Bermuda TriangleFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor other uses, see Bermuda Triangle (disambiguation).

Bermuda Triangle

Classic borders of the Bermuda TriangleClassificationGroupingParanormal placesDescriptionAlso known asDevil's TriangleCountryInternational waters, The BahamasStatusUrban legendv d eThe Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared mysteriously. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.[1] Documented evidence indicates that a significant percentage of the incidents were inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.Contents [hide]1 The Triangle area2 History2.1 Origins2.2 Larry Kusche2.3 Further responses3 Supernatural explanations4 Natural explanations4.1 Compass variations4.2 Deliberate acts of destruction4.3 Gulf Stream4.4 Human error4.5 Hurricanes4.6 Methane hydrates4.7 Rogue waves5 Notable incidents5.1 Flight 195.2 Mary Celeste5.3 Ellen Austin5.4 USS Cyclops5.5 Theodosia Burr Alston5.6 Spray5.7 Carroll A. Deering5.8 Douglas DC-35.9 Star Tiger and Star Ariel5.10 KC-135 Stratotankers5.11 SS Marine Sulphur Queen5.12 Raifuku Maru5.13 Connemara IV5.14 Carolyn Cascio6 Triangle authors7 See also8 References9 Other sources9.1 Newspaper articles9.1.1 Flight 199.1.2 Raifuku Maru9.1.3 SS Cotopaxi9.1.4 USS Cyclops (AC-4)9.1.5 Carroll A. Deering9.1.6 Wreckers9.1.7 S.S. Suduffco9.1.8 Star Tiger and Star Ariel9.1.9 DC-3 Airliner NC16002 disappearance9.1.10 Harvey Conover and Revonoc9.1.11 KC-135 Stratotankers9.1.12 B-52 Bomber (Pogo 22)9.1.13 Charter vessel Sno'Boy9.1.14 SS Marine Sulphur Queen9.1.15 SS Sylvia L. Ossa9.2 Website links9.3 Books10 External linksThe Triangle area

The area of the Triangle varies by authorThe boundaries of the triangle cover the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. The more familiar triangular boundary in most written works has as its points somewhere on the Atlantic coast of Miami, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda, with most of the accidents concentrated along the southern boundary around the Bahamas and the Florida Straits.The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands. Cruise ships are also plentiful, and pleasure craft regularly go back and forth between Florida and the islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.History

OriginsThe earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones.[2] Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door",[3] a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine.[4] It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.[5] The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.[6]Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973);[7] Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974);[8] Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974),[9] and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.[10]Larry KuscheLawrence David Kusche, a research librarian from Arizona State University and author of The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved (1975)[11] argued that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were often exaggerated, dubious or unverifiable. Kusche's research revealed a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between Berlitz's accounts and statements from eyewitnesses, participants, and others involved in the initial incidents. Kusche noted cases where pertinent information went unreported, such as the disappearance of round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, which Berlitz had presented as a mystery, despite clear evidence to the contrary. Another example was the ore-carrier recounted by Berlitz as lost without trace three days out of an Atlantic port when it had been lost three days out of a port with the same name in the Pacific Ocean. Kusche also argued that a large percentage of the incidents that sparked allegations of the Triangle's mysterious influence actually occurred well outside it. Often his research was simple: he would review period newspapers of the dates of reported incidents and find reports on possibly relevant events like unusual weather, that were never mentioned in the disappearance stories.Kusche concluded that:The number of ships and aircraft reported missing in the area was not significantly greater, proportionally speaking, than in any other part of the ocean.In an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were, for the most part, neither disproportionate, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms.The numbers themselves had been exaggerated by sloppy research. A boat's disappearance, for example, would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not have been.Some disappearances had, in fact, never happened. One plane crash was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of hundreds of witnesses; a check of the local papers revealed nothing.The legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a manufactured mystery, perpetuated by writers who either purposely or unknowingly made use of misconceptions, faulty reasoning, and sensationalism.[11]Further responsesWhen the UK Channel 4 television program "The Bermuda Triangle" (c. 1992) was being produced by John Simmons of Geofilms for the Equinox series, the marine insurer Lloyd's of London was asked if an unusually large number of ships had sunk in the Bermuda Triangle area. Lloyd's of London determined that large numbers of ships had not sunk there.[12]United States Coast Guard records confirm their conclusion. In fact, the number of supposed disappearances is relatively insignificant considering the number of ships and aircraft that pass through on a regular basis.[11]The Coast Guard is also officially skeptical of the Triangle, noting that they collect and publish, through their inquiries, much documentation contradicting many of the incidents written about by the Triangle authors. In one such incident involving the 1972 explosion and sinking of the tanker SS V. A. Fogg in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard photographed the wreck and recovered several bodies,[13] in contrast with one Triangle author's claim that all the bodies had vanished, with the exception of the captain, who was found sitting in his cabin at his desk, clutching a coffee cup.[7]The NOVA/Horizon episode The Case of the Bermuda Triangle, aired on June 27, 1976, was highly critical, stating that "When we've gone back to the original sources or the people involved, the mystery evaporates. Science does not have to answer questions about the Triangle because those questions are not valid in the first place... Ships and planes behave in the Triangle the same way they behave everywhere else in the world."[14]David Kusche pointed out a common problem with many of the Bermuda Triangle stories and theories: "Say I claim that a parrot has been kidnapped to teach aliens human language and I challenge you to prove that is not true. You can even use Einstein's Theory of Relativity if you like. There is simply no way to prove such a claim untrue. The burden of proof should be on the people who make these statements, to show where they got their information from, to see if their conclusions and interpretations are valid, and if they have left anything out."[14]Skeptical researchers, such as Ernest Taves[15] and Barry Singer,[16] have noted how mysteries and the paranormal are very popular and profitable. This has led to the production of vast amounts of material on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle. They were able to show that some of the pro-paranormal material is often misleading or inaccurate, but its producers continue to market it. Accordingly, they have claimed that the market is biased in favor of books, TV specials, and other media that support the Triangle mystery, and against well-researched material if it espouses a skeptical viewpoint.Finally, if the Triangle is assumed to cross land, such as parts of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, or Bermuda itself, there is no evidence for the disappearance of any land-based vehicles or persons.[citation needed] The city of Freeport, located inside the Triangle, operates a major shipyard and an airport that handles 50,000 flights annually and is visited by over a million tourists a year.[17]Supernatural explanations

Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, though geologists consider it to be of natural origin.[18]Other writers attribute the events to UFOs.[19] This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees.Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.[8]Natural explanations

Compass variationsCompass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area,[20] such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico.[21] But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.[11]Deliberate acts of destructionDeliberate acts of destruction can fall into two categories: acts of war, and acts of piracy. Records in enemy files have been checked for numerous losses. While many sinkings have been attributed to surface raiders or submarines during the World Wars and documented in various command log books, many others suspected as falling in that category have not been proven. It is suspected that the loss of USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as her sister ships Proteus and Nereus in World War II, were attributed to submarines, but no such link has been found in the German records.Piracythe illegal capture of a craft on the high seascontinues to this day. While piracy for cargo theft is more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, drug smugglers do steal pleasure boats for smuggling operations, and may have been involved in crew and yacht disappearances in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was common from about 1560 to the 1760s, and famous pirates included Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Jean Lafitte.[citation needed]

False-color image of the Gulf Stream flowing north through the western Atlantic Ocean. (NASA)Gulf StreamThe Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and then flows through the Straits of Florida into the North Atlantic. In essence, it is a river within an ocean, and, like a river, it can and does carry floating objects. It has a surface velocity of up to about 2.5 metres per second (5.6 mi/h).[22] A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble can be carried away from its reported position by the current.Human errorOne of the most cited explanations in official inquiries as to the loss of any aircraft or vessel is human error.[23] Whether deliberate or accidental, humans have been known to make mistakes resulting in catastrophe, and losses within the Bermuda Triangle are no exception. For example, the Coast Guard cited a lack of proper training for the cleaning of volatile benzene residue as a reason for the loss of the tanker SS V.A. Fogg in 1972[citation needed]. Human stubbornness may have caused businessman Harvey Conover to lose his sailing yacht, the Revonoc, as he sailed into the teeth of a storm south of Florida on January 1, 1958.[24]HurricanesHurricanes are powerful storms, which form in tropical waters and have historically cost thousands of lives lost and caused billions of dollars in damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla's Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of a destructive hurricane. These storms have in the past caused a number of incidents related to the Triangle.Methane hydratesMain article: Methane clathrate

Worldwide distribution of confirmed or inferred offshore gas hydrate-bearing sediments, 1996.Source: USGSAn explanation for some of the disappearances has focused on the presence of vast fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves.[25] Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water;[26] any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions (sometimes called "mud volcanoes") may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If this were the case, such an area forming around a ship could cause it to sink very rapidly and without warning.Publications by the USGS describe large stores of undersea hydrates worldwide, including the Blake Ridge area, off the southeastern United States coast.[27] However, according to another of their papers, no large releases of gas hydrates are believed to have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle for the past 15,000 years.[12]Rogue wavesIn various oceans around the world, rogue waves have caused ships to sink[28] and oil platforms to topple.[29] These waves, until 1995, were considered to be a mystery and/or a myth.[30][31]Notable incidents

