The Bermuda Triangle: Mystery or Not (written on March 2, 2009)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said: “Wouldst thou,” so the helmsman answered, “Know the secret of the sea?” Only those who brave its dangers, Comprehend its mystery (“Bermuda” 5).” Life is a mystery. We human beings do not have all the answers to everything in the world. In life, there are many situations, happenings, and events that cannot be fully explained by any human being. While we live in this world today, do we really know everything? The answer is no, we don’t.

There are many mysteries that fascinate us, and one of the most well-known mysteries, beginning the 20th century, is that of the Bermuda Triangle. Why do planes and vessels mysteriously disappear in the vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle? Do we really know why? Let us find out. The Bermuda Triangle has been a mystery since the early 1900s. Since then, the Bermuda Triangle has become a familiar name, a name known to all. There is a certain mystery whenever we hear the phrase, “The Bermuda Triangle.” Without any second thought, we already know what the three word phrase is referring to.

Since I was a child, I have heard about the Bermuda Triangle, but I never really bothered to read or research whether it is really a mystery or not. Several movies, books, and cartoons (like Scooby Doo, and The Bermuda Triangle Solved) have been made about the Bermuda Triangle, but they all focused on the disappearance of ships due to strange reasons. Some media types focused on its being a “manufactured mystery.” Some experts have even cited UFOs, abductions, strange magnetic forces and other natural explanations (Julian).

I specifically chose this topic on the mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle to enable me to finally know the truth. What is the truth behind the mystery? Is it really because of all the hype about alien abduction, time warps or are there other outrageous reasons? Is it because of natural explanation or just plain stubbornness? In my research paper, I will first give a brief description of my topic. In the next part, I will enumerate the famous incidents that have occurred and the strange things that have been reported. I will also include the propositions and theories of experts and researchers. Finally, I will present my own hypothesis and conclude this research-based essay based on my findings and analysis.

What is the Bermuda Triangle? Where is the Bermuda Triangle located? Does it really exist? The Bermuda Triangle has been known as a place where several planes and vessels have gone missing. The Bermuda Triangle is said to form a triangular path. It is formed by an imaginary line drawn from a point near Melbourne, Florida, to Bermuda, to Puerto Rico, and back to Florida (“Bermuda” 1). Some call this the “Devil’s Triangle” or the “Hoodoo Sea” (Clark). It is an area off the southern coast of Florida where many ships and airplanes have disappeared mysteriously. Although disappearances have been reported, The World Book Encyclopedia states that “commercial and military aircraft cross this area safely every day.”

Although the experts and researchers have some knowledge on the Bermuda Triangle, they still do not have one single solution to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Most books and resources have stated that the location of the Bermuda Triangle is formed from Florida, to Bermuda, to Puerto Rico, and back to Florida (“Bermuda” 1). Some reference materials have stated that the Bermuda Triangle is bounded by Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the tip of Florida. This latter location description was based on to the flight path that Flight 19 followed (Clark). In recent cases, the researchers believe that the coverage of the Bermuda Triangle is from the path of Florida, to Bermuda, to Puerto Rico and back to Florida. Even with just the simple parameter like the exact location of the Bermuda Triangle, experts do not have a uniform answer. After all these descriptions, does this mystery really exist?

Through the years, there were some incidents and reports on the Bermuda Triangle. The most famous incident was Flight 19, which was composed of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers. After setting off in good flying conditions that afternoon on a routine training mission from the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station, the squadron vanished while flying over this area of sea during bad weather in the evening of 5 December 1945 (Dr. Karl). They were conducting a practice bombing at Hens and Chicken shoals 56 miles away, which was a triangular path specifically at Bermuda, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Flight 19 was composed of 14 men (students), except for Charles Taylor (flight instructor). At 2:10 P.M., Taylor had mistaken his squadron’s position and was led astray by the similarity in appearance between the Bahamas and Florida Keys (the island they should have been flying over). On April 3, 1946, the navy blamed Charles Taylor for wrong navigation and confusion. During the investigation, Charles’s mother threatened to get a lawyer and was furious. Hence, on November 19, the Board just announced that the disappearance of Flight 19 was due to “causes or reasons unknown” (Clark). The search party Mariner 49, or the “Martin Mariners” disappeared because it was known to emit dangerous fumes that could have ignited. In the case of the Avengers, “50 foot-high waves” probably chewed them up, but Charles Taylor was truly at fault (Julian).

