Bermuda's Terrible Triangle

 

The Bermuda Triangle is a section of the Atlantic Ocean roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico where dozens of ships and airplanes have disappeared over the years. Unexplained circumstances surround some of these accidents, including one in which the pilots of a squadron of U.S. Navy bombers became disoriented while flying over the area; the planes were never found. Other boats and planes have seemingly vanished from the area in good weather without even radioing distress messages. But although myriad fanciful theories have been proposed regarding the Bermuda Triangle, none of them prove that mysterious disappearances occur more frequently there than in other well-traveled sections of the ocean. In fact, people navigate the area every day without incident.

It is also known as the "Devil's Triangle," and that says it all. This is the region in the western North Atlantic where, supposedly, airplanes and ships seem to vanish. The boundaries are not formally drawn, but we can imagine the Triangle's apexes as San Juan, Puerto Rico; Miami; and, of course, Bermuda. The watery deep inside these points is haunted, or cursed, or simply somewhere that has been, over the decades, rife with ill fate.

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But is it fate? The area in question is extremely large (at least 500,00o square miles using the most conservative measurement) and has long been heavily trafficked. It features the strong ocean currents of the Gulf Stream, and is the breeding ground for violent hurricanes. In days of yore, pirates constituted a menacing presence in these waters. Furthermore, the Triangle was plied for centuries by sailors lacking radar and sonar, and is used today by boaters who buzz about in the waters off Florida and throughout the Caribbean and the Bahamas in pleasure craft too small to deal with a turbulent ocean. Is it any wonder that such a place has come to be thought of as dangerous?

Estimates as to how many tragedies have occurred in these waters vary widely; some say that since the time of Columbus's visits, there have been about 200 incidents, and others put the number five times higher. What can be determined by looking at the evidence is that the Triangle's notorious reputation rests largely on a few famous unexplained episodes from the 2oth century.

In March of 1918, the USS Cyclops, which was built for naval use in World War I, was traveling from Barbados to Baltimore when it went down with 309 sailors aboard. On December 5,1945, Flight 19—five Avenger torpedo bombers with 14 flyboys aboard—left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a practice mission over the Atlantic; the squadron was never seen again. In February, 1963, the SS Marine Sulphur Queen, with 39 crewmen and a cargo of molten sulphur, disappeared off the southern coast of Florida. The only items recovered from the incident: a life preserver and some sulphur debris.

Some researchers have cited an unexpected storm in the area in 1918; the probability that the men of Flight 19 became disoriented and ran out of gas in 1945; and a vessel that was unseaworthy in 1963. Others have speculated on mysterious, perhaps paranormal forces at work. What do you think?

From Life Magazine Special - Strange But True: 100 of the World's Weirdest Wonders
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