Main article: List of Bermuda Triangle incidentsFlight 19

US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given[citation needed] that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion[32] at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol.While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.[33]Mary CelesteThe mysterious abandonment in 1872 of the 282-ton brigantine Mary Celeste is often but inaccurately connected to the Triangle, the ship having been abandoned off the coast of Portugal. The event is possibly confused with the loss of a ship with a similar name, the Mari Celeste, a 207-ton paddle steamer that hit a reef and quickly sank off the coast of Bermuda on September 13, 1864.[34][35] Kusche noted that many of the "facts" about this incident were actually about the Marie Celeste, the fictional ship from Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (based on the real Mary Celeste incident, but fictionalised).Ellen AustinThe Ellen Austin supposedly came across a derelict ship, placed on board a prize crew, and attempted to sail with it to New York in 1881. According to the stories, the derelict disappeared; others elaborating further that the derelict reappeared minus the prize crew, then disappeared again with a second prize crew on board. A check from Lloyd's of London records proved the existence of the Meta, built in 1854 and that in 1880 the Meta was renamed Ellen Austin. There are no casualty listings for this vessel, or any vessel at that time, that would suggest a large number of missing men were placed on board a derelict that later disappeared.[36]USS CyclopsThe incident resulting in the single largest loss of life in the history of the US Navy not related to combat occurred when USS Cyclops, under the command of Lt Cdr G.W. Worley, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many independent theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.[37][38]Theodosia Burr AlstonTheodosia Burr Alston was the daughter of former United States Vice President Aaron Burr. Her disappearance has been cited at least once in relation to the Triangle.[39] She was a passenger on board the Patriot, which sailed from Charleston, South Carolina to New York City on December 30, 1812, and was never heard from again. The planned route is well outside all but the most extended versions of the Bermuda Triangle. Both piracy and the War of 1812 have been posited as explanations, as well as a theory placing her in Texas, well outside the Triangle.SprayS.V. Spray was a derelict fishing boat refitted as an ocean cruiser by Joshua Slocum and used by him to complete the first ever single-handed circumnavigation of the world, between 1895 and 1898.In 1909, Slocum set sail from Vineyard Haven bound for Venezuela. Neither he nor Spray were ever seen again.There is no evidence they were in the Bermuda Triangle when they disappeared, nor is there any evidence of paranormal activity. The boat was considered in poor condition and a hard boat to handle that Slocum's skill usually overcame.[11]

Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightvessel on January 29, 1921, two days before she was found deserted in North Carolina. (US Coast Guard)Carroll A. DeeringA five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoals, near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on January 31, 1921. Rumors and more at the time indicated the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition, and possibly involving another ship, S.S. Hewitt, which disappeared at roughly the same time. Just hours later, an unknown steamer sailed near the lightship along the track of the Deering, and ignored all signals from the lightship. It is speculated that the Hewitt may have been this mystery ship, and possibly involved in the Deering crew's disappearance.[40]Douglas DC-3On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people onboard was ever found. From the documentation compiled by the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation, a possible key to the plane's disappearance was found, but barely touched upon by the Triangle writers: the plane's batteries were inspected and found to be low on charge, but ordered back into the plane without a recharge by the pilot while in San Juan. Whether or not this led to complete electrical failure will never be known. However, since piston-engined aircraft rely upon magnetos to provide spark to their cylinders rather than a battery powered ignition coil system, this theory is not strongly convincing.[41]Star Tiger and Star ArielG-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948 on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways.[42] Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.[11]KC-135 StratotankersOn August 28, 1963 a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version (Winer, Berlitz, Gaddis[5][8][9]) of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche's research[11] showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second "crash site" was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed and driftwood tangled in an old buoy.SS Marine Sulphur QueenSS Marine Sulphur Queen, a T2 tanker converted from oil to sulfur carrier, was last heard from on February 4, 1963 with a crew of 39 near the Florida Keys. Marine Sulphur Queen was the first vessel mentioned in Vincent Gaddis' 1964 Argosy Magazine article,[5] but he left it as having "sailed into the unknown", despite the Coast Guard report, which not only documented the ship's badly-maintained history, but declared that it was an unseaworthy vessel that should never have gone to sea.[43][44]Raifuku MaruThe Japanese vessel Raifuku Maru (sometimes misidentified as Raikuke Maru) sank with all hands in 1925 after sending a distress signal which has never been fully understood. She left Boston for Hamburg, Germany, on 21 April and was caught in a severe storm in the North Atlantic, nowhere near the Triangle. RMS Homeric unsuccessfully attempted a rescue,[45] and a photograph of the vessel sinking appeared in the New York Times. Nonetheless, some writers speculated that a waterspout was the likely cause of the sinking (Winer).Connemara IVA pleasure yacht was found adrift in the Atlantic south of Bermuda on September 26, 1955; it is usually stated in the stories (Berlitz, Winer[8][9]) that the crew vanished while the yacht survived being at sea during three hurricanes. The 1955 Atlantic hurricane season lists only one storm coming near Bermuda towards the end of August, hurricane "Edith"; of the others, "Flora" was too far to the east, and "Katie" arrived after the yacht was recovered. It was confirmed that the Connemara IV was empty and in port when "Edith" may have caused the yacht to slip her moorings and drift out to sea.[11]Carolyn CascioAllegedly, a Cessna piloted by Carolyn Cascio, on June 6, 1969, with one passenger, attempted to travel from Nassau, Bahamas to Cockburn, Grand Turk Island. The plane was witnessed by many air traffic controllers in Cockburn's airport to circle the island for 30 minutes, after which, it flew away apparently for another island. All attempts from the ground to raise Cascio on the radio failed. A search of National Transportation Safety Board reports contains no record of this incident. The database includes 7 incident involving Cessna 172's during the 1960s; two of which were fatal. The two fatal crashes involved older men, one of whom ditched at sea after running out of fuel.Triangle authors

The incidents cited above, apart from the official documentation, come from the following works. Some incidents mentioned as having taken place within the Triangle are found only in these sources:Gian J. Quasar (2003). Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery ((Reprinted in paperback (2005) ISBN 0-07-145217-6) ed.). International Marine / Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 0-07-142640-X.[8] Charles Berlitz (1974). The Bermuda Triangle (1st ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04114-4.[11] Lawrence David Kusche (1975). The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-971-2.[7] John Wallace Spencer (1969). Limbo Of The Lost. ISBN 0-686-10658-X.David Group (1984). The Evidence for the Bermuda Triangle. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-413-X.[35] Daniel Berg (2000). Bermuda Shipwrecks. East Rockaway, N.Y.: Aqua Explorers. ISBN 0-9616167-4-1.[9] Richard Winer (1974). The Devil's Triangle. ISBN 0553106880.Richard Winer (1975). The Devil's Triangle 2. ISBN 0553024647.[39] Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey (1975). The Bermuda Triangle. ISBN 0446599611.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLThis page is designed to clear up several comments circulated in print or on the web promoted as facts about the Triangle, but which are pure fancy. Most of the claims are straight quotes from those promoting them.

