Octavius was discovered drifting west of Greenland on October 11, 1775. A crew from the whaler Whaler Herald boarded and found the entire crew frozen. The captain's body was in his cabin; he died while writing in the logbook; he remained sitting at the table with a pen in his hand. There were three more frozen bodies in the cabin: a woman, a child wrapped in a blanket, and a sailor. The whaler's boarding crew left Octavius in a hurry, taking with them only the logbook. Unfortunately, the document was so damaged by cold and water that only the first and last pages could be read. The journal ended with an entry from 1762. This meant that the ship had been drifting with the dead on board for 13 years.

5. Corsair "Duc de Dantzig"

This ship was launched in the early 1800s in Nantes, France, and soon became a corsair. Corsairs are private individuals who, with the permission of the supreme power of a warring state, used an armed vessel to capture merchant ships of the enemy, and sometimes even neutral powers. The same title applies to their team members. The concept of “corsair” in the narrow sense is used to characterize specifically French and Ottoman captains and ships.

The corsair captured several ships, some were plundered, and some were set free. After capturing small ships, most often the corsair abandoned the captured ships, sometimes setting them on fire. Mysteriously, this ship disappeared in 1812. Since then he has become a legend. It is believed that shortly after her mysterious disappearance, this corsair may have been a cruiser in the Atlantic Ocean or perhaps in the Caribbean. There are rumors that it may have been captured by a British frigate. Napoleonic Gallego reported the discovery of this ship, drifting at sea completely aimlessly, with the deck covered in blood and covered with the corpses of the crew. However, there were no visible signs of damage to the vessel. The frigate's crew allegedly found and took the logbook, covered in the captain's blood, and then set the ship on fire.

4. Schooner "Jenny"

It is stated that the schooner Jenny, originally English, left port on the Isle of Wight in 1822 for the Antarctic regatta. The voyage was supposed to take place along the ice barrier in 1823, then it was planned to enter the ice in southern waters, and reach Drake Passage.
But a British schooner got stuck in the ice of the Drake Passage in 1823. But it was discovered only 17 years later: in 1840, a whaling ship called Nadezhda stumbled upon it. The bodies of the Jenny crew members were well preserved due to the low temperatures. The ship took its place in the history of ghost ships, and in 1862 it was included in the list of Globus, a popular German geographical magazine of those times.

3. Sea Bird

Most “encounters” with ghost ships are pure fiction, but there were also very real stories. Losing a vessel or ship in the infinity of the world's oceans is not so difficult. And it's even easier to lose people.
In the 1750s, Sea Bird was a trading brig under the command of John Huxham. A merchant ship ran aground off Easton Beach, Rhode Island. The crew disappeared to an unknown location - the ship was abandoned by them without any explanation, and the lifeboats were missing. It was reported that the ship was returning from a voyage from Honduras, carrying goods from the southern to the northern hemisphere, and was expected to arrive in the city of Newport. Upon further investigation, coffee was found boiling on the stove on the abandoned ship... The only living creatures that were found on board were a cat and a dog. The crew mysteriously disappeared. An account of the ship's history was recorded in Wilmington, Delaware and made news in the Sunday Morning Star in 1885.

2. "Mary Celeste" (or Celeste)

The second most popular ghost ship after the Flying Dutchman - however, unlike it, it really existed. “Amazon” (as the ship was originally called) was notorious. The ship changed owners many times, the first captain died during the first voyage, then the ship ran aground during a storm, and finally it was bought by an enterprising American. He renamed the Amazon the Mary Celeste, believing that the new name would save the ship from trouble.
When the ship left the port of New York on November 7, 1872, there were 13 people on board: Captain Briggs, his wife, their daughter and 10 sailors. In 1872, a ship traveling from New York to Genoa with a cargo of alcohol on board was discovered by the Dei Grazia without a single person on board. All the personal belongings of the crew were in their places; in the captain’s cabin there was a box with his wife’s jewelry and her own sewing machine with unfinished sewing. True, the sextant and one of the boats disappeared, which suggests that the crew abandoned the ship. The ship was in good condition, the holds were filled with food, the cargo (the ship was carrying alcohol) was intact, but no traces of the crew were found. The fate of all crew members and passengers is completely shrouded in darkness. Subsequently, several impostors appeared and were exposed, posing as crew members and trying to profit from the tragedy. Most often, the impostor posed as the ship's cook.

The British Admiralty conducted a thorough investigation with a detailed examination of the ship (including below the waterline, by divers) and a thorough interview with eyewitnesses. It is the materials of this investigation that are the main and most reliable source of information. Plausible explanations of what happened boil down to the fact that the crew and passengers left the ship of their own free will, differing only in the interpretation of the reasons that prompted them to such a decision. There are many hypotheses, but they are all just assumptions.

1. Cruiser USS Salem (CA-139)

The cruiser USS Salem was laid down in July 1945 at Bethlehem Steel Company's Quincy Yard, launched in March 1947, and entered service on May 14, 1949. For ten years, the ship served as the flagship of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, and the Second Fleet in Atlantic.The ship was placed in reserve in 1959. She was removed from the fleet in 1990, and opened to the public as a museum in 1995. USS Salem is now docked in Boston, Massachusetts in Quincy Harbor.

Boston, one of the oldest cities in the United States, has several spooky historic ships and buildings on display. This ship, being an old warship, is a bundle of stories - from the dark sights of war to the loss of life, if you get a chance to take a tour there, you will be able to experience the thrill and chills of all the ghosts of this ship. He's been nicknamed the "Sea Witch" and is rumored to be so creepy that you can feel the chill just by looking at his photo online.