The Devil's Place
Blog#3
Bermuda Triangle
The Devil’s Place...
Abstracts:
The Bermuda triangle also called the Devil’s Triangle, is among one of the most complex and interesting mysteries. There are numerous
stories that report about the disappearance of the ships and air-crafts
crossing the area which is quite weird. No one could believe that the ships and
aircrafts can disappear; the rescue operations were launched by some countries,
especially by the US, to find the wrecks of ‘crashed’ ships and aircrafts. In
many cases the rescue team could never discover the debris of the ‘crashed’ ships and aircrafts, however,
in some cases, even the rescue ships along with its crew could never come back.
Introduction:
The Bermuda
triangle or Devil’s Triangle, a triangular area in the North Atlantic Ocean
lying among the island of Bermuda (UK), seashore of Miami City, in Florida
State (US) and the island of Puerto Rico (US). This area is believed to be
cursed; as a devil that reacts very viciously when any ship or aircraft passes
through its area. A number of ships and aircrafts have been said to disappear
or vanish to an unknown place which could be somewhat dramatically baffling
when heard, but according to records and data it seems to be true. The rescue
teams and researches were assisted by many countries, mainly US to look for the
wrecks of vanished ships and aircrafts as evidence, but unfortunately, in many
cases, instead of getting the debris of the lost ships or aircrafts, they lost
their rescue team and ships as well.
Coordinates on Globe: 27 degree north – 71 degree west
Area: 500,000
square mile
Incidents
happened: More than 50 ships and 20 aircrafts
Disappeared
since 1918
(as per available records)
Triangle lying
between: The Island of Bermuda, Miami (in Florida
State, US) and Puerto Rico (island under
US)
The
three connecting points:
1.
Bermuda Island:
· Bermuda was first documented (as per
available records) by a Spanish “Juan de Bermudez” in 1503. In 1609, the
English Virginia Company, which had established Jamestown in Virginia two years earlier,
permanently settled Bermuda in the aftermath of a hurricane. The capital of
this island St. George’s was established in 1612.
·
The Virginia Company administered the island as an extension of
Virginia until 1614, however, the Somers Isles Company, took over
in 1615 and managed the island until 1684, when the company's charter was revoked, and Bermuda became an English Crown Colony.
Following the 1707 unification of the parliaments of
Scotland and England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain, the islands of Bermuda became a British Crown Colony.
In 2002, the Bermuda Island became the overseas territory as a result of “the
British Overseas Territories Act 2002”.
·
Bermuda was divided by Richard Norwood into
eight equally sized administrative areas west of St. George's called
"tribes" (today known as "parishes"). These
"tribes" were areas of land partitioned off to the principal
"Adventurers" (investors) of the company, from east to west –
Bedford, Smiths, Cavendish, Paget, Mansell, Warwick, and Sandys.
·
In 1603, a Spanish Capt. Diego Ramirez was stranded on the rocks
of Bermuda after a storm when he discovered the "devils reported to be
about Bermuda" were actually the first outcry of the Bermuda story.
Some facts about
Bermuda Island:
Island
under: UK, as an Overseas
Territory
Capital: Hamilton
Head of State: Britain’s King- Charles
III
Area: 53.2 square km
Population: 64,069 (in 2023)
Currency: Bermudian Dollar
GDP: 7.3 billion USD (in 2021)
Per Capita Income: 91,950 PPP Dollars (in
2021)
Coast line: North Atlantic Ocean
Neighboring countries: Cape
Sable Island, Nova Scotia (Canada)
Religions: Predominantly Christianity
but Anglicans also reside there as minority
Language: English
Highest point: Town
Hill of 259 feet (79 m)
Climate: Mild humid but equable
Hottest month: August (daytime at 30
degree Celsius)
Coldest month: February (nighttime at 14 deg Celsius)
Annual rainfall: 1,450 mm
Wildlife: Lizards and frogs
Initial discovery and early
colony
The Peter Martyr map, first map of the island of Bermuda in 1511, made by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera in his book Legatio Babylonica
Economy
of Bermuda Island:
The market economy of
Bermuda is based on its international finance and tourism. There are
agricultural practices done to fulfill the vegetable needs within the country.
