The stories that are the most fascinating to me are the ones where nothing is ever found. No crew, no bodies, and no wreckage. These stay on the unexplained list for years to come.
The SS Poet
First, she was called the General Omar Bundy and hauled troops in World War II. Later, she hauled steel as the Port. In 1979, she was acquired by the Eugenia Corporation of Hawaii, who gave her the last name she would ever hold: the Poet.
There was nothing particularly mysterious about the Poet’s last job. In 1979, her hold was filled with 13,500 tons of corn, which she was scheduled to haul from Philadelphia to Port Said, Egypt—a rather routine and dull job, all things considered.
There was only one problem—the Poet never reached Port Said. In fact, her last communication came only six hours after leaving Philadelphia, when one of her officers spoke to his wife. After that, she failed to report for her 48-hour check-in, she failed to give any kind of distress signal—she failed to communicate ever again. To make matters worse, the Eugenia Corporation didn’t report her missing until six days after she last made contact. Even then, the Coast Guard didn’t bother searching for another five days. No trace of the Poet was ever found.
Ya know, it seems to me that I read somewhere that it was bad luck to change the name of a ship or boat. If that's true, this poor vessel really had no chance. Anyone knowing if this is true or not, please let me know!
Coffee out on the patio this morning. Should be a sunny day!