Some other mysterious disappearances occurred in the Bermuda Triangle such as the Sulphur Queen in February 1963. The Sulphur Queen was supposed to contain molten sulphur, but they found wreckage which only included an oar, a board name “Arine Sulph,” and a life jacket. They concluded that Sulphur Queen could have gotten destroyed because of flammable cargo, or it could have sunk. Another ship disappeared in Miami Beach on December 1967, the “Witchcraft,” which was a 23-foot cabin cruiser (Clark). There were more than four hundred reports of disappearances. Some have truly disappeared while some may not have disappeared at all.

Most of the hypotheses or theories I have researched were quite misleading. These theories vary from wild, crazy explanations to natural explanations. From the list of theories, the following are more accurate. During some airplane flights, airplane pilots flying over these areas have reported malfunctioning gyros, dead radios, visual anomalies and even inexplicable time warps (Mystic). Some experts like Lawrence David Kusche made several conclusions. He 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. He also said that in an area frequented by tropical storms, the number of disappearances that did occur were for the most part, neither disproportional, unlikely, nor mysterious; furthermore, Berlitz and other writers would often fail to mention such storms. He said that the numbers themselves had been exaggerated by “sloppy” research. A boat listed as missing would be reported, but its eventual (if belated) return to port may not be reported nor recorded. Some disappearances had, in fact, never happened.

One disappearance was said to have taken place in 1937 off Daytona Beach, Florida, in front of 100 witnesses, but a check on local papers recalled nothing (Clark). Some experts or researchers believed that the existence of methane hydrates was the real culprit. Methane hydrates, which are present in the sea sediments, can reduce the density of water and consequently enable any ship or vessel floating above water to sink to the bottom like a rock. In addition, this highly combustible gas could ignite aircraft engines and blow them into pieces. This theory, which was proposed by Dr. Ben Clenell in September 21, 1998, was later known as the “Ocean Flatulence Theory.” However, the public denied this (“Bermuda” 4).

Aside from the earlier explanations, a number of researchers believe that calamities like hurricanes, freak waves, gulf streams, and other natural calamities were also responsible for the disappearances or wreckage. In my perspective, human error is the most likely reason for the disappearances (Julian). This has been one of the most frequently supported explanation used by experts and researchers. In the Flight 19 incident, the main reason for the mechanical problem was the wrong navigation of their flight instructor, Charles Taylor. Even other students have proposed that it is the fault of Charles (Clark).

Experts have said several opposing statements against the popular but outrageous theories. Lawrence David Kusche and other serious researchers have exposed significant discrepancies between the popular reports of many additional Bermuda Triangle cases and the verifiable facts concerning them. The evidence is principally founded upon factual errors, misinterpretations and overt distortions of the facts behind the cited cases. Almost all the cases can be readily shown to have a perfectly natural explanation rather than an unnatural one. According to the records of the shipping insurers Lloyd’s, 428 vessels have been reported missing throughout the world since 1955, and it may be interesting to know that their intelligence service can find no evidence to support the claim that the Bermuda Triangle had more losses than elsewhere (Dr. Karl).

Other experts and researchers have a totally different and strange explanation which in the end may be false since not all are backed up with proof. Some of the unscientific reasons include aliens, time warps, anomalous phenomena, dimension rip, and more (Julian). However, these are quite insane and unbelievable, and there is not much proof that supports these theories and insights. A writer, Art Ford, reported that he had interviewed a radio operator who had heard Taylor say something about aliens or things that come from outer space, but no records say of this. This implies that some writers say outrageous things, without any hard evidence. Other researchers even seized on “Other Intelligences” and UFOs (Clark).

