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Sargasso Sea, white lights, fires, Dangers and Mysteries of the sea
The seafarer’s life in addition to sailing encountered mysteries, dangers and strange occurrences. Lightning, fires, white lights. Sargasso and windless seas
Dangers at Sea: Lightning, Fires, White Lights, Sargasso .. Surprising mysteries, seas where the wind does not blow, and full of sargasso.
Sargasso, the Sea of Lost Ships
To enter it could mean the end of the voyage. Unknown facts since the time of Christopher Columbus, the voyages, the seafarers and the strange events that occurred in the Sargasso Sea.
Fear at sea
Trapped at sea
A clump of sargassum on a beach, which when found in large quantities in the sea made navigation difficult and even impossible
Abundant marine vegetation could block ships,
And prevented them from sailing, if there was not enough wind.
If this happened, they were probably lost and had no salvation. Their only hope was that the wind would return in time, before they ran out of water and provisions.
The enormous distances and the sea being full of sargassum prevented them from being towed by rowing boats, which would take the ship out of the area.
The mysteries of the sea and the sky
In an age of religiosity and superstition, everything was a mystery. There were real dangers that they could not control and that made those sailors who undertook a long sea voyage risk their lives. Many died in the course of the voyage between Europe and America.
Sargasso, The Sea of Fear
Cemetery of the Lost Ships.
In its waters many of the ships that passed through the sea had trouble getting out. Some would never get out. Entering this sea and stumbling upon some other ship long ago trapped, foreshadowed a doomed future and agony in its waters.
Danger a deadly calm
In their desire to hide so that their prey would not know where they were. The Pirates chose islands of the Bahamas and Bermuda, in what is now called the Bermuda Triangle.
Unaware at that time of the size of the currents, they could end up without realizing it in the Sargasso Sea. A sea so calm that it practically did not allow the ships of the time to sail, which depended on the wind to move forward.
Even in boats propelled by oars, it was very difficult because the enormous amount of seaweed got caught in them.
It has been known for centuries
The Sargasso Sea owes its name to a seaweed abundant in the area called Sargassum.
Spanish sailors suffered from it for 500 years. Christopher Columbus encountered this large, floating, bush-like seaweed. He mistakenly believed that the land of America must already be nearby.
Some sailors suffered from it before Columbus. There are chronicles that relate that Phoenicians and Carthaginians encountered them. They were known since ancient times, but neither the exact place where they were located nor their extension was known.
Under the sea, underwater abysses
Under these desperately calm waters, lie the abysmal plains of Hatteras and Nares. Chains of submarine mountains that end in plains as if they had been islands in the past, now submerged.
Shrub-like algae
They slowed down the ships and sometimes prevented them from sailing.
These marine vegetations could be of great extension. The ships were not too large, and if they were, it could become a problem as they were driven by the wind. Being sailing ships, the absence of wind, left them immobile in any place, when the air stopped. They had to wait for the wind to come back to sail again. If the wind was scarce, the marine vegetation slowed down the ship’s progress.
Rotten ships on the sea
A windless sea full of obstacles slowed the ships’ progress.
When the ships were practically immobilized by algae, lack of wind and currents, disaster struck. Soon they were covered with seaweed, algae and vegetation that made navigation even more difficult.
As the ships were made of wood, they could be infected by the dreaded screwworms that little by little made countless small holes in the hull.
The result over time was a half-rotten ship manned by skeletons of the sailors who died of hunger and thirst.
The Spaniards and the Horse Latitudes
When Spanish galleons making the voyage to America were stranded in this area, they had to comply with strict orders.
They had to sacrifice their war horses before they ran out of water and provisions. This was the only way they had a chance of getting out of the dreaded Sargasso Sea alive.
Mysteries of space
Mysterious lights and fires in the skies
The sea voyages surprised them with lights and fires from the sea or the sky.
The Fire of San Telmo could be seen well in the darkness of the night.
In an age of superstitions, any surprise in the middle of the sea created terror.
