It makes sense that quite a few people have a fear of deep, dark, open waters. Plenty of creepy crawlers lurk beneath the surface of our oceans, lakes, and seas, and the thought of that alone gives me the chills.
But if that doesn’t faze you, we prepared a whole list of unsettling things that people witnessed while working at sea. Scroll down to find them below, and be sure to share your own unexpected open water discoveries in the comments.
While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with a marine biologist, education expert, and conservationist, Melissa Cristina Márquez, who kindly agreed to share some things about her profession and the mysterious open waters.
#1
400 metre container ship doing night rounds in the engine room gets awfully eerie. Ships creak and make a lot of weird noises and when you’re alone down there in a big cathedral of machinery you start seeing and imagining weird things. So one day I’m just finishing up and I’m about to open a door when the wheel suddenly flies around and it bursts open revealing a ghostly apparition in the passageway which lunges towards me.
Anyway the next day I’m in front of the captain explaining why I punched the 3rd engineer because he had been sleeping in the duty cabin and wandered down to raid the control room fridge wrapped in the bed duvet.
Spooky stuff.
Anyway the next day I’m in front of the captain explaining why I punched the 3rd engineer because he had been sleeping in the duty cabin and wandered down to raid the control room fridge wrapped in the bed duvet.
Spooky stuff.
180points
#2
Maybe it's just me but on still clear nights the stars are above you in the sky then they are reflected beneath you in the water and you lose the horizon and you are floating in space you can lose yourself in that place.
154points
#3
My dad was in a small flotilla of minesweepers in WW2, off the coast of Iceland. They were in the middle of a sweep. They passed a downed and floating german aircraft, with a pilot frantically waving to them for rescue. They had to sail right past and leave him to his fate, because of the very real possibility of u-boats. Fast forward 65 years, and my dad wept on his death bed about leaving the poor guy to die in the icy Atlantic waters.
112points
Marine biologist, science education expert, and conservationist Melissa Cristina Márquez tells Bored Panda that her curiosity about the unknown led her to the exploration of open waters.
"I’ve always been fascinated by the unknown, and the ocean is one of the last great frontiers on our planet. My interest really took hold when I realized how many questions remain unanswered about the creatures that call it home, especially sharks. That curiosity led me to become a marine biologist and science communicator focused on sharing the wonders of the open sea," she shares.
#4
My sister worked on a commercial fishing boat in the Bering Sea. The captain would often get drunk and one night she could hear the girlfriend screaming as if she was being attacked. My sister was armed and charged in and literally mutinied the captain. They called for the coast guard who took him into custody.
My sister still has PTSD from it. With no backup and close quarters, it was really a dangerous situation but I am proud of her.
My sister still has PTSD from it. With no backup and close quarters, it was really a dangerous situation but I am proud of her.
102points
#5
Step-dad built and chartered 40 foot boats to go fishing in the shallow ocean and deep sea fishing. Past the continental drop off, where you fish Mahi Mahi and king mackerel and stuff.
Group books a trip, group is remembering a deceased friend who wants his ashes spread in the deep sea.
They leave the docks. Once land disappeared, a small black cloud formed above their boat. It got bigger and bigger, darker, and louder. But it only stayed above their boat. Blue skies around, but above their boat was a very dark and pissed off cloud.
The cloud follows them, thundering, making equipment go haywire (20 years ago, for what its worth). My step dad said "we are here, throw this angry mother over.' They spread his ashes. He said "the minute they spread his ashes, the thundering stopped, and within 5 minutes, the sky was perfectly clear."
He is not one to believe in spooky stuff, but he said "I had no explanation other than that son of a b***h was pissed off about being dead.".
Group books a trip, group is remembering a deceased friend who wants his ashes spread in the deep sea.
They leave the docks. Once land disappeared, a small black cloud formed above their boat. It got bigger and bigger, darker, and louder. But it only stayed above their boat. Blue skies around, but above their boat was a very dark and pissed off cloud.
