by Oubliette

This week the DT team tackle what is arguably the most controversial area in the world–the Bermuda Triangle.  This famous region is marked by three points-Miami, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.  Supposedly, huge numbers of ships, boats and planes have disappeared from sight–many without transmitting any distress signals and under otherwise normal conditions .  There are also many reports of magnetic anomalies, including compasses and other navigational aides going haywire while passing through this beautiful but often deadly region.

During the 1970s, (or as Josh mentions, during the time that “Grandpa Gates” had his own radio show) an intense interest in the area was generated by the publication of such books as “The Riddle of the Bermuda Triangle” by Lawrence Kusch (1975) and perhaps the most famous of all, Charles Berlitz’s “The Bermuda Triangle” (1974).  The latter author was often seen on various TV shows and helped to stimulate what almost amounted to a craze about the triangle.

It is still being hotly debated as to whether or not some kind of paranormal vortex is responsible for these disappearances.  The theory has been losing credence in the last decade or so, but there are still plenty of folks who think that something is not quite “normal” in this area of the ocean.  And though reports of missing planes and/or boats has dwindled in the last several years, we learn that recently (12/17/2008) a plane with 12 passengers had disappeared in mid-flight, curiously with no communication from the pilot and no clue as to what might have happened.

So it’s off to the Bahamas for Josh and company.  After a bumpy landing, a quick journey through immigrations and a scene which shows some of the crew downing the guts of a conch (or Bahamian Viagra, as a local puts it), we get down to more serious business.  Josh speaks to Rene Smith Robbins, a woman whose brother and his companions had vanished from their plane near this very spot.  She describes how the aircraft was found upside-down, with no apparent damage, but with missing the men and their life vests.  The sad expression on her face is palpable.

Going along with the theory that there are fixed areas of energy vortexes that appear and disappear at the same coordinates, Josh decides to test this view by mapping out and flying over the areas where planes or boats have vanished.  Along with Gabe and Mike, he boards an older model plane in an effort to see if they themselves experience any anomalies along a path that will take them over the very coordinates where some of the tragedies had occurred.

Base camp is set up at the end of the airstrip, and Josh keeps in touch with Sharra and the rest as he sets off towards the unknown.  Using, among other things, an EMF detector and a magnetometer, he takes some base readings in order to observe any deviations from the norm and notes their location on a GPS for later ground investigation.  Their journey takes them over Moselle Reef (unexplained lights had appeared there), New Providence Island (over six aircrafts had gone down there) and over Exuma Island, where many ships had struck the reefs after having their compass needles inexplicably go haywire.  Finally they fly over Providentiales, the site of the recent disappearance of a tourist plane.

It does not take long for the instruments to start acting up.  While swinging back south towards the Bahamas, the plane is suddenly immersed in a heavy white mist, producing zero visibility.  While the EMF meter starts to spike, the needles on the compasses and other instruments begin to go crazy, and transmission between Josh and base camp is lost in a wave of static.  It is a frightening moment as this is exactly what many pilots have reported while flying over the area.  I found it odd that the pilot did not seem to react to these conditions, but perhaps he has experienced them before and has learned to maintain his composure.

Thankfully, as the sky clears and communication with base camp is restored, Josh finds himself over the southern tip of Bimini Island.  As the plane is low on fuel, they decide to land and try to determine from the surface what might be causing the strange EMF fluctuations, particularly in three specific points that Josh had noted during the flight.  The sight of several downed planes near the airstrip seems to punctuate the fact that some kind of force, natural or paranormal, is at work.

I can’t believe Josh doesn’t know that the Bahamas follow the British style of traffic patterns.  But then he’s not a touristy kind of guy!  Hitting the first coordinate at the north of the island, Josh visits with Bone Fish Ebbie, an interesting character who runs a little “refreshment shop” and who believes wholeheartedly in the deadliness of the Triangle.  He has, in fact, gotten lost himself when his own compass malfunctioned.  Ebbie advises them to go up to Spook Hill (now that’s a reassuring name) due to the energy that exists there.  It also happens to match the first of the three GPS coordinates that Josh had picked up while in flight.

While strolling through the cemetery and along the shoreline, no unusual EMF spikes are detected, but Mike claims to feel weird and dizzy while walking among the trees near the graves.  These sensations disappear after they emerge back out on the shoreline.  Was he just influenced by the stories regarding Spook Hill?  Or had he been out in the sun too long, as Josh jokingly remarks?

The second coordinate is underwater, necessitating the use of a boat to investigate further.  But first Josh talks to B.R. Francis, a boat captain who  tells him that on a recent trip both of his engines had died, and his instruments had ceased working properly as well.  About two and one/half hours later, everything returned to normal.  Both motors failing at one time does seem more than coincidence.

