The Bermuda Triangle - A Bermudian’s Perspective



Ask a Bermudian about the Bermuda Triangle and you’ll more than likely get one of three answers: “You’re in it”, Don’t know much about it”, or “It’s a local man, his wife and his girlfriend”, and they would be being honest! As much as the locals like to have fun with one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries, there are reasons why the Triangle evokes such worldwide interest and perpetuates myth and mysticism!


The Bermuda Triangle is also known as the Devil's Triangle. This was partly due to the fact that early 15th and 16th century sailors passing Bermuda heard strange noises, screeching and howling, coming from the thickly wooded island as they passed it’s treacherous shores. There was also the multitude of “lost” ships which disappeared around Bermuda in those days due to the abundance of coral reefs protecting her coast.

The screeching and howling noises turned out to be a combination of the shrieks of a local bird known as the cahow and the disgruntled grumblings of wild boars that had swum ashore from previous shipwrecks. Bermuda turned out not to be inhabited by “fairies and devils”, though some may disagree and insist it is true, even more so today!


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There can be no dispute though, that there is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean, a triangular area extending from Bermuda to Puerto Rico to Miami Florida and back to Bermuda again, where many people, airplanes, ships and boats have disappeared without a trace, and not all can be attributed to natural causes or human error.

Some of the disappearances are indeed quite mysterious, and I have to admit that there are incidents which cannot be logically explained. An abundance of documentation for most incidents suggests that the Bermuda Triangle is a sailors' legend, later embellished by professional writers. Locals lean both ways; most of the younger generation merely know the name, having seen the movie, while those of the older sect have actually known people who disappeared there.

The area of the Bermuda Triangle varies with the authors, some stating its shape is akin to a trapezium covering the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas, and the entire Caribbean island area east to the Azores; others add to it the Gulf of Mexico. But that wouldn’t be a triangle would it. In fact it is a completely different area. The more familiar, triangular boundary in most written works has as its points in the areas I mentioned above. This is also the area recognized by locals, who complain “Why couldn’t it be called the Puerto Rican or Floridian Triangle!” Nevertheless it is the Bermuda Triangle, and the area is one of the most heavily-sailed shipping lanes in the world, with ships crossing through it daily for ports in the Americas and Europe, as well as the Caribbean Islands. It is also a heavily flown route for commercial and private aircraft heading towards Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.

Some braniacs insist that the 5 to 6 knot current of the Gulf Stream may have played a part in a number of disappearances. Okay, maybe in the case of a few rowboats or such. But 5 or 6 knots wouldn’t have affected the larger vessels that have disappeared there, even the older ones of yesteryear. My opinion of that is, if they are going to try and discredit supernatural or other phenomenon, then at least give a better reason than that.

Sudden storms can and do appear, and in the summer to late fall the occasional hurricane strikes the area. The combination of heavy maritime traffic and tempestuous weather makes it inevitable that vessels could founder in storms and be lost without a trace — especially before improved telecommunications, radar, and satellite technology arrived late in the 20th century. And some have, but others have vanished during completely calm weather. Let’s have a look at some of the most famous cases, and you decide, is the Bermuda Triangle one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries, or just a ménage a trois!



Bermuda Triangle Incidents - Ship and Airplane Disappearances