Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "WW1 Arctic Ghost Ship" video.

  1. The 1969 sighting has now been discredited, so it seems a sighting in 1962 is accepted as the last reliable report of Baychimo. When the crew finally abandoned the ship in November, 1931. They reported she was frozen fast in a large ice field. Her hull had already suffered crush damage from the ice, the reason why the crew decided not to try wintering over on her, building a hut instead. The damage was severe enough that the decision was made she was not salvageable and she was therefore abandoned. As long as Baychimo remained frozen fast in the ice, she was supported by the hundreds of feet of ice beneath her hull. If there was a thaw sufficient to break up the ice field so the ice beneath her was no longer solid, Baychimo, with many hull breaches, would have filled rapidly with water and sank. The summer of 1963 was exceptionally warm in northwestern Alaska. Many areas of pack ice melted and broke up enough for regular freighters to make the trip to Barrow (now Utqiagvik) in summer from ports further south. It's thought this is when when the ice loosened its grip on Baychimo and sent her to the bottom. The state of Alaska has mounted several searches for her since 2006 and done detailed analysis of satellite photos in areas she'd likely be with no trace of her. She will remain another mystery of the sea, perhaps awaiting another chance sighting of the ghost ship.
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