Myth 1.

A check of Lloyds of Londons accident records by the editor of Fate in 1975 showed that the triangle was a no more dangerous part of the ocean than any other. U.S. Coast Guard records confirmed this and since that time no good arguments have ever been made to refute those statistics. So the Bermuda Triangle mystery disappeared, in the same way many of its supposed victims had vanished.

Fact 1

This is completely false. Lloyds does not insure the smaller stuff, so all yachts go unreported and uncataloged in statistics. Lloyds seldom insures the smaller charter and private aircraft, so likewise for them. Lloyds is not the ultimate source. It is not a marine investigation bureau. It reports on sailing news relevant to insurance.

US Coast Guard SAR (Search and Rescue) statistics for all districts are published yearly in a thick voluminous report. This details the statistics for calls of assistance, causes of accidents, weather, deaths, conditions, whatever. However, missing vessels are not readily included. In reality, the designation Overdue Vessels are more important. But because it is hard to determine the number of people on board and exactly where the vessel last was, missing or overdue cannot be easily calculated. They may be catagorized under caused by other factor if at all. I have just received a list of vessels from the 7th district after 12 years of asking for and being denied missing vessel statistics, always receiving the reply nobody tracks such statistics. For the last 2 fiscal years this includes about 300 vessel names or types. And now I must start my search, to see which reported back to port (if any), what the weather conditions were like, etc. The Coast Guard is not even capable of accurately determining the numbers, and therefore could never have conducted a study. What they probably did was comment on the popular notion that 20 aircraft and 50 ships are missing. That number was bandied about incessantly in the 1970s and is still in the Encyclopedia Britannica. This number is not extraordinary for 100 years, though it is more aircraft than elsewhere over seas. NTSB database searches reveal that in the last decade only a handful of aircraft disappearances have occurred off New England while over 30 have happened in the Triangle. These are American statistics only, and do not reflect other nationalities. Then there are those who claim the disparity is due to the Triangles greater amount of traffic. In reality, the 1st Coast Guard district answers about just as many calls for assistance as the 7th, but the number of disappearances is still remarkably different.

Myth 2

Investigations to date have not produced scientific evidence of any unusual phenomena involved in the disappearances. Thus, any explanation, including so-called scientific ones in terms of methane gas being released from the ocean floor, magnetic disturbances, etc., are not needed. The real mystery is how the Bermuda Triangle became a mystery at all.

Fact 2

Not only utterly false, but actually stupid. One would have to witness a disappearance in order to determine what was directly involved. This has obviously not be done, and such a comment, as a result, is a lame one. There have been NO scientific expeditions to investigate the overall Triangle. Independent people, often possessing degrees in one of the sciences, have made their own, sometimes truncated study. Most have produced some very interesting discoveries. Dr. A.J. Yelkins study revealed unexplained magnetic deviations during phases of the Moon. Dr. Zinks observations at Bimini revealed unexplained magnetic variations in the compass at the precise time each year in early August (consistent in some ways with Yelkins theories). Wilbert Smiths studies revealed areas of reduced bindings in the magnetic field that came and went. But as for any scientific expeditions into the Triangle to take readings or tests or to see if something would happen, none has ever been done.

Myth 3

In short, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle became a mystery by a kind of communal reinforcement among uncritical authors and a willing mass media to uncritically pass on the speculation that something mysterious is going on in the Atlantic.

Fact 3

Wrong. And the acrimony is hypocritical since that is how the first 2 myths above became established, usually by debunkers spreading communal reinforcement that they have evidence by having no evidence or that they reflect the status quo as experienced by suburban America.

Myth 4

In 1492, shortly before making land in the West Indies, Christopher Columbus recorded in his ship's log that he and his crew had observed a large ball of fire fall into the sea and that the ship's compass was behaving erratically.

Fact 4

False. That happened shortly after leaving the Canary Islands. The erratic compasses readings were recorded thrice while in the Sargasso Sea and Triangle.

Myth 5

The Bermuda Triangle mystery is answered with latest science - static electricity is the culprit, not 4th dimensional hogwash that a severe electrostatic charge on the human body and in turn in the central nervous system and the brain is the cause for the human pilot to lose consciousness. This unconscious state happens both in astronautics and aeronautics and has also been observed and recorded in the Bermuda Triangle aviation disasters. The Bermuda Triangle is a static electricity exchange place. The Bermuda Triangle is on [sic] of Earth's places where natural electricity is neutralized.

