Not one of these suppositions is accurate.

There were facts established about the mystery. And upon them it is possible, I believe, for a conclusion to be suggested as to the fate of Captain Briggs, his wife Sarah, their two-year-old daughter Sophia and the seven-man crew.

Although fictionalised for ease of narrative, The ‘Mary Celeste ’ is based upon facts presented at the Gibraltar enquiry into the salvage claim by the Dei Gratia crew, and evidence taken from the surviving documents and statements of people directly involved in the affair.

On November 3, 1872, two days before the Mary Celeste slipped her moorings at Pier 50 on New York’s East River, Captain Briggs wrote to his mother: ‘Our vessel is in beautiful trim and I hope we shall have a fine passage.’

Despite fierce storms, it was so until November 25. At eight o’clock that morning, the half-brig was within six miles of Santa Maria, most easterly of the Azores group of islands, and in sight of Ponta Castello, its most easterly point.

Then disaster struck.

Four hours later, the Mary Celeste was a ghost ship.

Winchester, 1979

Already it had been officially recognised as the worst winter for centuries and the storms and gales that had scoured the Atlantic for months were even affecting Gibraltar. It was colder than normal for January and the familiar mist clung stubbornly to the Peak, like a tuft of sheep’s wool on a hedgerow thistle.

Despite the coolness of the weather, Attorney-General Frederick Solly Flood drove with the carriage hood down. He liked to be seen and his position within the tiny community to be marked with the respectful smiles and occasional head-nod of greeting, particularly since his additional appointment as Admiralty Proctor.

Speed was rarely possible anyway along the narrow, cluttered streets, but his coachman proceeded in the knowledge that there was no hurry.