The vegetables grown here are bananas, citric fruits, milk, eggs, honey, and
even small fishing practices are carried out throughout the country. The
industries produce sand and limestone for local needs for construction. A part
of the market economy is also handled by the tourism practices. The major
tourist sites of Bermuda are pink sand beaches, town of St. George which was
found in 1612 and then designated as a United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world
heritage site in the year 2000.
Tourism
in Bermuda:
Tourism
in Bermuda first developed in Victorian times, catering to a wealthy elite
seeking to escape North American winters. People also hoping to find young
aristocrats among the officers of the Army and Naval base to whom they might
marry their daughters. Local civilians and hoteliers were quick to exploit
this, and organised many dance programs and gatherings during the 'season', to
which military and naval officers were given a blanket invitation.
One
of the main sources of livelihood on this island was fishing and maritime
industry. Many of the seamen being lost at sea or settling elsewhere caused the
Bermudian maritime industry to suffer; the colony was noted for having a high
proportion of unmarried women well into the 20th century. Many Bermudian women
had traditionally wed naval or military officers. With the arrival of tourism,
young local women had to compete with American girls. Most Bermudian women who
married officers, left Bermuda when their husbands were stationed elsewhere.
Enlisted men married Bermudians, and many of those remained in Bermuda when
they left the Army.
The
Narrative was set through the different advertisement mediums that the island
was cooler in the summer than resorts on the north Atlantic coast of North
America. In the early 20th century, as modern transport and communication
systems developed, Bermuda became a popular destination for American, Canadian
and British tourists arriving by sea. In 1930, The United States Smoot Hawley Tariff Act enacted
protective tariffs that cut off Bermuda's once-thriving export trade of fresh
vegetables to the United States and encouraged its development of tourism as an
alternative.
After
several failed attempts, the first aeroplane reached Bermuda in 1930. A Stinson Detroiter seaplane flying from New York City, it had to land twice in the
ocean: once because of darkness and again to refuel. Navigation and weather
forecasting improved in 1933 when the Royal Air Force (then responsible for
providing equipment and personnel for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm) established a station at the
Royal Naval Dockyard to repair (and supply replacement) float planes for the
fleet. In 1936, Luft Hansa began
to experiment with seaplane flights from Berlin via the Azores with
continuation to New York City.
In
1937, Imperial airways and Pan American World started operating scheduled flying-boat airline services
from New York and Baltimore to the Darrell's Island Bermuda. After the Second World War the first airport for landplanes was
built and the jet age started which helped the island’s tourism to increase its
potential.
The
island suffered major damage from Hurricane Fabian in 2003. It was also hit by
Hurricane Bertha in July 2008, Hurricanes Fay and Gonzalo in September 2014, Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015, and Hurricane Nicole in
October 2016.
At
the 2020 Summer Olympics,
Bermuda became the smallest overseas territory to earn a gold medal, as Flora Duffy won Bermuda´s first ever Olympic
gold medal, in the women's Triathlon.
2. Puerto Rico, US
History, Economy and
Culture:
Christopher Columbus arrived at Puerto
Rico in 1493. He originally called the island San Juan Bautista, but thanks to
the gold in the river, it was soon known as Puerto Rico, or "rich
port;" and the capital city took the name San Juan. Soon, Puerto Rico was
a Spanish colony on its way to become an important military outpost.
Puerto Rico began to produce cattle,
sugar cane, coffee and tobacco, which led to the importation of slaves from
Africa. As a result, Puerto Rican bloodlines and culture evolved through a
mixing of the Spanish, African, and indigenous Taíno and Carib Indian races
that shared the island. Today, many Puerto Rican towns retain their Taíno
names, such as Utuado, Mayagüez and Caguas.
Over the years, numerous unsuccessful
attempts were made by the French, Dutch, and English to conquer the island. To
guard against these incursions, the Spanish constructed many forts and ramparts,
still found on the island. Puerto Rico remained an overseas province of Spain
until the Spanish-American war, when U.S. forces invaded the island. In 1898,
Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Puerto Rico (along with Cuba, the
Philippines and Guam) to the U.S.
As a result, the turn of the century
saw Puerto Rico under United States sovereignty. At that time, Puerto Rico's
economy relied on its sugar crop, but by the middle of the century, an
ambitious industrialization effort, called Operation Bootstrap, was underway.