Sometimes mysterious lights appearing in the dark night in the middle of the sea was a real ray of hope for sailors who felt relieved and considered themselves accompanied by gods or saints.
Fires, Lights and Pirates. There are some areas of the seas where electrical and magnetic phenomena occur that can not always be explained, and often occurred in areas where pirates acted.
San Telmo Fire
A phenomenon already known since ancient times. More common than in other areas due to the characteristics of the Caribbean Sea and the great electrical storms of the Bermuda Triangle and the Sargasso Sea.
After a thunderstorm the ionization of the air by the created electric field produces this phenomenon.
A white or bluish glow with a glow that looks like it is starting to burn can appear on the sharp areas of the ships.
Although for some it was a bad omen, it was generally considered a good omen and they were considered to be under the protection of San Telmo. When the sailors saw them, they used to pray to thank the patron saint of the seafaring world, San Telmo. Pirates and sailors contemplated mysterious lights in the sky.
Christopher Columbus and the mysterious lights
Already in the voyage of Columbus in the year 1492 there was evidence of mysterious lights. In his journal he reports that the crew of the Caravel saw a ball of fire falling from the sky.
A few hours before the discovery of America, new lights appeared. And given the distance of about 80 km to land, it is not possible that a bonfire was perceived on land. In addition, the light went up and down as if someone was signaling.
Bermuda and the strange lights
The Fire of San Telmo could be seen in the long voyages and was observed with curiosity and suspicion by the sailors.
There have always been mysterious events without explanation. The culture of seafarers at the time of sailing was scarce. Fear among sailors and pirates for strange occurrences
While the Fire of San Telmo was known and had its explanation, the other phenomena were not.Mysterious lights, lightning, fireballs, beam of lightning, bunch of fire, etc. some of them remain unexplained.
Even in the 20th century, this area has been called the Bermuda Triangle where ships and airplanes disappear. The causes of the loss of an entire squadron of U.S. military aircraft are still unknown.
Mysterious Luminous Waters
Another unexplained mystery in Bermuda: Luminous White Waters in the Caribbean Sea. From the ships they watched in awe the appearance of the White Waters.
The astonishing white waters
An unexpected phenomenon could trigger superstition among the crew and complicate daily life on board. White Waters, a surprise for Pirates and Sailors.
The Caribbean Sea area also has another mystery, that of the White Waters that Pirates and navigators have been contemplating with fear since the times of Christopher Columbus.
Luminous unknown white waters
Pirates and sailors who sailed in the area of the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea never ceased to be surprised. Sometimes luminous white waters would appear and glow clearly during the night, filling them with surprise and fear. For centuries their origin was unknown, and there were many theories, both terrestrial and divine.
Columbus also saw them in the 15th century
Christopher Columbus actually stumbled upon many of the surprises of the Caribbean Sea. Although he had enough with the superstitions of the time, huge monsters, huge cliffs at the end of the world, huge storms, etc.
But this phenomenon of the White Waters also surprised him by its size and luminosity.
Astronauts and mysterious lights
The mysterious phenomenon of the White Waters in the sea
They saw the last lights of the Earth
A person contemplates the mysterious White Waters
A vision that the astronauts of the Apollo Mission did not expect in their space travels was to contemplate some mysterious lights. To their surprise, they watched from space as the last thing they saw of Planet Earth was these luminous waters.
The mystery uncovered
According to scientists, the mystery is not so mysterious. The conditions in the area are very special.
It is an area of volcanic activity, where large pockets of gases sometimes appear. If a ship or plane is engulfed by one of them, communications and all electronic systems could collapse. Therefore, the track of so many missing ships and planes would be lost.
Not everything can be explained and is so clear
The doubt persists in spite of the scientific explanations.
Why have no traces of the ships or planes been found? No survivors have been found from most of the missing ships and planes. But neither have any personal or ship’s belongings, such as a life preserver, been found.
The mystery continues today. Perhaps this explanation can explain the color of the waters, but not the disappearances of ships and planes.