Fact 5

False. The effects of the Earth as a weak driver is interesting and the subject of some studies, as well as overwater locations where it might affect electromagnetism. But there is absolutely no evidence for static electricity in the Triangle cases, as claimed above. The claim that there was is utterly untrue. No pilots have been reported to pass out. How could you tell in a disappearance anyway? This originates with a man named Peter Staheli. He accepts the old and defunct lines attributed to Charles Taylor everything is strange, wrong etc., and so forth. This gives you an idea of his research methods. Electromagnetic and electrical effects in the area are being studied by others right now, with far better research methods than those that sponsored Stahelis strange dogma.

Due to the strange outburst demonstrated by Staheli in response to this brief statement, it was necessary to place a page up clarifying the ruckus. See Comments

Myth 6

Lt. Charles Taylor, the leader of Flight 19, was actually a lazy slob, a drunk, and a careless navigator.

Fact 6

This rubbish stems from Larry Kusche who was all over the place in his 1980 book The Disappearance of Flight 19 which he wrote between two of his other stellars on how to scientifically pop popcorn. I cannot answer for what was in Kusches mind, but I would consider the result akin to clear victimization, as well as misrepresentation. I suggest the reader browse two articles on this site for more. Creating Confusion & Flight DUI. As far as I am concerned there is nothing worthwhile in the book. I have criticized his methods in The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved, but still recommend it. However, with Disappearance I see no reason. There is no mystery why in the last 22 years it was never republished.

Myth 7

The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble.

Fact 7

False. The Agonic Line the area of no difference in calculation moves over time as the axis of the magnetic field slowly changes in response to the Earths rotation. It is now approaching the middle of the Gulf of Mexico as far as the Coast Guard is concerned far outside of the Triangle. Disappearances continue to occur in the same areas within the Triangle. The Coast Guard statement above is 30 years obsolete, but they have not updated it. To do so would prove most of their statement to have been in error.

Myth 8

You receive money to do this. You are not a professional researcher, nor do you have a degree in Bermuda-Triangleology. Since you are not a who according to this standard, all of the evidence you present must be dismissed.

ED. All right, maybe a little bit of that is tongue-in-cheek, but it captures the acrimony of one detractor on the web who calls himself Tobias Gibson, a man who seems to promote himself and his degree in Research as giving him an edge on the Triangle, though he seems to have little knowledge of what has transpired in the last 25 years. His research, degree or no, translates down to having watched a couple of PBS videos and to having read a couple of 30 year old books, as his bibliography testifies.

Fact 8 Suffice it say, I am not paid for my appearances on TV. My web site costs me money. There is no paid advertising, no pop-ups. There are a few banners. These were requested by those establishments and are gratis. They generate no income.

ED. Another myth perpetrated by this spinmeister about me, a man who propagates many falsehoods on his web site, conjures up a frightful picture of what his reading comprehension must be like. The following myth is courtesy of this man and his inability to realize people take their reputations seriously.

Myth 9:

Bermuda-Triangle.Org description according to Tobias Gibson:

is by far the best and most comprehensive site that purports the myths around the Bermuda Triangle. The journalist who does the page claims to do it as a hobby but seems to have connections with many cable channels that continue to purport the myth. The author also likes to trash this site and Larry Kusche's book. Still, it is a very useful site. He has sections devoted to all the major theories. Unfortunately, the theory that weather and nature are the culprits is the one section he has yet to develop (as of March 27, 2001).

He has a low opinion of this site because it is on Tripod and I don't pay for it to be on the web (I'm not sure how this makes my site inaccurate or flawed). He also claims it is easier to just debunk a myth rather than support or create one. The site has lots of pretty pictures, many of which are glorified icons for sponsors (I'm not sure how this differs from a Tripod Banner Ad) and may load slow but is definitely worth a look, despite the difference in opinions.

ED. Senator Alan Simpson once publicly declared: An attack unanswered is an attack believed. Let people know who you are and what you stand for.

For over a year I have not taken this sound advice. I have refrained from replying to his innuendoes or directly correcting the numerous outright errors his site contains for the reason he seems eager to promote my websites purpose as designed to trash his opinion site. By yielding to a rebuttal I was afraid this might help him promote the idea he likes to cultivate: that he is the reigning expert on the subject warring against the mass of sensationalists and mythmakers. This unenviable image would be relatively inoffensive were it not for his weak attempt to create it at my expense. Mercifully, he does not seem to impress a large audience, as his sluggish odometer previously testified before, like the missing in the Bermuda Triangle, it recently mysteriously vanished as his site underwent a move from near defunct status to another server, befitting its move downward in the search rankings. This site claims to have been up since 1995, but its odometer never reached 100,000 hits.

Such misrepresentations as he makes in these comments, couched as a bibliographical statement of his sources, are hardly surprising considering the quanta of inaccuracies and misrepresentations he makes in his site altogether. Most of what he claims as myths are the result of poor reading comprehension, a limited scope of knowledge on the subject, and a predisposition to berate anything outside his own personal suburban experience. His facts in response to these myths are either bumbling error or pure exaggeration and fabrication. It is time, I think, that I finally respond to this mythmaker.

Fact 9

My site is loaded with actual pictures of people, the vessels, planes, and of the Triangle. Out of 180 pages or so, I have about 4 banners on the whole site, 2 on the home page alone. His statement shows he did not browse the site at all, or he is an outright prevaricator. As far as I can tell, he saw some of my answers in Q&A answering confused surfers. Their questions reflect their confusion after browsing his confused site. I was correcting the mistakes quite unaware of their origin. He translates this as trashing his site. Weird. His site was not mentioned.