Cheap labor and attractive tax laws attracted American companies, and soon the
Puerto Rican economy was firmly grounded in manufacturing and tourism. Today,
Puerto Rico is a leading tourist destination and manufacturing center; the
island produces high-tech equipment and many top-selling American
pharmaceuticals.
Puerto Ricans received U.S. citizenship
in 1917 and Puerto Rico officially became a U.S. Commonwealth in 1952. The
issue of political status is one under constant debate, with some in favor of
statehood, others independence.
During World War II, the U.S. Navy
purchased two thirds of the island to use as a naval base. The Navy used the
area for military exercises and bombing practice for nearly 60 years until a
civilian was killed during a bombing exercise in the 1990s. This sparked a wave
of protests that finally ended when the base closed in 2003. Since then, the
Navy's lands have become wildlife reserves.
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea. The island is approximately 100 miles lond and 35 miles wide with a total area of 9,104 square kilometers. The capital and largest city of Puerto Rico is San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of Puerto Rico. The island is known for its beautiful beaches, tropical climate and vibrant music and dance scene.
Some facts about Puerto Rico Island:
Island
under: A self-governing
commonwealth under the US
Capital: San Juan
Head of State: Pedro Pierluisi
Area: 8,897 square km
Population: 3.3 million (in 2021)
Currency: US Dollar
GDP: 106.5 billion USD (in
2021)
Per Capita Income: 24,760 PPP Dollars (in
2021)
Coast line: North Atlantic Ocean and
Caribbean Sea
Neighboring countries: Dominican
Republic and Venezuela
Religions: Predominantly Christianity but Islamic
people also
reside there as minority
Language: English and Spanish
Highest point: Cerro
de Punta of __ feet (1338 m)
Climate: Tropical monsoon
Hottest month: August (day time at 29
degree Celsius)
Coldest month: January (night time at 21
degree Celsius)
Annual rainfall: 5,080 mm
Wildlife: Birds, mammals and reptiles
3. Miami, State of Florida, US
Some
facts about Miami:
City under: State of Florida, US
Area: 43.1 square km
Population: 0.4 million (in 2021)
Currency: American Dollar
GDP: 155 billion USD (in 2021)
Per Capita Income: 65948 PPP Dollars (in
2021)
Coast line: North Atlantic Ocean
Neighboring countries: Bahamas
and Mexico
Religions: Predominantly Christianity
but Islamic
people also reside there
as minority
Language: English
Highest point: Miami
Rock Ridge of __ feet (7 m)
Climate: Tropical rainforest
Hottest month: August (day time at 32
degree Celsius)
Coldest month: January (night time at 17
degree Celsius)
Annual rainfall: 1570 mm
Wildlife: Birds, mammals and reptiles
The theories
which are voting the triangle as a devil’s triangle:
Once during his first
voyage, Christopher Columbus crossed Bermuda Triangle and he saw a great flame
of fire which came from space and crashed over surface of the ocean which could
be a meteor. A few weeks later, he saw some strange lights during night in that
area.
Obscurity:
The aircrafts or ships
which have been reported to be vanishing here have been tracked by their
respective stations, but they lost the signals forever after they crossed or
went through nearby areas.
Theories:
The theories with natural
causes have blamed the geo-physical and the environmental factors to be
responsible while some other theories have said that aliens navigate to their
planets through this area. Some explains that there is no variation in the
magnetic compass’s needle while other says that missing vessels fell by the
just so-called ‘rogue waves’ which are the massive waves that may at times
reach a height of 30.5 meters or 100 feet and can be physically very much
powerful to destroy all the evidences of aircrafts and ships.
According to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) US, “There is no evidence that mysterious disappearance occur with any
greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in any large well travelled area
of the ocean.”
The word ‘Bermuda
Triangle’ was firstly used by an author named Larry Kusche in the year 1975
when he wrote his book ‘The Bermuda
Triangle Mystery: Solved’ as a theory book to tell the real story behind
the Bermuda Triangle. Since then, more than 14 million copies were sold of this
book. Larry in his book concluded that:
ü
The numerous ships and aircraft that are reported as missing
in the area were not significantly greater in proportion to that of any other
part of the ocean.
