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Speaker 1: Approach production. Hi, welcome to Silent Secrets, a bedtime podcast

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Speaker 1: for curious minds. I'm jay, I'm glad you're here. This

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Speaker 1: is your time to let go of today, to settle

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Speaker 1: in and slow down, and let curiosity gently carry you

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Speaker 1: towards sleep. In each episode, I'm going to share a

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Speaker 1: true story of the unexplained, not to alarm you, to

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Speaker 1: quiet your mind, to remind you that the world is

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Speaker 1: full of wonder and some things we'll never truly understand.

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Speaker 1: So take a deep breath, feel your body sink into comfort,

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Speaker 1: let the weight of the day drift away as we

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Speaker 1: begin tonight's story. The sea holds countless stories, some filled

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Speaker 1: with storms and shipwrecks, some of survival triumph. But then

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Speaker 1: there are other tales, quieter ones where the mystery isn't

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Speaker 1: about what was found, but what was missing. The story

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Speaker 1: of the Mary Celeste is one of those tales. In

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Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two, this merchant ship was discovered adrift in

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Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean. The sails flat gently in the breeze,

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Speaker 1: The cargo was untouched. There was no sign of a struggle,

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Speaker 1: and yet every single person on board, ten souls, including

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Speaker 1: the captain's wife, and young child had vanished. No bodies

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Speaker 1: were ever found, no lifeboat was recovered, the ship itself

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Speaker 1: was perfectly seaworthy. It's a story that's haunted sailors, historians,

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Speaker 1: and storytellers for over one hundred.

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Speaker 2: And fifty years.

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Speaker 1: Tonight we stepped back in time and sail with the

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Speaker 1: Mary Celeste into a mystery that feels as eerie and

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Speaker 1: empty as the open sea itself. Our story begins on

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Speaker 1: a cold chris morning in New York Harbor on November seventh,

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Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two, the Mary Celeste, a two masted brigantine,

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Speaker 1: was loaded for her journey across the Atlantic. She wasn't

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Speaker 1: a particularly large ship, just one hundred feet long, but

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Speaker 1: she was built well. A veteran of many voyages. That morning,

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Speaker 1: the crew was preparing for a trip to Genoa, Italy,

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Speaker 1: carrying seventeen hundred barrels of industrial alcohol. At her helm

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Speaker 1: was Captain Benjamin Briggs. He was just thirty seven years old,

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Speaker 1: but already a well respected sailor. Briggs wasn't the sort

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Speaker 1: of man to take unnecessary risks. He was known for

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Speaker 1: being calm, organized, and deeply religious. This voyage was different

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Speaker 1: for him. He decided to bring along his wife, Sarah

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Speaker 1: and their two year old daughter, Sophia. Perhaps he thought

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Speaker 1: it was one of the last adventures before settling down.

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Speaker 1: His oldest son had stayed behind in the care of

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Speaker 1: the family. The crew consisted of seven men, hand picked

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Speaker 1: by Briggs himself. They were experienced sailors, loyal and dependable.

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Speaker 1: As the ship prepared to leave New York Harbor would

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Speaker 1: have been a busines place, ships coming and going, gulls

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Speaker 1: circling above. The world was changing. Steamships were beginning to

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Speaker 1: replace sailing vessels, but the Merry Celeste still relied on

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Speaker 1: wind and canvas and the skill of the men who

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Speaker 1: sailed her. By midday, with the cargo loaded and the

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Speaker 1: tide just right, the Merry Celeste slipped out of the harbor.

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Speaker 1: Life on board the Merry Celeste would have been quiet

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Speaker 1: but demanding. The men worked in shifts, trimming sails, maintaining

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Speaker 1: the rigging, and navigating the vast Atlantic. For Sarah, live

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Speaker 1: at sea with a toddler would have been both thrilling

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Speaker 1: and challenging. The crew likely doted on young Sophia, as

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Speaker 1: sailors often did with children aboard. A rare, warm presence

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Speaker 1: in a tough environment. Captain Briggs kept a meticulous log

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Speaker 1: recording their progress each day. By all accounts, the weather

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Speaker 1: during those early days was fair, the ship was in

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Speaker 1: excellent shape, and nothing suggested trouble. Fast forward nearly a month,

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Speaker 1: the Merry Celeste is somewhere near the mid Atlantic. It's

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Speaker 1: on this day, December fourth, eighteen seventy two, when the

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Speaker 1: British brigantine Delgracia, commanded by David Moorhouse, spots something on

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Speaker 1: the horizon. It's a ship drifting oddly, its sails not

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Speaker 1: properly trimmed through whose spyglass Moorhouse recognizes the vessel. It's

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Speaker 1: the Mary Celeste. He knows Captain Briggs. They even dined

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Speaker 1: together in New York before. Both ships set sail, just

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Speaker 1: days apart. But something's wrong. There's no one on deck,

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Speaker 1: no signal, just a ship wandering silently in the open ocean.

