Mary Celeste's Argumentative Essay

The Mary Celeste set out on its journey to the Azores but was found abandoned 400 miles east of it. The crew men's belongings were left in their quarters and the ship’s charts had been tossed about. The only lifeboat on the ship was missing and one of the two pumps had been disassembled, and three and a half feet of water was found in the bottom of the ship. The cargo of 1,701 barrels of industrial alcohol was still intact, and a six month supply of food and water was left (Blumberg).
The Mary Celeste set sail on November 7, 1872 with seven crew members, Capt. Benjamin Spooner Briggs, his wife, Sarah, and their two-year-old daughter, Sophia. The 282-ton brigantine went through bad weather for two weeks to reach the Azores, where the ship’s last log entry …show more content…
Habakuk Jephson’s Statement” in Cornhill Magazine; his account started all the theorizing about the ship’s fate (Blumberg). The Attorney General Solly-Flood took a second look at the case, he wrote many summaries of his interviews and notes. Though the mystery still remained unsolved. The trial was picked up in 2002 by MacGregor who felt she needed to find out the truth (Blumberg).
MacGregor made investigative documentaries in the past, in which she applied modern forensic techniques to historical questions. She began her Mary Celeste film by asking what didn’t happen. There was speculation of sea monsters, but she quickly dismissed that. Since the ship was in good condition (intact and with full cargo) she eliminated pirates (Blumberg). One theory was that the crew members drank the alcohol onboard and mutinied; she interviewed the crew’s descendants and decided the scenario was unlikely. A second theory was that alcohol vapors expanded in the Azores heat and blew off the main hatch, causing those aboard to fear an explosion. This was ruled out when the boarding party reported the main hatch was secure and no smells of fumes were found