For example, an aircraft had crashed in Miami in presence of several people as witness.
Incidents happened in the Bermuda Triangle
Aircraft incidents:
·
1945: December 5, Flight 19 (five TBF Avengers) lost with 14
airmen, and later the same day PBM Mariner Bu No 59225 lost
with 13 airmen while searching for Flight 19.
· 1949: January 17, Avro Tudor G-AGRE Star Ariel lost with seven crew and 13 passengers, in its route from Kindley Field, Bermuda, to Kingston Airport, Jamaica.
· 1965: June 9, A USAF C-119 Flying Boxcar of the 440th Troop Carrier Wing missing between Florida and Grand Turk Island The last call from the plane came from a point just north of Crooked Island, Bahamas, and 177 miles from Grand Turk Island. On July 18, 1965 debris from the plane was found on the beach of Gold Rock Cay just off the northeastern shore of Acklins Island.
· 1965: December 6, Private ERCO Ercoupe F01 lost with two casualties (one pilot and one passenger), in its route from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Bahamas Island.
· 2005: June 20, A Piper PA-23 disappeared between Treasure Cay Island, Bahamas and Fort Pierce, Florida.
· 2017: February 23, The Turkish Airlines flight TK183 (an Airbus A330-200) was forced to change its direction from Havana, Cuba to Washington Dulles airport after some mechanical and electrical problems occurred over the triangle.
·
2017: May 15, A private
MU-2B aircraft was at
24,000 feet when it vanished from radar and radio contact with air traffic
controllers in Miami. Plane wreckage was found later.
Incidents at sea:
· 1800: USS Pickering, on course from Guadeloupe to Delaware, lost with 91 people on board (supposed to be lost in a storm).
· 1814: USS Wasp, last known position was the Caribbean, lost with 140 people on board (Possibly lost in a storm).
· 1824: USS Wild Cat, on course from Cuba to Tompkins Island, lost with 14 people on board.
· 1840: Rosalie, (a ship) was found abandoned.
· 1881: According to legend, a sailing ship, the Ellen Austin, found a derelict vessel and placed a crew to sail the vessel to port. The assumption behind what happened to the vessel is: the vessel was either lost in a storm or was found again without a crew. Lawrence David Kusche author of "The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" found no mention in 1880 or 1881 newspapers of this alleged incident-he did trace the legend to a book by Rupert Gould "The Stargazer Talks" published in 1943. The Ellen Austin did exist; a check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of Meta, built in 1854, and that in 1880, Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel.
· 1918: USS Cyclops, a collier, left Barbados on March 4th, lost with all 306 crew and passengers in route to Baltimore, Maryland.
· 1921: January 31, Carroll A. Deering, Captain W. B. Wormell, found aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
· 1925: December 1, SS Cotopaxi, having departed Charleston, South Carolina two days earlier bound for Havana, Cuba, radioed a distress call reporting that the ship was sinking. She was officially listed as overdue on 31 December. In 1985 an unknown shipwreck was found off St Augustine, Florida; in 2020 it was identified as the remains of the SS Cotopaxi.
· 1941: USS Proteus (AC-9), lost with all 58 persons on board in heavy seas, having departed from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands with a cargo of bauxite on 23 November. The following month, her sister ship USS Nereus (AC-10) was lost with all 61 persons on board, having also departed from St. Thomas with a cargo of bauxite, on 10 December. According to research by Rear Admiral George van Deurs, USN, who was familiar with this type of ship from their service in the USN, the acidic coal cargo would seriously erode the longitudinal support beams, making these aging and poorly constructed colliers extremely vulnerable to breaking up in heavy seas. They were both sister ships of the USS Cyclops.
· 1958: Revonoc. A 43-foot racing yawl was lost with owner Harvey Conover and four others aboard, between Key West and Miami in a hurricane. The only trace found was the Revonoc's 14-foot skiff, near Jupiter, Florida.
· 1963: SS Marine Sulphur Queen, lost with 39 crewmen, having departed Beaumont, Texas, on 2 February with a cargo of 15,260 tons of sulphur. She was last heard from on 4 February, when she was in rough, nearly following seas of 16 feet, with northerly winds of 25–46 knots, and listed as missing two days later. The US Coast Guard subsequently determined that the ship was unsafe and not seaworthy, and never should have sailed. The final report suggested four causes of the disaster, all due to poor design and maintenance of the ship.
