It’s an eerie fall evening on the water. You’re sitting at anchor while a fog bank rolls. As your eyes peer into the dark mist, you start to hear the sounds of waves breaking against something in the distance. Is it a ship’s hull? You squint harder, using every glimmer of moonlight in the air, and for an instant, you could swear you saw the outline of a ship. As fast as it appeared, it is now gone. Was it actually ever even there?
Many a captain or watchman has struggled with this same question. Did they just lay eyes on a ghost ship? Have you? When my wife asked me this question as we prepped for fall festivities, I had to think hard about my answer. I have spent a significant amount of my life on the water and have often seen things which I cannot explain. On many nights out under the stars, I have seen lights dancing and moving in ways that make little sense. Any boater knows smoke on the water is real, and fog at night can make anyone question what they’re seeing. Exhaustion, the sun’s glare off a flat, calm sea, and mist that builds on your glasses all play tricks on the eyes. Science chalks up many sightings to a superior mirage or an optical illusion in the atmosphere called a Fata Morgana, loosely translated from Italian as a boat that floats in the air. Does this combination account for every sailor’s story?
It is estimated that more than two million souls lost their lives crossing the Atlantic Ocean during the slave trade alone. Countless more perished in untimely deaths at the hands of pirates. Hurricanes and ship failures have also taken a fair share of lives on the open sea. One has to wonder just where all this energy has gone. Stories of ghost ships date as far back as the 1700s, with the story of the Flying Dutchman. A 17th century cargo ship doomed to sail the oceans forever after her captain cursed God while attempting to round the Cape of Good Hope during a storm. Even here on local waters, it is said that the Floridablanca, flagship of Jose Gaspar, can still be spotted on moonlit nights sailing on Tampa Bay. To date, I have not encountered anyone who has actually seen her. Surprising, given the number of people I know who work and play on Tampa Bay; however, something tells me if you’re indulging a bit too much in play, suggesting you’ve seen a ghost ship may just be a fish tale too tall to consider.
Now, getting back to my wife, I firmly believe Bigfoot is out there, and it really wouldn’t surprise me if some prehistoric sea animal is still hiding beneath the waves. Ghost ships, though, I am not convinced. Things that go bump in the night, ghosts and goblins–perhaps on All Hallow’s Eve. I’ll leave it to the next mariner who spends an evening on the water this time of year to lay claim to the existence of ghost ships…or not. 