The secret of the SS Cotopaxi is a mystery no longer! The legendary “ghost ship” believed to have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle in 1925 on its way from Charleston, South Carolina to Havana, Cuba, taking with it 32 people, has finally been identified off the coast of Florida, and Science Channel viewers will get to watch the investigation unfold in Sunday’s two-hour premiere of Shipwreck Secrets. Ahead of the premiere, explorer Michael Barnette talked to PopCulture.com about what went into solving the nearly century-long mystery and how much stock he puts into the legend surrounding the Cotopaxi.
Barnette first came to the mystery of the lost ship while diving on the Bear Wreck off the coast of St. Augustine more than 15 years ago, but more recently became confident he and his fellow maritime historians would be able to identify which vessel it actually was. Despite the “battered” condition of the wreck, which has now been damaged not only by its sinking back in 1925 but also subsequent hurricanes, Barnette noted there was “a lot of information to work with” due to the metal construction of the ship.
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“It’s a big puzzle you have to put together,” he told PopCulture.com, adding that researching historical maritime data is easier with today’s technology than it ever has been. That doesn’t mean the investigation was easy by any means, with the dive crew only having “very limited” time on each descent to uncover clues.
“It’s not like working a car wreck scene where you have all the time in the world,” Barnette explained.
Once the crew was confident through their investigation and research that the wreck was the SS Cotopaxi, Barnette had the bittersweet honor of delivering his findings, and a piece of the wreck, to the grandson of the Cotopaxi’s captain, whose remains were never found after his death.
“It’s very moving for me,” Barnette explained. “You go through that emotional roller coaster, because it’s excitement you solved your mystery, but it transforms when you realize people lost their lives here, and you feel a little guilty that for someone else it’s very different. …A lot of times, however, it brings closure.”
With the mystery solved, Barnette is more than happy to put the “ghost ship” rumors to bed for good, calling them “unimaginative” in comparison to whatever actually did happen on that fateful day nearly 100 years ago.
“My pet name for the Bermuda Triangle is the Bulls— Triangle,” he joked. “I think there’s no validity whatsoever. I love sci-fi, I love the movies and all that, but it is a disservice to these missing vessels and aircraft … it takes away from the real story and what really happened.”
Shipwreck Secrets premieres Sunday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on the Science Channel, and stick around for the all-new series Curse of the Bermuda Triangle at 10 p.m. ET, which looks at some of the biggest mysteries of the legendary spot.
Photo credit: Science Channel