· 1967: December 22, Miami hotel owner and yachtsman Dan Burack set out on his cabin cruiser Witchcraft with a priest named Patrick Horgan. The ship was taken one mile off the Miami coastline so that Burack and Horgan could view the Christmas lights visible from the shore. That night, Burack radioed a distress call to the Coast Guard, informing them that the boat's propeller had struck something underwater, and that the vessel would need to be towed in. The Coast Guard requested that he send up a flare in roughly 20 minutes so that the boat could be more easily located. The official who received the call reportedly later noted that Burack did not seem too concerned about the Witchcraft,a boat that Burack had fitted with a special floatation device in its hull. When the Coast Guard arrived at the location from which Burack called, he found the Witchcraft nowhere around. Over the following days, a search was conducted over hundreds of square miles of ocean, but the boat and its passengers were never found.
· 2015: Late July, two 14-year-old boys, Austin Stephanos, and Perry Cohen went on a fishing trip in their 19-foot boat. Despite the 15,000 square nautical miles wide search by the Coast Guard, the pair's boat was found a year later off the coast of Bermuda, but the boys were never seen again.
·
2015: October 1, SS El Faro, with a crew of 33 aboard, sank off of the coast of the Bahamas within
the triangle after sailing into Hurricane Joaquin. Search crews identified the vessel 15,000 feet below the surface.
Incident on land:
1969:
August, Great Isaac Lighthouse (Bimini, Bahamas),
during a hurricane, two keepers disappeared and was never found.
The theories which are not voting the triangle
as a devil’s triangle:
Methane gas: The methane gas evolved from the eruption of the volcanoes
otherwise known as ‘mud volcanoes’ inside the water, in the ocean floor or bed
lowers the density of water, (just like that of salt increases the density of
water. for example: Dead Sea) due to which huge ships sink in it. A science
laboratory experiment conducted in Australia concluded that methane gas reduces
the density of water due to which large scale model ships sink in it.
The
Hexagonal clouds: The hexagonal clouds found over the atmosphere of Bermuda Triangle are
like ‘air bombs’ and can cause the breakdown of the aircrafts and even ships.
These strange hexagonal clouds were first seen over the North Pole surface of
Saturn using radar satellite imagery. These clouds are between 20 to 50 miles
wide which are formed over the water.
The compass
needle deviation: The needle of a compass deviates when any ship or aircraft passes
through the area because the needle of compass points to the geographical north
instead of magnetic north. The geographical north is the end of the Earth’s
rotation axis and is on the north on the maps and hence is constant i.e. it
does not changes its position but magnetic north is a point where the lines of
force of the Earth’s magnetic field converge and hence is not constant i.e. it
changes its position.
The study held in 2013,
the World Wide Fund for Nature
identified the world’s top 10 dangerous water body places for ship transport,
but the Bermuda Triangle was not among the names in the list.
Bermuda Triangle is not unique but there
are other places also in the different part of the ocean having abnormal
records.
Some
such places are mentioned below:
1.
The devil’s sea or
dragon’s triangle: The sea is located to east of Japan. It is said that it is
famous for the disappearance of ships and aircrafts.
2.
The Bennington triangle: this triangle is
situated in Vermont, US, where people are missing from 1920s to 1930s.
3.
The zone of silence: this place is located in
Mexico. It is famous for its unusual magnetic properties and reports of radio
inference.
4.
The Michigan triangle: it is situated in Lake
Michigan, US. It is famous for the ship disappearances and shipwrecks.
Conclusion:
The mystery of Bermuda
Triangle is very complex and weird having tons of mystery in it. Some
scientists believe it to be paranormal; on the other hand, some take it as
normal and describable. Many theories and researches have been conducted on the
subject; however, no concrete description has come into light till now to show
the truth logically.
Eventually, based on the
experiences, stories and happenings the place is still supposed to be cursed as
the devil’s place. May be, over the time, we will be able to crack the
mysteries and come to know about the truth.
Sources
of data:
Wikipedia
Britannica
Smithsonian Magazine Nov 6,2007
Other
websites on Internet
Course
materials etc.
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