The Bermuda Triangle

If you have ever flown across the Atlantic Ocean, either to or from Miami or Bermuda, you probably weren't told before or during the flight that you were actually travelling through one of the most mysterious places known to man, The Bermuda Triangle. Stretching from the corner of Bermuda to Puerto Rico and over to Miami Florida, this triangular stretch of ocean is renowned for ships and aircraft mysteriously disappearing, never to be seen again.

Yet as well as vessels disappearing, those that do survive their journey through the triangle often report experiencing mysterious phenomena including compass needles spinning erratically, drastic and sudden changes in the weather and most spooky of all, UFO’s flying around and alongside them. In fact the very first weird reporting from the Bermuda Triangle comes from Christopher Columbus who when travelling through the area on his way to discovering the ‘New World,’ reported in his journal strange lights which seemed to follow them as they travelled along.

Over the years theories have sprung up as to what could be going on within this area of Atlantic Ocean, ranging from the scientific to the downright bizarre. One of the more scientific theories happens to do with the increased magnetic presence within the triangle. During the 20^th century, scientists discovered that the Bermuda Triangle seems to have a stronger magnetic field than the rest of the Atlantic Ocean. This has led many to theorize that many poor sailors and pilots on entering the triangle, would experience weird compass readings, which would result in them losing their way and ending up lost at sea, never to be seen again.

Unfortunately this theory whilst possible in many of the cases doesn’t explain why many of those lost were experienced sailors, etc. and with the failure of their compasses, would have been able to use other forms of navigation (such as the stars or position of the sun) to get their bearings. Also with some of the more modern day disappearances, some of which have several forms of navigation to assist them such as GPS, Radar, etc. the increased magnetic field theory in my opinion doesn’t hold much water.

Another scientific theory is that the ships which disappeared are actually sitting on the bottom of the sea. Their theory as to why this happens is due to the large amounts of Methane Gas sitting at the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle. According to the believers of this theory, at times large pockets of methane gas can be released in bubbles, causing them to rise up through the sea and cause any ship floating above on the surface to become uneven and eventually sink.

Personally I don’t hold too much with regards to this theory due to the fact that aeroplanes also disappear, some of which are flying several thousand feet. As such I’d find it hard to see how methane bubbles rising up through the water, whilst being able to sink something floating along the surface, would be able to pull an aeroplane out of the sky!

In a similar fashion, I also disagree with the other theory postulated by scientists who claim that the reason for the disappearances is due to freak waves. A freak wave is a wave which can be up to a hundred metres tall (if not more) and according to survivors of these waves, can appear out of the horizon at great speeds and within seconds, overturn and capsize any poor unsuspecting boat or ship. Initially believed to be the stuff of folklore and superstition, these waves were recently proven to exist through when one crashed into an Esso oil tanker just a few years back. It was only due to the sheer size of the ship that it was able to prevent being overturned. Again whilst in theory it is possible, I doubt that such waves could be responsible for all the disappearances within the Bermuda Triangle, for once again an aeroplane flying at a decent height should in theory be able to pass right over any freak wave without issue.

Whilst methane bubbles, freak waves and increased magnetic field are a possible theories, each one on their own can’t explain all the circumstances by which ships and aeroplanes disappear. Some scientists would argue however that whilst anyone of these theories alone can’t justify all the disappearances, all three theories together would make a good case for almost all of the disappearances.

As we uncovered beforehand, there are some theories that are just downright bizarre. Starting on one of the most bizarre is that the Bermuda Triangle happens to be the resting place for Atlantis. For those of you not familiar with Greek mythology, Plato wrote about how thousands of years before his time there existed a society that lived on an island known as Atlantis. In his writings, Plato mentioned how Atlantis used to be a technologically advanced and wealthy society. Yet it was only with the psychic viewings of the world renowned medium Edgar Cayce in the 1920s that some people came to believe how advanced Atlantis was. For according to him, Atlantis had airships, nuclear powered ships and deadly ray gun technology. The heart of this civilisations power were energy crystals, whose energy could be aimed to wipe out ‘entire armies.’

Even though all the scholars and psychics from Plato to Edgar Cayce say how Atlantis was destroyed very quickly, (overnight according to Plato) and now sits somewhere under the ocean, many believe that some remnants of their technology could still be active. If these conspiracy theorists are right, perhaps one or two death ray guns are somehow activated once in a while and open fire on an unsuspecting ship or passenger plane, vaporizing it within seconds before any SOS could be sent out.

Another bizarre theory holds that all those who disappeared were abducted by aliens. According to the believers of this theory, somewhere under the waters of the Bermuda Triangle is an extra-terrestrial base which every once in a while, targets and abducts some unsuspecting plane or ship. And those who are taken unfortunately are never returned to the surface. A terrifying thought.