The cloud follows them, thundering, making equipment go haywire (20 years ago, for what its worth). My step dad said "we are here, throw this angry mother over.' They spread his ashes. He said "the minute they spread his ashes, the thundering stopped, and within 5 minutes, the sky was perfectly clear."
He is not one to believe in spooky stuff, but he said "I had no explanation other than that son of a b***h was pissed off about being dead.".
91points
#6
The only time I was ever on a ship was actually a cargo ship and it was for a program for my business class. Basically you got to shadow several people and see a products full journey. Like I started at a farm, went to a trucking depot, then a dry goods wear house, then a cargo yard, then finally a cargo ship to China (can't get off the ship when it gets there so that was the end), then catch a ride back on another cargo ship. Trip was very informative. The creepy thing tho was it's 6am and the ship blades it's horn. We are out somewhere in the pacific and then slows down over the next 20 minutes. I made my way up to the guy that was doing the program and he's talking to the captain and the captain is clearly pretty freaked out. This is the absolute middle of no where and there's a tiny coral island with no trees or vegetation just a f**k load of birds...... and a cargo container next to a tent. The ship is hardly moving at this point and the captain calls out over a mega phone to see if anyone is there. After a minute a guy who's clean shaven but wearing clothes worn to rags island a deep deep tan wobbles out of the cargo container. Captain yells out if the guy needs help. He says something but they can't hear it. A guy volunteered to go out to him on an inflatable boat. He climbs down the rope, gets on the boat, meanwhile the guy is just sitting on a bucket. He goes all the way over within 20ft of the guy. They talk for a few minutes and he comes back. Climbs the ladder, and goes to the captain. Captain asks what the guys said.
Guy goes "he said he's good"
Guy gave no info, no plans, had no food but dried fish and some water distilling thing, is out 100s of miles from another living person, has no boat, and says "I'm good".
Guy goes "he said he's good"
Guy gave no info, no plans, had no food but dried fish and some water distilling thing, is out 100s of miles from another living person, has no boat, and says "I'm good".
87points
What she enjoys most about her profession is the fact that no two days are the same. "One day I might be in the field tagging sharks, the next I’m talking to students or writing about new discoveries, and the next I'm diving deep into shark folklore centuries old. I love that my work lets me connect people to the ocean and spark a sense of wonder and stewardship."
#7
I work on a deepwater drilling rig. We use a remote operated sub for all of our subsea work. We are commonly in 6-8,000’ of water. The things I’ve seen from the subsea video is wild. Like sea creatures I’ve never seen before in books. It’s crazy to see what lives in water that deep.
85points
#8
I was with my grandfather fishing off the coast of Oregon. A whale surfaced under us and lifted the whole 50’ boat out of the water. A big black eye was looking right at us. Grandpa reached over and petted it. I about passed out.
77points
#9
So it's actually pretty common. But you'll see 'ghost vessels' boats that are undamaged but have no souls on board. In the middle and I mean MIDDLE of the sea.
The reason for these tend to be pretty dull, they are normally people private boats they've had bad weather and snapped their lines and just drifted.
Still is creepy when one goes past in the middle of the night hundreds of miles from land.
The reason for these tend to be pretty dull, they are normally people private boats they've had bad weather and snapped their lines and just drifted.
Still is creepy when one goes past in the middle of the night hundreds of miles from land.
75points
As Melissa already mentioned, the open waters are surrounded by mystery, so we were curious to know what, in her opinion, people might not realize or get wrong about our oceans and seas.
"Most people don’t realize how connected everything is out there. What happens in one part of the ocean can ripple across the globe, whether it’s a change in temperature, a shift in currents, or the migration of animals. It’s a giant, dynamic system! Beautiful, but also fragile."
#10
Down in the Caribbean, there was a 90 ft commercial fishing vessel sitting on top of a 100’ cliff where it had been tossed like a tubby toy during a hurricane. Hurricanes don’t f**k around. .
