1. The Mary Celeste
Written and Researched
By
Noelle McGarry 2014

2. Introduction
The Mary Celeste is
a famous brigantine
built in Canada; it
was originally
called the Amazon.
It had a bad history.
Three captains died
aboard the ship. It
also ran aground
during a storm but
was salvaged,
rebuilt and
renamed the Mary

3. Arthur Conan Doyle
One man named
Arthur Conan Doyle
wrote a short
fiction story about
the Mary Celeste. He
renamed it the
Marie Celeste. He
also said that the
lifeboat they had
was still there
when they found it.
“So how had they
escaped?” he asked.
The story became
very popular and
most people

4. The Voyage
The Mary Celeste
set sail on 5th
November from
New York harbour
heading for
Gibraltar. The
crew included
Captain Benjamin
Briggs, his wife
and seven
crewmen. The
cargo carried was

5. On 4th December
1872 at
approximately
1pm a ship called
the Dei Gratia
spotted the Mary
Celeste. As they
looked closer
they realised
something was
wrong, there was
no one on deck.

6. Two members of
the Dei Gratia
boarded the ship.
They found no one
on the ship. There
was plenty of
food on board and
the ship seemed to
be in good
condition.

7. Everything seemed
to be left as if the
crew were in a
hurry. No wonder
they felt there was
something eerie
about the ship! They
did find the ship’s
log. The last entry
had been made at
8.00am on 25th
November. This
meant that no one
had been on the ship
for over two days
yet it stayed on

8. Mate Deveau and
two crewmen
sailed the ship to
Gibraltar while
the captain and
remaining crew
sailed the Dei
Gratia. When they
arrived, an
official inquiry
was held.

9. Theories on What Happened
They had thought
that the crew had
drunken the
alcohol on board
and being drunk
murdered the
captain, his wife
and child and
escaped on the
lifeboat.

10. As the years went
on more stories
and theories were
created. Some say
they were in the
Bermuda Triangle,
others that they
struck an ice-berg
and others that
they were hit by
plague.

11. Some even suggest that
a giant octopus swept
them over-board or
that they were
abducted by aliens.

12. • The most logical reason
was that the barrels of
alcohol, which were
tied together, had
rubbed together
causing a spark. On
seeing this, the captain
was frightenened the
ship would blow up or
go on fire.

13. He probably
ordered his
family and the
crew into the
lifeboat. The life
boat could have
sunk beneath the
waves, drowning
them all.

14. What’s your
theory?