# Bermuda Triangle - may have claimed another victim **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 3, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402 "2015-10-03T19:38:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![IDtenT\_Error](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@IDtenT\_Error](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IDtenT_Error)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/41 "2015-10-04T21:15:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > _Six_? WOW. That’s amazing!!! That’s like, almost as many as in the _Harry Potter_ series. :dubious: And, of course, he apparently _missed_ the _ **only one** _ that matters. Here it is again (Here’s a hint, for you, **Acey** ): _The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved_ (1975). Lawrence David Kusche (ISBN 0-87975-971-2) If that ain’t good enough for him then he is not, by _any goddamn definition_, a ‘skeptic’. He’s welcome to remain as gullible as he wishes, however. Pardon my trips to the quarry. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/42 "2015-10-04T22:26:21Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > _Six_? WOW. That’s amazing!!! That’s like, almost as many as in the _Harry Potter_ series. :dubious: Ace probably doesn’t think that “six” is a big number in itself, after all he can hold his hands up and see 12 things to do numbers with, but “six” might seem, in his world, a lot when it comes to books. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/43 "2015-10-04T22:37:09Z")
To paraphrase Carl Sagen, no wreckage is often found because ships and planes sink in water. (And, wreckage is actually often found, like from the ship we are talking about) He goes on to say that if a similar size area on land, say centered around Cleveland, where trains, trucks and buses went missing, that would be a mystery. And then there is this explanation: [Elvis is Everywhere - Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knc9LKjukSQ) Right around 2 minutes in. C’mon, you can waste two stinkin’ minutes! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/44 "2015-10-04T22:57:14Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > There is no “Bermuda debate”. The deaths of people and loss of ships at sea is an all too common and often avoidable tragedy that is not a “fun show to watch”. > > Stranger It was abundantly clear to me Ace was not referencing deaths and losses of ships as fun to watch, there is no need to twist words. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/45 "2015-10-05T01:05:26Z")
\ The Bermuda Triangle books and documentaries are a fun diversion. There are some interesting elements to a few of the incidents. They are the ones the documentaries investigate. But I’ve always been well aware that this area is a major shipping lane. Given the large amount of traffic you’d expect to find at least a handful of odd sinkings in a hundred year period. It’s entertainment just like pro wrestling. Everyone knows it’s bs but it’s still a lot of fun to watch. The thread was started, because the El Faro will eventually get added to the Triangle lore unless some evidence of the wreck is found. It fits the pattern. Doesn’t mean at all that I think anything unique happened. Hurricanes sink ships pretty frequently. Given modern search technology it seems pretty certain they’ll at least find wreckage. Something. I hope for the families sake they do and can at least give them some closure. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/46 "2015-10-05T01:14:11Z")
**update** I see they have located a debris field. At least now perhaps they can recover some remains and comfort the families. > **[Coast Guard finds debris field in search for El Faro | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/04/us/el-faro-missing-ship-hurricane-joaquin/)** > > The teams looking for the El Faro, the container ship that went missing in Hurricane Joaquin, found a 225-mile debris field Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. > [@](#): > > The U.S. Coast Guard reported Sunday evening that it had discovered a 225-square-mile debris field in its search for the missing container ship El Faro. > > The discovery of the debris field, which was comprised of Styrofoam, wood, cargo and other items, according the Coast Guard, came only hours after searchers had found “multiple items,” including an oil sheen, life jackets and containers in the same search area. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/47 "2015-10-05T04:30:39Z")
It also seems to me that humans NEED some sort of supernatural or other-worldy pursuits now and then. Thats why they get fascinated by this stuff. Also “conspiracies” like Nazi bases in Antarctica and on the moon. And yeah, alot of this stuff was big in the 70’s. Coincidence that this came right after all the weird stuff of the 60’s? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/48 "2015-10-05T07:52:46Z")
Missing ship mysteries were a form of entertainment long before the Bermuda Triangle in particular became a popular topic. Tales of ghost ships that ran aground with their crew missing were quite popular. Many people like mysteries, toss in a hint of the supernatural and you grab a certain segment of the population more likely to spend their time and money in the investigation of a non-phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/49 "2015-10-05T09:59:18Z")
I am certain ancient aliens (who may still walk amongst us) are involved in the triangle situation. There have been books and documentaries! Keep up with science, sheeple!! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/50 "2015-10-05T15:28:06Z")
The Coast Guard has announced in their morning press conference that they believe El Faro has gone down and the operation is now a search for survivors. One empty lifeboat and several egress suits reported found adrift, one of them containing a fatal casualty. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/51 "2015-10-05T18:32:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I guess the Bermuda Triangle craze died with the 1980’s. oh well, it was fun while it lasted. I too wish people would continue to die in that region for my amusement. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/52 "2017-10-01T16:48:43Z")