75points
#11
You'll expect otherwise, but I've seen more people drown that I would consider reasonable. It's always the same cycle. People get overconfident and don't bother wearing protection (PPE). then one day someone slips and falls to the water, survival depends on the weather. Port reacts like a beehive. Suddenly, everyone is hyper aware of PPE, but one month later, everyone has forgotten, and no one wants to bother with the tedious process of properly fitting a life jacket... until someone falls again later and we repeat the loop.
71points
#12
On a drill ship off the coast of Nigeria. One evening the entire surface of the ocean was covered with jellyfish as far as the eye could see. An hour or two later they were all gone.
69points
"People often think of the open ocean as empty or lifeless, just vast blue nothingness. But it’s actually teeming with life, much of it invisible to the naked eye," she adds.
"From microscopic plankton to massive whales, it’s a buzzing hub of activity. Just because we can’t always see it doesn’t mean it’s not there."
#13
A drinking buddy of mine has been a commercial fisherman for years. One day I asked him what was the creepiest thing he ever pulled up in his nets. His answer: "a woman's hand, cut off at the wrist, with her wedding set still on her finger.".
65points
#14
We had crocodiles and sharks circling our boat at the same time while we were processing the fish and throwing the guts overboard. That wasnt necessarily creepy but was definitely exhilirating. Captain said he's seen the crocs wait between the dinghy and the main boat to snap you when you hop onto the dinghy.
Tropical seas are a whole different beast. Everything in that water is dangerous in some way.
Edit: was in northern Australian coastal waters since several people asked.
Tropical seas are a whole different beast. Everything in that water is dangerous in some way.
Edit: was in northern Australian coastal waters since several people asked.
64points
#15
Having to rescue crew members in the engine room after a steam pipe burst during cleaning. Seeing your coworkers' flesh melt before your very eyes as you desperately try to get them out of there. The screams and the smell.
64points
Lastly, before signing off, Melissa wanted to remind people that we protect what we understand. "The more we learn about the open ocean, the more we realize how vital it is. Not just for marine life but for human life too. I hope readers walk away with a bit more awe and a bit more motivation to help safeguard it."
#16
I spent a summer on a fish processing vessel about 2/3 of the way out on the Aleutian island chain in Alaska. Most of the way to Russia.
We were buying fish from a large tender, and some of the older hands on my processor boat were grumbling. I asked why and they told me a story.
Turns out the year before, there been a fire on the boat I was serving on, and this fire occurred while they were tied up to the same tender we were buying fish from right now.
When the guys on the tender saw smoke coming up from our boat, they took axes and cut the lines instead of getting our guys onto their boat.
A fire at sea is one of the worst things imaginable.
Those pricks cut our boat loose without rescuing any of the crew. A year later, my bosses were still doing business with them. If I was in charge, I would’ve told them to go screw.
Nobody on my processor, boat was hurt, but it could’ve gone the other way very easily. And the guys on the tender would’ve just watched it happen. oh, probably would’ve called into the Coast Guard, but otherwise: best of luck!
It speaks to the intense greed of the commercial fishing industry.
We were buying fish from a large tender, and some of the older hands on my processor boat were grumbling. I asked why and they told me a story.
Turns out the year before, there been a fire on the boat I was serving on, and this fire occurred while they were tied up to the same tender we were buying fish from right now.
When the guys on the tender saw smoke coming up from our boat, they took axes and cut the lines instead of getting our guys onto their boat.
A fire at sea is one of the worst things imaginable.
Those pricks cut our boat loose without rescuing any of the crew. A year later, my bosses were still doing business with them. If I was in charge, I would’ve told them to go screw.
Nobody on my processor, boat was hurt, but it could’ve gone the other way very easily. And the guys on the tender would’ve just watched it happen. oh, probably would’ve called into the Coast Guard, but otherwise: best of luck!