Fact 10:

I do not create myth, nor do I support it. I have stated it is easier to mock a subject (debunk) than it is to do the actual research, expend time, money and effort to locate documents and interview people.

Myth 11: According to Gibson: The latitude and longitude of the Triangle are Before creative license takes over:

NW edge, Bermuda: 32.20 N, 64.45 W. SW edge, San Juan: 18.5 N, 66.9 W NE edge, Miami: 25.48N, 80.18 W

Fact 11:

As most of you noticed, who are neither brain dead nor had the one-day-lobotomy operation, Bermuda is not in the NorthWest of the Triangle, nor is Miami in the SouthEast, nor is San Juan in the SouthWest. Bermuda is NorthEast edge of the Triangle, Miami is SouthWest, and San Juan is SouthEast.

Myth 12:

According to Gibson: The Sargasso Sea has nothing to do with the Bermuda Triangle. It is entirely east of Bermuda, just take a peek at any globe.

Fact 12:

It is hard to image such cross-referencing having as its provenance a Masters in Research. After reading my correction in Q&A he apparently modified the above statement: The Sargasso Sea has really little to do with the Bermuda Triangle except a portion of its boundaries lies within the Triangle.

ED. When reading Gibson it is clear that analysis does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with research.

Myth 13:

Most myth supporters like to plot Bermuda as centrally located within the Sargasso; this is not the case. However proponents of the myth will then expand the dimensions of the Triangle to include the area of the Sargasso Sea, having the uninformed assume that the two are synonymous. In reality, by doing so they have more than doubled the size of the triangle, while still leaving one with the impression that everything occurred within the original boundaries.

Fact 13: Complete exaggeration. I know of no such most myth supporters. I know of only one map, and that is on my site, courtesy of the National Geographic. Checkout Sargasso Sea for a picture of it. We must assume that the NG are myth supporters since they show the Sargasso Sea encompassing Bermuda, as it does in reality, though this may not be reflected on Gibsons household globe.

ED. His comment shows his style of exaggerationone map on my site becomes most myth supporters. No writer, whether Berlitz, Winer, Spencer, Gaddis, Godwin, Sanderson, or Burgess, ever left their reader in doubt about the fluid shape of the Triangle, and always clarified the differences in opinion before discussing the missing. All their books are still available in used book stores and the surfer can buy them cheaply. One wonders what creative license Gibson is using when, to bolster his claim of authority on the subject, he makes the nebulous statement he lived in and about the area for 10 years but does not say whereand considering his unusually pedantic view on the strict shape of the Triangle, he would have to have lived off shore Miami or in the Bahamas to have qualified. About or around the area does not count to him if its a disappearance, but he uses this same generalization when trying to give himself an edge as an authority on the Triangle.

One may assume this creative license was responsible for his claims of having investigated the Triangle for 20 years, which he now admits started when he was a kid; of having lived in the area for 10 years, though by his own criterion for disappearances he probably did not. What constitutes investigate also seems subject to his creative license. His site bibliography proves he has done nothing in excess of having watched a couple of videos and believed word-for-word Larry Kusches near 30 year old book. Being unable to explain peoples encounters with electromagnetic phenomena and weird atmospheric aberrations, he once again misrepresents these as paranormal experiences, and then fabricates a scientific response.

Myth 14:

While scientists can assure them that nothing strange actually happened, they will cling to their belief that something truely [sic]strange happened. For them the Bermuda Triangle is as real as the air we breathe. This isn't actual proof in the existence of the Triangle but unfortunately their strong belief is shamelessly used my [sic] the perpetrators of the myth.

Fact 14

No sailor or pilot reporting these went to any scientific personnel for an explanation except Frank Flynn. And all the oceanographers he spoke to were at a loss to explain it. None ever claimed it was supernatural or paranormal. Many such stories were cataloged by the late Dr. J. Manson Valentine, but I suppose he is not a scientific authority since he did not debunk them out-of-hand like Gibson.

Gibsons dictated explanation is another pure

Myth 15

Most if not all of the so-called mysteries are no more than over-active imaginations.

Fact 15

Gibson never spoke to any of them and has no way to determine this. His claim that scientists have done so is, again, pure myth.

Myth 16:

. . .if an aircraft crashes *into the water* and then is submerged, the ELT signal will not be heard since the ELT is submerged, so the effect is, as you note, that it is quite difficult to find a plane that has crashed into the water.

Fact 16:

ELTs, as most any aviator knows, are designed to float. They are contained in the fuselage and jettisoned by the force of impact. His former statement that they sink with the plane because they are in the seat must have been inspired by some vague knowledge of military automatic alarms. These are contained in fighter pilot seats and triggered by ejection. Since one does not eject from the seat of a civilian aircraft, the ELT is placed in the fuselage. He has now altered this after reading my Q&A answer to a confused surfer. He now claims ELTs merely sink with the plane.

ED. What the hell is the point in having an automatic alarm that is designed to be destroyed with the aircraft?! His 20 years of aviation interest and all things nautical never got him near a plane or he never would not have made such an exaggeration to apply that to all aircraft.