Perhaps being abducted by aliens isn’t as terrifying as what some theorists believe – which is that sitting somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle is a vortex or space-time warp, which unsuspecting ships or planes accidentally go through, taking them off to some other dimension. Along with the idea of there being an alien base, many of the theorists claim that this space-time warp could be how UFO’s are able to travel from their home worlds to ours, citing how the unusually high UFO activity within this area is proof of some sort inter-dimensional star gate. I don’t know about you, but I could just about stomach the idea of there being an underwater ET base, yet actually leaving our world and entering another, now that spooks me out completely!

If we are to consider what is causing all the disappearances, maybe we should refer to the eyewitness accounts of those who almost disappeared but were able to return – and to my knowledge there are two accounts of those who nearly disappeared for good within the triangle. And rather scarily, all seem to revolve around some sort of space-time warp (my worst fear of them all).

The first incident occurred back in 1966 when Captain Don Henry, a man with many years maritime experience, was sailing his tug, ‘Good News’ through the Atlantic, towing a barge behind him when he noticed something weird take place. According to him, he had just left the bridge to take a nap in his quarters when he was awoken by panic and screams from his crewmates. On entering the bridge, he noticed how the compass was spinning round 360. Exiting the bridge to go check on the barge behind him, he reveals how the first thing which caught his eye was the fact that the horizon seemed to have completely disappeared. He described how the sea and the sky seemed to merge into one, despite the fact it was still a clear day. He also noticed how the water which they were floating on now seemed to be a milky sort of colour instead the usual sea blue.

Looking back at the barge, Henry reports how the barge seemed to be engulfed in some sort of weird fog. He noted how even though he couldn’t see the barge, he could see from the tow rope coming out of the fog that the barge was still there. Dashing back to the bridge, Henry reported how all the electricity on board the barge seemed to cease working, despite the fact the generators were still turning, no power seemed to be coming out. The lights and radio were all dead.

Hitting the throttle forwards at maximum, Henry (and his crew) reported feeling what seemed like a tug of war occur as the ship engines tried to drive them forwards whilst some mysterious force seemed to be trying to pull them back towards the fog which had fully covered the barge. According to Henry, it took about 7-10 minutes of slowly easing forwards before the barge was completely out of the fog. Yet on exiting the fog, Henry noted how things very quickly seemed to return to normal, with the horizon reappearing again, the water turning back into the sea blue it is supposed to be, and the mysterious fog suddenly dissipating into nothing. With the electricity returning, Henry and his crew quickly headed straight off quickly to Puerto Rico where they were heading.

If you thought Don Henry and his crew were lucky to escape, than the man in the next encounter should count himself even luckier for not only was he not able to escape the space warp, but fortunately came out somewhere he could easily get away from.

In 1970s, Bruce Gernon was flying his Cessna through the Bermuda Triangle on a routine flight which he had made hundreds of times before, from Andros Island to island of Birimi. Starting off as a clear day, Gernon adds how this very quickly changed when he noticed a massive storm cloud ahead of him. Deciding to fly up and over it, he was shocked to see the cloud rise up, almost as if it were wanting him to travel right into it. As Gernon approached the cloud, he noticed that the cloud seemed to spread out and move around his plane until he was engulfed in the middle. Gernon claims it was then that he saw something which defies all imagination. A short distance ahead of him on the wall of the cloud (which he was moving towards) a swirling tunnel seemed to appear within the cloud. Realising he had no choice else he would be flying blind, Gernon claimed he aimed his plane into the tunnel, which was just big enough for his plane to enter. As he entered it, he recalled how he felt a large surge of static electricity, and noted how the wings of his plane seemed to glow with an electrical charge. He also observed his compass needle was spinning erratically.

Gernon claims that he was only in the tunnel for no longer than a few minutes when he came across the exit of the tunnel, whereupon he was back out of the storm cloud and flying in open clear blue skies again. Radioing for help, he was surprised to discover that he was now just off the coast of Miami. According to Gernon, he had travelled a few hundred miles in seconds. Speaking to ground control, he was informed how they initially had him on radar before he mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear miles away from where he was within seconds.

Bruce Gernon has gone on to write about this in a book he co-authored called The Fog. If this story is true, in my opinion Gernon should count his blessings for if he was travelling through some sort of space-time warp, in theory he could have ended up anywhere and at any time! So arriving only a few hundred miles from where he was turned out to be a happy ending.

Yet if there is some sort of space-time warp located in this area, than why have we not located it? If you have read my prior hub Is Time Travel Possible? you’d recall how warping space-time would require massive amounts of energy – vastly more than the Earth itself could naturally produce. As well as all the energy required, one would need to be able to contain it in such a way as to distort and warp space-time. At present no one is aware of any way in which this could be done, let alone how nature could do this naturally; except via creating a black hole which would rip the Earth to shreds.

Whatever is happening to cause these disappearances, I should add that compared to the number of people that travel through the triangle on a regular basis, the number of those who actually disappear is very small. So if you have your holidays booked in the Bahamas or Miami, you shouldn’t have to plead with the pilots to stay clear of any storm clouds!