Hi,
the article on the Mary Celeste was interesting, I’d assumed the Rye bread theory was the one, but given the prize crew ate the food, very unlikely, as stated.
The water spout theory is also in relation to pressure differentials, is extremely unlikely, the holds on sailing vessels are very far from air-tight, with many having one or more access points, even stairs, to access the hold and these are nowhere near airtight.
Having been in a tornado, the pressure differentials in a building were not noticeable.
The final theory, they vented the cargo hold and jumped into the life-boat is the most plausible. I’ve been researching 19th Century shipping for many years and have read reports of cargo fires where the crew did exactly this, waited for the fire to burn out and in many cases, re-board the vessel and continue on their journey. They also often flood the hold to help put the fire out, or dampen down the hold.