Good news. We may have relocated the lost airplane. It is in a different configuration from the original which vindicates my theory that an undersea storm or disturbance moved it elsewhere. If it is the same it has now moved at a mile further out and east of its earlier location. When JJ returned from baby sitting his giant Cephalopod we suited up and set out for the new co-ordinates of the plane wreck. There was a renewed sense of anticipation, even excitement that we were once again within site of solving one of aviation's greatest mysteries....
Thank you Richie for letting me feed the Queen of the Cephalopods. Floating about 30' above her cavern entrance on my scooter I dropped some red snapper filets to sink to her doorstep. After 5 min, a very long tentacle snaked out to towards the sinking snapper fish fillets... .... Then a cloud of black ink. When that eventually cleared the snappers were gone. I then dropped some lovely red snapper fillets. No ink that time but a tentacle slid out gathering up the meal. After that it was easy. I hope that big feed will see her through her nursery tasks. William sent down my marine bot to film it all. He did a great job inching in with Lillian's oversight and great pictures and clips.
It's good that JJ made a friend of the Mama Octopi. She may be able to assist us in our search. She can approach depths that even our machines cannot. If JJ can fit her with a camera, she can film things on the ocean floor.
This time our dive hit paydirt. The wreckage is not that of a Grumman Avenger but a civilian airplane. Most of its markings are covered in barnacles and other small sea molluscs but I am reasonably confident it is a Piper single engine craft that went missing in the early 1970s. June,1975: A Piper Aztec N1435P disappeared between South Caicos Island and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Four people perished. Excellent weather conditions prevailed for a Piper Aztec on the morning of November 6, 1975 when British subject Paul Defferary and his three American friends, Darryl Shanberg, Jerry Malloy, and James Brown, took off from South Caicos Island, the Caribbean bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Flight Plan called for a 3 hour and 40 minute flight time. It also indicated there was sufficient fuel for some 5 and a half hours. The four friends never arrived in Florida and no trace was found.
Nice thought Lillian but mama octopi won't leave her brood unprotected. Sorry about that, but always feel free to use the submersible robot Marea. It can go to1000', and really top self robots are able to go down to 13,000'. Only 3 times have a human controller gone that deep in a solo bathosphere. Some deep trenches in the Bermuda triangle get down to say 10,000', which is way beyound us even with all our gear. Ah, well researched Richie and found. I'll get geared up. Not golden dublooms but? At least it'll look great on camera and perhaps give clues to the mysterious triangle.
Later when we dived again JJ took along a Barnapole barnacle remover. This nifty tool did the trick by effortlessly scraping away a good deal of encrusted marine debris from the fuselage , revealing the inscription N1435P. This was the wreckage of the Piper Aztec that went down off Florida in 1975. Exultation filled us but we tempered it knowing that four young men died in this airplane tragedy. JJ had a hunch and peered thru a cracked window and into the interior. He was shocked at what confronted him and called Richie to also take a look. What he saw sent shivers down his spine and that was not an easy thing as this military man had seen his share of war deaths. Lying in different configurations were the skeletons of the pilot and his passengers. How did the fuselage remain in tact after crashing and being shoved from place to place over the years by undersea disturbances is a miracle. The sadest part was the four were unable to escape before sinking to their watery grave. What this did mean was that now the families of the missing men could finally have full closure and even be able to bury the remains. Before we ascended to the Lady with the good news we marked the wreck with a beacon bouy. This was ours and only our find. We had made history by finding one of the missing aircraft claimed by the imfamous Devil's Triangle.
We got it all on camera too with William and Lillian operating autoSub Marea taking great pictures and clips. 'That'd worth a lot on the media market' later quipped me JJ. However, when reviewing Marea's footage, Lillian noticed a faint glowing image at 110' depth and a mile from the sunken plane with its long dead occupants, and different angles showed the spot did not move and we located it precisely by 3d triangulation. Mario to take the helm and Carlos to prepare dinner and assist Mario. 'Can't be an Angler or other deep sea luminescent fish.' said Jim. 'What could cause that plane wreck, without any damage? 110 feet is still ok for scuba diving, just. I'd like to dive again Richie, to check out more thoroughly the Piper Aztec and long dead crew for valuables on the sunken plane and getting some choreographed clips, then to have a closer look at that faintly glowing spot. What do you think? Richie and I to dive and Lillian with her William to film and explore further with the subot Marea. Sonar scans show a 840' trench near that glowing point. The Submersible bot can go that low, ceraintly not us Scuba divers without special suits or bathosphere, and very slow and difficult compression and decompression which I try hard to avoid. I've had a few bad experiences. That's what sub bots are for I reckon. William with Lillian overseeing and running cameras are our best way to go deeper than 130'. Down to 1km. There is actually an Academy award for this sort of Documentary so feel free to ham it up a little. No cheek slapping tho! We're professionals!'
