STRANGEDISAPPEARANCE
OF THE WITCHCRAFT
The Bermuda Triangle
14
Having grown up (since 7 years of age) in South Florida I am very familiar with the area right off the coast labeled “The Bermuda Triangle” or the “Devil’s Triangle”, due to the many strange happenings and disappearances within its borders. Is a large area stretching all the way north to Bermuda and then South to Puerto Rico, Bahamas and the tip of Florida.
There is one incident which has always fascinated me, one that so far has not been explained or debunked in any way, and that is the strange disappearance of the 23-foot Cabin Cruiser aptly named, “Witchcraft”, back in 1967. I have often looked out into the Biscayne Bay here in Miami and wondered what could have happened, I have been in the area, right off the Port of Miami, looked into the shallow waters and asked myself, what happened to the cabin cruiser and it’s two occupants. The circumstances are strange but please feel free to arrive at your own conclusions:
Biscayne Bay, off Miami Florida / Date: December 22 1967 / Time: night
It was a beautiful evening the night of December 22 when hotelier, Dan Burack, in company of Father Patrick Horgan left Miami’s yacht marina in Burack’s 23 foot cabin cruiser “Witchcraft”. Burack, an inveterate yachtsman had invited Father Horgan to go out into the bay to enjoy the stunning view of Miami’s Christmas time lights. They were only going to cruise out a short way and then stop and in the silence of a dark sea, take in the panorama of Miami’s lit skyline. Apparently Burack went to the area of Buoy # 7 in Miami’s Harbor, less than a mile from the shore. It was from here that Burack sent a message to RCC Miami at exactly 2100 that night. His was a casual steady voice. He said he had hit something below. There was no emergency. However, he would need a tow back into the marina. Since Burack felt there was no emergency, it is logical to assume whatever he hit (if he knew) had damaged his propeller or rudder but not his hull. The vibrations after starting his motor would have been a dead giveaway. The Coast Guard responded immediately. At 21:19 -only 19 minutes after Burack signaled them- their searchlight beams were streaming the ocean in that vicinity. However there was no sign of the “Witchcraft”, of debris, life jackets, bodies or any flotsam. In that interim and short 19 minutes Burack had never sent another message to Miami’s RCC to indicate the situation had become critical, nor had he send up any flares.
The most unusual part, however, is the total lack of the cabin cruiser. This is most impressive, for the “Witchcraft” had been built in floatation and was thus “unsinkable”. Although this term does not imply buoyancy, “unsinkable” means that some part of the hull should remain above water.