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Speaker 1: Captain Moorhouse orders a boarding party to investigate. Two sailors

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Speaker 1: from the del Gracia row over in a small boat,

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Speaker 1: the sound of the oars cutting through the quiet water.

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Speaker 1: When they climb aboard the Mary Celeste, they're struck by

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Speaker 1: an eerie stillness. The ship is in good condition, but

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Speaker 1: everything feels frozen. Below deck, they find a captain's quarters.

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Speaker 1: A woman's sewing machine sits with a half mended garment.

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Speaker 1: The child's bed is neatly made, a doll lying nearby.

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Speaker 1: The crew's belongings are untouched, boots lined up, clothing stored neatly.

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Speaker 1: The gallery shows signs of recent activity. There's food, water,

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Speaker 1: and enough supplies to last six months, and yet not

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Speaker 1: a single person remains on the Mary Celeste. As the

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Speaker 1: boarding party ventures back on deck, they notice the lifeboat

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Speaker 1: is gone. The ship's only pump is dismantled, some of

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Speaker 1: the hatches are open, the compass is broken, but there's

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Speaker 1: no sign of fire, no flooding in the hold, and

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Speaker 1: no damage from the storms. The captain's log books abruptly

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Speaker 1: ten days before the ship was found. It mentions nothing unusual,

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Speaker 1: just calm seas and steady progress. Whatever happened, it happened suddenly,

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Speaker 1: and it happened without leaving a trace. The Mary Celeste

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Speaker 1: was sailed to Gibraltar for investigation, and soon theories began

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Speaker 1: to swirl. Some suggested pirates, but pirates don't leave valuables behind.

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Speaker 1: Others whispered mutiny at Briggs was admired, and no evidence

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Speaker 1: of violence was found. The most widely accepted theory involves

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Speaker 1: the cargo industrial alcohol, some believe might have caused toxic fumes,

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Speaker 1: brigs fearing and explosion. May have ordered everyone into a

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Speaker 1: lifeboat as a precaution. Perhaps the lifeboat broke free, leaving

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Speaker 1: the crew stranded. But there was also a problem with

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Speaker 1: this theory. Why dismantle the pump? Why not return once

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Speaker 1: they realized the ship was safe. Others believed in a

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Speaker 1: natural disaster, rogue waves, sudden water sprouts, And then, of

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Speaker 1: course there are those who point to the supernatural sea monsters, ghosts,

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Speaker 1: and curses. The Mary Celeste, although tainted by this mystery,

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Speaker 1: continued to sail under a different owner, but misfortune to

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Speaker 1: follow her failed voyagers, legal troubles, and even mutinies. In

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Speaker 1: eighteen eighty five, she was deliberately run aground of Haiti

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Speaker 1: in an insurance fraud scheme. Her remains were left to rots.

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Speaker 1: But the story of that empty ship drifting silently on

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Speaker 1: the Atlantic has never faded. Before you drift off to sleep,

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Speaker 1: imagine that scene one last time. A ship, her white

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Speaker 1: sails rippling in the breeze, no crew to tend to them.

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Speaker 1: The wheel creaked slightly with the roll of the ocean.

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Speaker 1: The Merry Celeste remains an unanswered question. It goes from

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Speaker 1: a time when the sea help both opportunity and endless

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Speaker 1: unknowable dangers. Thank you for listening to silent secrets. I

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Speaker 1: hope tonight's story has given your mind something soft to

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Speaker 1: wander through as you drift towards rest. But the quieter

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Speaker 1: the night wrap around you now, and know that mysteries

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Speaker 1: will still be here tomorrow. Close your eyes, read deeply,

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Speaker 1: and let's sleep take over until we share another secret

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Speaker 1: next time.

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Speaker 2: Good Night, School, School.

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Speaker 1: U. When the Wing Movement Ring had been born in Hive,

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Speaker 1: everything in