There have been others who are known as “those who lived to tell,” people who have experienced and survived passing through the Bermuda Triangle. One of them is Bruce Gernon, Jr. On December 4, 1970, Bruce, together with his father, successfully flew from Andros Island, Bahamas to Palm beach, Florida. While Bruce experienced strange things like the clouds turning clockwise and the compass rotating counterclockwise, he arrived at Palm Beach after only 45 minutes and after burning 12 fewer gallons of fuel than usual. While the trip normally lasted for 75 minutes, he considered himself lucky to tell the journey through the Bermuda Triangle. He believed that he had experienced a time warp (Mystic).

Countless theories proposing how and why the Triangle exerts such a deadly power have been aired. These range from attacks by sea monsters, abductions by extraterrestrials or sub aquatic Atlanteans, and freak killer waves of gargantuan proportions, to sudden releases of methane bubbles from frozen lattices of ice on the sea bed, a black hole beneath the waves, geomagnetic anomalies, and a giant submerged crystal warping the space around its victims. All these theories were suggested by Charles Berlitz in his best seller “The Bermuda Triangle” (Dr. Karl). Some even identified magnetic variations (like the magnetic north versus the true north), but this proposal was not proven to be true. While some of these theories, hypotheses and insights may appear interesting and convincing, most are false since they do not have enough information and evidence to substantiate their theories. These theories can be very misleading and confusing even though they are from books. These theories are false just as Lawrence David Kusche said since the theories are due to “sloppy” research (Julian).

Through my research, human error and natural reasons are the most likely causes for the disappearances at the Bermuda Triangle. Several outrageous reasons have been written in books and the internet, and they say that these have not been proven to be true. Others may say that while the theory of magnetic north versus true north is probable, it has not been proven to be true as well. This is a very narrow corridor, tantamount to a fraction of the overall triangle. It also overlooks the fact that one cannot even plot a course without having a navigational chart, and all navigational charts have the amount of variation written on them for every degree of longitude. Before a navigator could chart a course, he would have to know the amount of variation. This also overlooks the fact that the large number of disappearances of pilots and captains were old hands in this part of the world, being charter pilots and the like. They were very familiar with local variation. It also presupposes that the navigator was unprofessional enough not to compensate. Yet compensation in navigating is second nature to any navigator (“Bermuda” 3).

I therefore conclude that there is no “real mystery” in the Bermuda Triangle. Planes and vessels mysteriously disappear in the Bermuda Triangle either because of human error or the fault of man, or because of natural reasons like the calamities, storms, hurricanes and other natural occurrences. The explanations of alien abduction, time warps, and even dimension rip are all false. I agree with some of the wiser researchers like Lawrence David Kusche who said that the “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” (Julian). This is quite reasonable because others claim certain hypothesis, but they do not have hard evidence to support them, and others have reported missing vessels which have not, in fact, disappeared.

In conclusion, there is no “real mystery” in the Bermuda Triangle; it is simply just a mystery that other people may just create from their wild imaginations for entertainment. The general public, together with the experts, do not even have a uniform knowledge on the exact location of the Bermuda Triangle. In fact, the location varies with the incidents that have occurred. One insight I gathered from this research paper is that not everything people say may be true or accurate. People sometimes say things which are not substantiated by evidence. We, as readers and researchers, should be critical of false information, and we should use our discernment to evaluate the veracity of statements. Lastly, not everything can be explained by man; hence, he comes up with conjectures or theories. In spite of man’s superiority in technology, man’s knowledge is still limited or finite. Just like Christian faith, we do not need explanations for everything in this world. The beauty of every mystery is the not knowing leads us to a never-ending journey of questions that may become a vicious cycle and eventually lead us back to the same mystery.

God created our world with mysteries and secrets which have no definite answers, and they are better left alone as is. Our very existence is also a mystery. Indeed, life is a mystery.