Updating this thread: > [@](#): > > A Coast Guard report released Sunday says the primary cause of the 2015 sinking of the cargo ship El Faro, which killed all 33 aboard, was the captain underestimating the strength of a hurricane and overestimating the ship’s strength. > > The report said Capt. Michael Davidson should have changed the El Faro’s route between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to avoid Hurricane Joaquin’s 150 mph winds and when the 790-foot vessel got stuck he should have taken more aggressive measures to save it. Neubauer said the Coast Guard would have sought to revoke Davidson’s license if he had survived. > > Davidson “was ultimately responsible for the vessel, the crew and its safe navigation,” said Coast Guard Capt. Jason Neubauer, who chaired the investigation. He said Davidson “misjudged the path of Hurricane Joaquin and overestimated the vessel’s heavy weather survivability while also failing to take adequate precautions to monitor and prepare for heavy weather. During critical periods of navigation … he failed to understand the severity of the situation, even when the watch standards warned him the hurricane was intensifying.” [http://www.chicagotribune.com/g00/news/nationworld/ct-coast-guard-report-el-faro-sinking-20171001-story.html?i10c.encReferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8%3D](http://www.chicagotribune.com/g00/news/nationworld/ct-coast-guard-report-el-faro-sinking-20171001-story.html?i10c.encReferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8%3D) Here is the full report: > **[FINAL%20PDF%20ROI%2024%20SEP%2017.PDF](https://media.defense.gov/2017/Oct/01/2001820187/-1/-1/0/FINAL%20PDF%20ROI%2024%20SEP%2017.PDF)** > > 6.00 MB ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/53 "2017-10-02T17:12:51Z")
> [@](#): > > even when the watch standards warned him the hurricane was intensifying. What the hell are “watch standards?” Are they trying to say “watch standers?” Do they have no editorial or fact-checking process at all? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/54 "2017-10-02T17:18:15Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > What the hell are “watch standards?” Are they trying to say “watch standers?” Do they have no editorial or fact-checking process at all? Probably “watchstander” (it’s one word, isn’t it?) but it’s just a typo. I’m assuming a reporter who was not familiar with nautical terms heard “watch standard” and reported the quote as such. Then a copy editor who was not familiar with nautical terms got a hold of it, and it looked like it was spelled right, so it got through. It happens. It’s a pretty minor and understandable oversight, in my opinion, given the other types of obvious and egregious spelling errors I see in newspapers and on news sites all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/55 "2017-10-02T20:57:30Z")
I used to be a substitute teacher. One day before I was about to teach a reading lesson, one child (these were second graders, IIRC) started talking about a TV show about the Bermuda Triangle. He said something like “planes fly into clouds and are never seen again”. Another child shrieked, “My daddy’s plane flew into a cloud!” I gave an emergency meteorology lesson, which calmed the class. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/56 "2017-10-03T09:22:30Z")
I can’t remember the number, and its hard to look up. But think the number of ocean-going ships that sink on the high seas is maybe three a week, worldwide. eta: Here it is: in 2013, 93 ships lost at sea, lover 100 gross tons. > **[How many ships disappear each year?](https://actuarialeye.com/2014/03/30/how-many-ships-disappear-each-year/)** > > When I read The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean, one statistic that astonished me was that “two large ships sink every week on average \[worldwide\] ” acco… ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/57 "2017-10-03T09:37:31Z")
Here is a list of aircraft that have completely disappeared: > **[List of missing aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missing_aircraft)** > > This list of missing aircraft includes aircraft that have disappeared and whose locations are unknown. According to Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an aircraft is considered to be missing "when the official search has been terminated and the wreckage has not been located". However, there still remains a "grey area" on how much wreckage needs to be found for a plane to be declared "recovered". This list does not include every aviator, or even every air passenger that... ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/58 "2017-10-03T09:59:10Z")
Bermuda Triangle= Radar-Time Bungle 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/59 "2017-10-03T15:45:14Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Sorry for any confusion. I forget sometimes many here weren’t around for the 70’s. Mr. Miskatonic is one that like me remembers all the Bermuda Triangle references. A big part of popular culture. Few took it seriously. Its Bigfoot and Area 51. total bullshit. > > But the myth itself like any urban myth has a life of its own. I remember all the hoopla from the 70s. We also had a big UFO craze. But your OP still read like you were a True Believer. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402/60 "2017-10-03T17:13:59Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I was around for them, and I remember all the Bermuda Triangle hoopla. I was a credulous preteen boy and was fascinated with ghosts, UFOs, psychics and all that nonsense. There were books and TV shows about the BT, and UFOs (remember _Project Blue Book_?), and Uri Geller until he was debunked on Johnny Carson. Great stories that were a lot of fun, until I learned about Occam’s Razor. > > But in your OP you sounded like a True Believer. > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I remember all the hoopla from the 70s. We also had a big UFO craze. But your OP still read like you were a True Believer. Dang, if you’d waited 12 hours and 3 minutes, you could have posted this exactly 2 years after you posted it the first time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bermuda-triangle-may-have-claimed-another-victim/733402.md?page=4)