Myth 17:

His ideas on the size of the Triangle:

Consider these sizes:According to the Myth, the Bermuda Triangle is anywhre [sic]from 600,000 square miles to 1,500,000 square miles of ocean. The Sargasso which is almost entirely outside of the Triangle is over 2,000,000 square miles of ocean.ED. Again, anything outside the shape and size he wishes to give the area, based on Gaddis article in 1964, is his criterion for determining myth.

Fact 17:

However, the 1,500,000 square miles is directly referencing me and my article 500 Leagues of Sea. This Master in Research apparently has never read the Encyclopedia Britannica: Bermuda Triangle, section of the North Atlantic Ocean. . . The triangle extends roughly between latitude 25 degrees to 40 degrees N and longitude 55 to 85 degrees W and covers an area of more than 1,500,000 sq miles (3,900,000 sq km). The Encyclopedia Britannica is now a myth supporter one must assume.

ED. His bizarre skepticism has handicapped any kind of real analysis or research. He doesnt realize that Gaddis was not the first to describe a shape, nor did he have to be the last. See History of Triangle and Sea of Expanding Shapes.

Myth 18:

There are only two longitudes in the world where Magnetic and Grid, or Magnetic, and True North align. These locations are near the center of Europe and near the eastern part of the United States.

Fact 18:

FALSE! They are off Japan and down the Eastern US and through the Gulf. Not even Wrong Way Corrigan made that kind of mistake! Nevertheless, he writes, with true geographical obtuseness:

Myth 19:

At the tip of Portugal the difference between Magnetic and Grid North is about four degrees. As you travel west across the Atlantic, the difference between Magnetic and Grid North begins to increase. This difference can get as much as 22 degrees. This increase continues until you reach the middle of the Atlantic and the Sargasso Sea, and then slowly Grid and Magnetic begin to realign so that by the time you reach the southern tip of Florida the two are only one and a half degrees different.

Fact 19: Wrongy. Southern Florida, as any navigator knows, is about 3 degrees off. Any current chart will show that. 30 years ago the Agonic Line may have been off the eastern Florida coast. No longer. The Agonic Line is now near the center of the Gulf of Mexico. The area of increase or decrease is measured from the Agonic Line. It increases the further one travels into the Atlantic until at the Azores it is about 24 degrees (as I recall). I have no idea what he is talking about when he is mentioning Portugal and that somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic they begin to realign. That happens in the Gulf and off Japan.

Myth 20:

The author also likes to trash this site and Larry Kusches book . . . He has a low opinion of this site because it is on Tripod and I don't pay for it to be on the web (I'm not sure how this makes my site inaccurate or flawed)

Fact 20:

Never heard of him at the time. His site had never been mentioned ever (until today, June 24, 2002). Any general comment about other web sites was that they are opinion sites. But the fact he immediately assumed he was being singled-out from amongst many sites (all of which have more hits on their odometers than he ever had), I find bizarre.

ED. As it stands today, Gibson has retired in favor of a protg who will not only keep the torch of debunkery alive but do so with equally nebulous claims to authority. While Tobias lived in the area for ten years, I have not. I do however visit the area frequently (four times in the last three years) and without incident. I call these visits, Summer Vacation and/or Spring Break.

The a la mode upon Gibsons frivolous claims of authority is now promoting cruising the bars and party hotspots of Daytona Beach or Miami (or other Spring Break meccas) as investigating the Triangle. Both imply that since nothing has ever happened to them (presumably along these drags), there is little chance anything mysterious has happened to those 500 miles out at sea. But she reasserts she is his pupil and that he lived in and around the area for 10 years while growing up and has been researching so-called [Myth 21 warning] paranormal activity, particularly the Bermuda Triangle, off and on, for over two decades. He did this as a hobby and not for pay.

Fact 21:

The Bermuda Triangle is not a paranormal pursuit. It is a tangible investigation of missing aircraft and ships, vast tonnages of both, and the possible theories of what might have caused it. There are no ghosts, demons or angels involved.

ED.His comment about receiving no pay seems to be another hatchwork based on his impression there is money where TV walks! In his bibliography of my site he describes me thusly:

Myth 22:

The journalist who does the page claims to do it as a hobby but seems to have connections with many cable channels that continue to purport the myth. (Ed. On the other hand, his pupil brags about him being a Professional Researcher.)

Fact 22:

A lame inference. In actuality I am not paid for appearing on TV, nor do I receive money for doing my research. My hobby has, in fact, cost me thousands because I bothered to get documents and travel in the Triangle, because I bothered to enter the subject tangibly and not just stew in my own conceited second guesswork. I have been doing this since 1990, and for most of this time I received no public recognition. For this tenacity and for the evidence I can present I get on TV. They approached me.

ED. Gibsons obvious failure in the area of which he had once bragged of self-expertise might be sponsoring his new denigration of the whole subject. His pupil writes of his farewell: However the Bermuda Triangle was never his only interest in life and he doesn't have time to focus, in his words, on "debunking half baked theories that could easily be explained away with more complete research in the first place".

But his site claims to have already presented the facts to debunk it, has it not? After 20 years is he admitting he never researched it completely? Theories need more research or the incidents? Its often hard to follow his illogical progressions.

