Surprised to see the intact body of a captain on an 18th century ghost ship.

The world is full of mysterious tales and legends that take us to a different dimension when we read or listen to them. Among these tales, the story of the ship Octavius is particularly fascinating. Maritime tradition has many stories of ghost ships sailing with ghostly crews destined never to make port. The story of Octavius is one such tale of a mysterious disappearance, a captain frozen to death behind his desk, and a crew that suffered the same fate. Some people believe that this story is not just a simple legend.

In October 1775, the whaler ship Herald stumbled upon a strange-looking schooner that was badly weather-beaten and drifting. The crew of the Herald decided to inspect the drifting Octavius and discovered why there was no activity on deck. The ship had a full crew of 28 sailors who had frozen stiff, motionless, and blue. The captain was found behind his desk, also frozen, with everyday items like an inkwell still in place on the desk. Turning around, the crew saw a woman wrapped in a blanket and a young boy, both frozen to death.

The Octavius had set sail from London in 1761 with a full crew and arrived safely in China, where they unloaded their cargo. The captain decided to sail home via the Northwest Passage, a route that had not been accomplished at the time, but this was the last anyone heard of the vessel, her crew, or her cargo. And so, the Octavius was declared lost.

According to the legend, the captain was still holding his pen as if he was frozen instantly. The crew reported that the whole crew had the same characteristic and looked like models in a waxworks museum. When the Herald’s crew discovered Octavius in 1775, the captain carefully wrote the date in his logbook, a document found on his desk 14 years later. But the last entry in it was from 1762, and the thirteen years between 1762 and 1775 were nowhere to be found.

With the realization that they were on board a ghost ship, the men left Octavius and rejoined the rest of their crew back on board the Herald. According to those who believe that this story is real, it was the captain’s fault that they all froze to death. The captain decided to go through the notorious Northwest Passage, which led to the crew’s demise. But, of course, this story was born almost 250 years ago, and its truth remains a mystery.

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