(Real) Unsolved Mysteries

carrol a. deering

Carroll A. Deering was a large cargo ship, 255-foot long, more than 44-foot wide, weighing 1,879 tons and having five masts. Why is it connected with Bermuda Triangle and known as a Ghost Ship? Because it passed through a long stretch of the triangle area before it was found abandoned and wrecked without a soul on board. And interestingly, none of the crew members ever surfaced or could ever be traced.

The schooner was built in the shipyard of Bath (Maine) of U.S in the year 1919 by the well known company G.G. Deering. The owner of the company G G Deering named the ship after his son Carroll. It was the last in the fleet of about 100. It was a brand new ship and had served only for over a year when it was scheduled for its last and mysterious voyage. In late August of 1921 the ship was scheduled to pick up coal at Norfolk in Virginia and then go all the way to Rio de Jeneiro of Brazil to unload the coal, and then return home to Maine.

The Last Journey
The ship would be captained by William H. Merritt, who was also a part owner of the ship. So he used his privilege and selected his 29 year old son as the first mate. 9 other crew members were selected quickly (all Scandinavians) which made it 11 in total. In Late August, Carroll A. Deering set sail. But after having left Boston, the captain Merritt fell seriously ill. He could no longer continue. The ship was diverted to the port at Lewes, Delaware where he had to be let off. His son too got off to take care of his sick father. Both father and son thus unknowingly escaped one of the biggest maritime misfortunes. However captain Merritt did mention that he did not like the crew.

Now the Deering company had to find a new captain, and they did. They appointed a 66-year old retired veteran Captain W. B. Wormell, a big man weighing some 198 pounds as the new leader of the ship. Another man named Charles B. McLellan, who later took the center stage of the story was hired as the new first mate. The vessel then set sail again and finally reached Rio de Jeneiro on September 8, 1921 without any further hiccups.

While the forward journey up to Rio was without any apparent hitch, there was something brewing. And that became apparent after reaching Rio. Having gone through a long and tiresome journey, Captain Wormell offered leave to his crewmen to unwind themselves. He then met with his old friend Captain Goodwin. During this meeting Wormell sounded concerned and mentioned that he did not like his First Mate McLellan at all and thought he was useless and at the same time a trouble maker. But both agreed that the first engineer in the ship Herbert Bates was quite efficient and a good man. He could be relied upon in case of any problem. Captain Goodwin also knew Bates quite well.

On December 2nd, 1921 the vessel started its return journey. That the first mate McLellan was a trouble maker and a bad man got finally surfaced when the ship docked at Barbados (in Caribbean) for supplies. Here McLellan got drunk and complained against his captain Wormell to another captain Norton and his first mate. McLellan in fact stated that he himself had to do all the navigation due to Wormell's poor eyesight and also had to control the crew who were becoming often restless due to Wormell's interference. In a cafe, Captain Norton and his aides also heard McLellan shouting that he will kill Captain Wormell before they reached home. McLellan was arrested in drunken state and put behind the bar. But the merciful captain Wormell went out of his way and got McLellan released from the lock up. On January 9th 1921, Caroll A. Deering set sail again from Barbados for their home at Portland, Maine.

The Final Stretch
It is after setting homebound sail from Barbados when things started going horribly wrong. On January 29th, 1921 the ship was spotted by a lightship at Cape Lookout (North Carolina). A lightship is an anchored ship which guides other ships passing by with its lights and radio communication. The Captain of the lightship Jacobson heard a crewman from Carroll A. Deering hailing at him saying they had lost their anchors and that needed to be reported to the parent company (i.e. G G Deering). The ship Deering however did not stop and cruised past beyond sight.