Mitzi will join us on the dive JJ as she missed out on the eventual discovery of the wreck and is none too pleased. I spent a good deal of last evening placating her. This mysterious glowing white spot. What could it be. You have any idea. Another mystery surrounding the Devil's Triangle. An Academy Award eh. Lillian and William are you up to it or should we bring in a buddy of mine who actually makes docos.. but on land. I can give him a crash course in SCUBA diving.
I say No to more crew at the moment Richie, until we really need them. Between the six/seven of us we already have many skills with overlaps to bounce off . A good balance so far I feel comfortable with. Four minor characters like Mitzi, William, Carlos, Mario I'm happy to pull the strings of, if that's ok with ''Contiuning the Storey"?
As we talked, the ship began to be drawn toward the glowing white spot. Mario exclaimed, " I can't control her!" JJ bellowed, "All rotors aft!" (I think that means backward.) "It's not working," shouted Mario. "I have no control of her!" The Lady is being drawn inexorably toward the glowing white spot. We are powerless to do anything to stop her. What is the mysterious light? Why is it drawing us nearer and what will become of us when we reach it?
As we neared the white spot it transformed into a cloud/mist and enveloped The Lady in a green glow. When the glow vanished we soon discover William, Carlos and Mario are nowhere to be seen on board. Where have they gone..did they fall overboard as we passed thru that mist. A quick look from either side of the boar revealed no one in the water. Three men had vanished into thin air. When we come to our senses after this bizarre experience we scout our location. The Lady is alone on an expanse of glistening water. Richie says he sees something on the horizon, then rushes down the stairs and returns with a large pair of chrome/black bincolulars, scans the distance and says with astonishment. There are ships out there. At least 10. Small and large. There is also an amphibious seaplane....
As we drew closer there were ships of all sizes as far as the eye could see. We could only surmise these were what survived of the many marine craft that vanished from the Triangle over more than a century. Somehow they had all been swallowed up by the same mist as we had experienced and found themselves in another universe to our Earthly one. We were bewildered as we took in what lay before us. There was a cruise liner, an enormous tanker, a hospital ship, several sloops and schooners, modern luxury yachts, even steam powered craft from the 19th century. The odd one out was an olden day full masted sailing ship.The scariest part was not one craft looked like it had been there for many many decades. There were no signs of rust or weather erosion. More like each craft had been launched a year earlier. Looking like interlopers among the steel and wooden framed boats were three seaplanes. A WW2 era Martin Mariner Flying boat.. no doubt the one that went searching for the missing naval airplanes off Florida in 1945, a smaller Kingfisher Floatplane and a modern Privateer the last plane to vanish in the Triangle in 2018.
Good grief Richie and Lillian, What the heck is happening? What happened to Mario, Carlos and William? I hope they're ok. I suggest we cruise over to some of those boats and approach cautiously with binoculars looking for life and information. The camera has a x20 zoom. What are your thoughts Lillian, I am totally dumbfounded. At least my camera gear is still here so I'll take over the camera from poor William. Maybe we're already dead? I hope not. If there are others about, perhaps they can help explain this weird place? Your calls Captain Richie and Professer Lillian. I might get my hand gun just in case and I'll carry my nasty spear gun too. Armour up I say, anyone need a weapon? I can help a little. Lillian, here is a Maywester if you want it, and one for Mitzi too. Boyuant and protective. Is that some movement on the Cruise liner Richie? Have a look through your powerful electronic Ziess binoculars....... ..and scan for radio on all frequencies... Mitzi, you know your set up.. best. Ok Richie? I'm going to check our location using my satellite phone. I don't really want to know it.
A time warp it is Lillian. This is very much your expertise. What caused it in your view. Ritchie set his powerful Ziess binocs on the the cruise liner and there certainly was movement on the deck. There are people still alive on these vessels JJ. How can this be. The liner must be the SS Seaspray of the Scandinavian American Cruise Line that sank off Bermuda in 1980. There were 600 passengers and 150 crew on board, all lost. Until today.....