At the dock we meet Louie Armstrong–or at least a guy who sounds just like him, who rents a boat to the team.  At the site of the second coordinate, where the remains of yet another small plane is seen, Josh suits up to go explore the wreckage of the S.S. Sapona.  This interesting vessel had begun its career as a cargo steamer, having launched in 1920, and was later used as a floating warehouse for rum and whiskey during Prohibition.  A hurricane had later destroyed the ship and it was subsequently used by the Air Force and Navy, including the doomed Flight 19, for target practice.  Unfortunately there is little to see here and no anomalous readings emanate from either the ship or the plane. And so its off to the site of the third and strongest coordinate in the southern area of the island.

Ashley Saunders, the local historian, tells us how he himself was lost in the woods that cover this part of the island. With his compass failing, it took several hours before he could find his way out again. He believes that Bimini is surrounded by an intense EMF field and warns Josh that some people have gone into the woods, never to return.  Since such warnings have never deterred Josh, he and his team head into this almost uninhabited section off the beaten tourist track.  The “No Trespassing” sign doesn’t seem to deter them either.

Base camp is set up directly over coordinate #3, with Sharra and Bisha monitoring the equipment.  The rest walk along a sandy path that borders the shoreline as Josh heads out in a boat with Gabe and Mike.  Something surprised both of them in the water, but we are never actually told what it was (I noticed a huge chop in the water).  This occurs along with a huge EMF spike and a wildly fluctuating compass.  At the same time, Sharra and Bisha notice an odd static-like line across one of the cameras.  It appears that this area of Bimini is living up to its expectations.  Bisha is requested to go and see what he can find in the vicinity of the camera, so he and Gabe set off, taking a trifield meter along with them.

Sharra attempts to discover if the strange white band on camera 4 will show up if it is pointed in another direction, so Bisha changes its position.  The band immediately disappears, only to reappear as soon as he sets it down where it originally stood.  There does seem to be some kind of interference coming from one particular direction.  Just what is going on here?

Josh is having problems of his own.  The outboard motor simply refuses to turn over, which draws a string of expletives from him. An attempt to anchor the boat turns out to be futile as the water is too deep.  The wind starts to carry the small craft out into the open sea.  As Josh points out, every boat DT happens to use has some sort of problem, be it an unruly motor, a tendency to sink or “a dinosaur comes out” of the water.  Josh and boats–NOT perfect together.

At any rate, the motor does finally kick in; it looks to me like Josh might have adjusted the choke as he presses something on the side.  All three men are relieved and wisely decide to head back to shore, the safety of base camp and apparently some cold beers as well.

Bisha and Gabe are now lost in the depths of the black woods.  The others go in search of them after reloading the equipment with fresh batteries.  Bisha’s meter goes off the scale and Gabe has problems with his head lamp.  In spite of continuing to wander around (these two must be city fellas.  If you are lost in the woods and a rescue party is trying to find you, do NOT continue to move around but stay in one place, guys!), they are finally found by Josh and the team, who jokingly tells them they have come from the future to bring them back to the present.  Or is it back to the future?

I was disappointed that the evidence they have collected is not taken to any outside source for examination.  Of particular interest, and something Josh himself could not duplicate, was the unusual anomaly caught by camera 4.  It would have been more satisfying to have had a camera expert analyze this, but we are left to wonder what could have caused the event.  And of course, there are the myriad instrument malfunctions to be accounted for, as well as the witnesses who truly believe that an electro-magnetic force holds Bimini in its grip.

So what are we to make of all this?  Although the huge amount of interest in the Bermuda Triangle is nowhere near what it was 30 years ago, many continue to puzzle over just what might be happening out here.  Skeptics point out the huge numbers of planes, ships and smaller vessels that traverse the triangle every year.  When put in perspective, only a small percentage have actually disappeared.

Also, much has been discovered over the years.  Flight 19 appears to have been the victim of an overzealous and stubborn Lieutenant who continued to lead his  squadron N-NE despite pleas from his crew to reverse direction.  The end result was that the planes ran out of gas and sank like rocks.  Also I’ve learned that the recent disappearance of the private plane last December involved an inexperienced pilot who may not have known how to fly correctly.

Other theories about the triangle abound including unpredictable weather conditions, misreading known compass variations, rogue waves and eruptions of methane gas bubbles on the ocean floor.  The US Coast Guard insists there is nothing unusual about the area.  Still, one has to wonder why compasses and other instruments are reported to react so wildly and cause such disorientation.

Meanwhile, conch, anyone?