Brief History

To my knowledge the first documentation that anything was amiss in the area came from Christopher Columbus,
who reported compass malfunctions and a bolt of fire that fell into the sea. He also reports of a light on the horizon.
The rest is history.... sort of.
Since that time there have been hundreds of disappearances in the area. A full time job for the Coast Guard no doubt.
In the past, extensive, but futile Coast Guard searches prompted by search and rescue cases such as the disappearances of an entire squadron of TBM Avengers (Flight 19) shortly after take off from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., or the traceless sinking of USS CYCLOPS and MARINE SULPHUR QUEEN have lent credence to the popular belief in the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the "Bermuda Triangle."

It seems that interest in the "Bermuda Triangle" can be traced to (1) the cover article in the August 1968 Argosy, "The Spreading Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle", (2) the answer to a letter to the editor of the January 1969 Playboy and (3) an article in August 4, 1968 I, "Limbo of Lost Ships", by Leslie Lieber. Also, many newspapers carried a December 22, 1967 National Geographic Society news release which was derived largely from Vincent Gaddis' Invisible Horizons: True Mysteries of the Sea (Chilton Books, Philadelphia, 1965. OCLC# 681276) Chapter 13, "The Triangle of Death", in Mr. Gaddis' book, presents the most comprehensive account of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. Gaddis describes nine of the more intriguing mysteries and provides copious notes and references. Much of the chapter is reprinted from an article by Mr. Gaddis, "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle", in the February 1964 Argosy. The article elicited a large and enthusiastic response from the magazine's readers. Perhaps the most interesting letter, which appeared in the May 1964 of Argosy's "Back Talk" section, recounts a mysterious and frightening incident in an aircraft flying over the area in 1944.

Theories
Countless theories attempting to explain the many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be environmental and those citing human error. The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features.

It has been said that the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this is the case and a compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble.

Another environmental factor is the character of the Gulf Stream. It is extremely swift and turbulent and can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster. The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather pattern also plays its role. Sudden local thunder storms and water spouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. Finally, the topography of the ocean floor varies from extensive shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the interaction of the strong currents over the many reefs the topography is in a state of constant flux and development of new navigational hazards is swift. Not to be under estimated is the human error factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the waters between Florida's Gold Coast and the Bahamas. All too often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, insufficient knowledge of the area's hazards, and a lack of good seamanship.