The Marlborough skeleton ship report
In October 1913 newspapers reported that the ship Marlborough had been found with the skeletons of her crew on board. The reports placed the find near Cape Horn or in the Strait of Magellan.
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The Singapore newspaper The Straits Times published the story in October 1913. It reported the Marlborough found near Cape Horn, her crew's skeletons aboard, slimy to the touch. The Straits Times credited the London Evening Standard of 3 October 1913, and the Evening Standard said it was relaying an account cabled from New Zealand that still awaited confirmation.
The Fort Mill Times of 20 November 1913 printed a fuller version. A British mailing ship had arrived at Lyttelton, it said, with a story of finding the Marlborough, and 20 of her crew as skeletons, in a rocky cove near Punta Arenas, in the Strait of Magellan. The paper quoted the visiting captain on the sailing conditions along that shore.
The YACHT magazine retelling adds a scene. An English ship bound for Lyttelton sighted a vessel that seemed unable to manoeuvre. It gave no answer to signals, so the English crew drew near and several sailors boarded her.
"In October 1913, the Singapore newspaper The Straits Times published a story according to which the Marlborough had been discovered near Cape Horn with the skeletons of her crew that were slimy to the touch on board.[14] The Straits Times attributed the story to one published the London paper the Evening Standard of 3 October 1913. The Evening Standard mentioned that the story was based on an "account cabled from New Zealand" which was yet to be confirmed."
- Fort Mill Times, 20 November 1913, p. 3, Fort Mill Times (1913)
- Ghost ships: Marlborough - 20 skeletons on board, YACHT (2026)