A photo from open sources
The waters washing Greenland abound with huge icebergs and ice fields. Under these conditions, the Herald whaling ship slowly moving across the ocean. It was mid-August 1775.
A great storm began unexpectedly. Huge ice floes began with break with a bang, and the sailors saw how a ship appeared from them, completely covered with ice crust and shiny like silver. On the the name of the ship was Octavius.
Amazed by what they saw, the sailors of the Herald under his command Captain Archibald Scott climbed aboard the icy ship. The upper deck of the Octavius was empty, but below the gaze the sailors had a terrible picture. There were corpses everywhere, too covered with an ice layer. It seemed that they were quickly and efficiently processed with cold and therefore they are so well preserved. Surprised that, apparently, there was no panic on the Octavius: death caught people instantly, behind their usual activities.
A photo from open sources
For example, several people peacefully “slept” in their bunks. Вthe captain’s cabin also contained ice-bound bodies. Himself death found itself at the desk where the captain leafed through the ship Journal. The “frozen” sailor was sitting on the floor and holding a flint over a pile of shavings, apparently trying to start a fire. I lay next to him a boy covered with an adult jacket is probably the captain’s son “Octavius.” It seems that in the last minutes of his life the child was going to warm. On the sofa rested the body of a young woman – his wife captain.
The picture showed that these people were freezing, but death overtook them instantly and suddenly. What really happened? Answer maybe kept a logbook, so Archibald Scott decided that will take him with him. However, the frozen sheets became so fragile that crumbled in the hands of the captain, all that remained of them was a small part. Sailors of the “Herald” examined all the compartments of the icy ship and everywhere found the same thing – the corpses of people in a completely uncharacteristic poses and positions. Finally oppressed by creepy a sight, they left a dead ship.
A photo from open sources
Calm did not allow sailing away from the Octavius, so the team the whaler was forced to spend the whole night next door to him. People could not sleep and were on the verge of panic. Some claimed to hear the voices of the dead, others – that distinguish on the deck of the Octavius moving dark figures …
The next morning, the sailors were relieved to see that a terrible ship slowly moving away, gliding over the icy water. Finally he completely disappeared from sight …
What happened to the Octavius team?
The surviving pages of the ship’s log were examined. Octavius. On the first was the date of his departure (September 10 1761) and route: the ship sailed from the port of Liverpool to China. There was also a list of all people setting sail, including the captain of the ship Seaton, his wife and ten-year-old son. The next surviving page reported that the ship was sailing along Canary archipelago and everyone enjoy the wonderful weather. Further many sheets were lost, and the last surviving testified that the Octavius fell into an ice trap somewhere not far from Cape Barrow in Alaska and is already there two weeks …
How did the ship returning from China find itself in Arctic latitudes? Maybe the captain decided to shorten the path for what led the ship not a long, repeatedly tested route, envelope the South African coast and north of the American continent, intending to find the sea passage? But how experienced could the captain make such a crazy decision ?! And then, Octavius made his journey in 1761, and discovered it in 1775! It turns out that a frozen ship full of corpses, whole fourteen years plowed northern waters? According to experienced sailors, this is highly unlikely.
Modern scholars studying Octavius, concluded that such a story could happen in reality. ВIn particular, an archival record was found, according to which the sailing a ship called “Octavius” really existed and by unexplained reason did not return from swimming. (No no investigations were carried out on this subject, since at that time ships often did not arrive at their destination.)
Using the latest scientific and technological achievements, scientists conducted analyzes of the Octavius logbook and recognized it genuine. The ghost ship itself was never seen again. It is possible that, having been captured by ice, he stands today somewhere, fixing the masts in the cold sky, and keeps his an amazing mystery that has not been solved for centuries …
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