I must assume this webmasters apparent lack of reading comprehension has also prompted his basic mistakes and also his overall glowing appraisal of his meager research. His mistakes above have not been the only ones. But it is not practical or possible to critique his entire site. It may not be necessary either. As the surfer of his guestbook discovers, he is not taken too seriously. This seems haunted by equally immature approaches to the topic. The comment of one high school girl, left on June 21, 2002, reflects the outlook of those who find his site interesting enough to leave a message: My toilet is my Bermuda Triangle. Large objects keep disappearing daily. But such an attitude is not surprising in the guestbook of a website whose webmaster originally approached the subject from behind such an impressive pseudonym as Bubba, the Salty Dog.

In short, this webmasters claims and approach have no merit. All those in and about the Triangle in aviation or nautical authority are not familiar with his name, nor are any family members of the missing, friends or other researchers. His web site shows he has gotten no documents, not even an old newspaper article, despite his claim he backworked most of Kusches bibliography. Though he claims to have lived in and about the area, he is completely unaware of its most basic geography. His claims and reputation, in essence, have no cross-reference in reality outside of the cyber reality of the world-wide-web and what he wishes to represent of himself. His conclusions seem based on nothing more than a few videos and Kusches 1975 book. This lack of serious approach to the subject is befitting the moniker Bubba, the Salty Dog. And such a flippant nomen befits 3rd grade intros like his typical exaggeration: Okay Let me tell you right off that the Bermuda Triangle is a myth that started off as old-time stories that sailors used to tell new ship mates to give them the heebie-jeebies.

Well, its time to go on. Its unfortunate such things must be written. Gibson should not have taken the reputation of another person so lightly. It is well his site has a sub-page devoted to Spatial Disorientation, for his entire site is a mastery of spin, of exaggerations of what the myths are, and outright error takes the place of his facts.

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The Triangle in History: a shape takes form

The region involved, a watery triangle bounded roughly by Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico, measures less than a thousand miles on any one side. . . .So George X. Sand introduced the Triangle to his readers in October 1952 in a short article for Fate magazine, entitled Sea Mystery at our Back Door. Sands article recounted the latest disappearance (the Sandra in 1950) and went on to discuss some of the other recent baffling mysteries like NC16002, Star Tiger and Star Ariel, aside from

devoting most of the article to Flight 19. The Triangle remained a colloquial expression throughout the 1950s, employed by locals when another disappearance or unexplained crash happened. By the early 1960s, it had acquired the name The Deadly Triangle. In his 1962 book, Wings of Mystery, author Dale Titler also devoted pages in Chapter 14 The Mystery of Flight 19 to recounting the most recent incidents of disappearances and even began to ponder theories, such as electromagnetic anomalies and the ramifications of Project Magnet. His book would set the temper for Triangle

The Deadly Triangle as it appeared in a 1962 book Wings of Mystery by Dale Titler. The idea that Vincent Gaddis invented the shape and mystery is nonsense. It had long been popular before his time. He seems merely to have been the first one to call it Bermuda Triangle. It is also nonsense that Gaddis or anybody else ever thought that Miami, Bermuda, and San Juan were absolute nodal points. Gaddis was merely trying to give the area geographic life to a growing audience.

Fates October 1952 issue. The Triangle begins.

discussions thereafter. (Just in April 1962 Allan W. Eckert had written a sensational piece in the American Legion Magazine on Flight 19 ((The Mystery of the Lost Patrol)) which introduced some of the most popular but erroneous dialogue purported coming from Flight 19, including lines like the ocean looks strange, all the compasses are going haywire, and that they could not make out any directions, everything is strange. This became a may pole for electromagnetic discussions). However, popularity on the subject was beginning to spread beyond the area of the Atlantic seaboard. But the moniker Deadly Triangle contained absolutely no geographic reference in it in other words Deadly Triangle could be anywhere. Then in February 1964 Vincent Gaddis wrote an article for Argosy Magazine. The article was little different from others, though it added a few more recent cases like Marine Sulphur Queen. However, it was his title that finally clinched with the public: The Deadly Bermuda Triangle. Adding Bermuda finally materialized the location for everybody, though Gaddis clarified in and about this area many have disappeared. In his popular 1965 book Invisible Horizons, Gaddis devoted chapter 13 to The Triangle of Death. The concept of the Bermuda Triangle was spreading rapidly. Ironically, the first book published devoted to the subject was entitled Limbo of the Lost (1969) by John Spencer, in which he proposed the area had no real shape at all and elaborately tried to include the Gulf of Mexico as well as New Jersey. It sold in limited quantities, but was later reproduced in paperback in the early 1970s and did well. Dozens of magazine and newspaper articles came out in the early 70s, each author offering a general shape. Richard Winer proposed The Devils Triangle and extended it nearly to the Azores near Portugal. Ivan Sanderson was sure it was an oblong shape centered almost entirely north of Bermuda. But no book sold as well as Charles Berlitzs 1974 bestseller, The Bermuda Triangle. Selling way over 5,000,000 copies in hardback, it became a phenomenon. Berlitz also cautioned about the exact shape, as had the others. But to this day Bermuda Triangle is deferred to for the same reason Deadly Triangle failedthere is simply no other name that calls to mind the general area as does Bermuda Triangle. But the vast popularity of the subject brought into vogue an art that is still trying to flourish todaydebunking. Out of all the books that were published, only one remains in reprint today: Larry Kusches book The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. But that is the subject of another article.