It speaks to the intense greed of the commercial fishing industry.
63points
#17
Out of sight of land when the water suddenly went glass-smooth as the sun was setting, and a crew member got floor psychosis and was fighting to step off the back swim deck onto the “floor” ie the surface of the ocean he was convinced was actually land. He had to be handcuffed to a bunk and forcefed valium and we turned back to drop him off to the nearest port while he screamed about how the boat wan’t real. If he had bolted even a few seconds earlier he would have likely died.
60points
#18
Prior Navy here, saw a few intense things during that time but this was afterwards doing a security job. Navy stuff is mostly just injuries and stuff like that.
I'll start by saying I'm not a superstitious person, not religious, don't believe aliens are here on earth or anything like that. I'm a game designer and engineering masters degree student. I believe in what can be proven through science... but maybe believe science hasn't explained everything yet. (Empirically it hasn't explained everything yet.) But I have no worldly explanation for this story.
The post was basically a firewatch; stay up all night, do rounds to make sure the ship doesn't sink or catch fire. Ship was in port for a major overhaul. They had completely ripped out the wiring and the old "all hands" P.A. system for modernization. The old one was your typical megaphone looking loud speakers mounted to bulkheads throughout the ship. The loudspeakers themselves were still attached to the walls, but the wiring was literally cut and the system itself was completely gone.
Around 3am one night I heard the all hands whistle (imagine your typical boatswain whistle) and then some mumbling like someone was trying to talk through the speakers. I was a little confused because I could clearly see the cut wires and I knew I was alone on the ship. But I chalked it up to possibly interference in the magnetic speakers picking up radio waves or something like that.
On my next rounds I discovered a shipyard worker had left a soldering iron on and it had practically melted a whole in the deck; not a fire, but a bright red spot and some smoking. I called it in and it was handled by the shipyard damage control people.
In the morning when the crew arrived I was discussing it with a member of the crew assigned to be the OOD for the day. When he asked if anything else had happened overnight I casually brought up the weird experience with the loudspeaker incident as a joke. He responded completely deadpan that it was the former XO of the ship who apparently dropped dead at the intercom station. He said they'd experienced it a few times before and it always preceded some kind of incident that could have gotten a crew member injured or endangered the ship.
I wasn't sure if he was messing with me or if this was just typical sailor superstition that I've experienced before. So I was just polite about it and acted surprised/impressed.
Fast forward a few shifts later and I get the whistle and weird crackling again. So out of pure paranoia I decide to start my next rounds early. Sure enough, the seawater coolant system in the engine room is leaking into the compartment. Not a large leak, but if left unchecked who knows what damage could have been done.
About a year later I ran into that same officer and he told me the captain had requested the old loudspeakers be left up even though they were disconnected. He said he'd left the crew shortly after those incidents so he wasn't aware of any new cases.
I've never had anything like this happen before or since, but I still think about it all the time. I keep telling myself there's a logical explanation and it's just a weird coincidence... but I can't shake the eerie feeling from it all.
I'll start by saying I'm not a superstitious person, not religious, don't believe aliens are here on earth or anything like that. I'm a game designer and engineering masters degree student. I believe in what can be proven through science... but maybe believe science hasn't explained everything yet. (Empirically it hasn't explained everything yet.) But I have no worldly explanation for this story.
The post was basically a firewatch; stay up all night, do rounds to make sure the ship doesn't sink or catch fire. Ship was in port for a major overhaul. They had completely ripped out the wiring and the old "all hands" P.A. system for modernization. The old one was your typical megaphone looking loud speakers mounted to bulkheads throughout the ship. The loudspeakers themselves were still attached to the walls, but the wiring was literally cut and the system itself was completely gone.
Around 3am one night I heard the all hands whistle (imagine your typical boatswain whistle) and then some mumbling like someone was trying to talk through the speakers. I was a little confused because I could clearly see the cut wires and I knew I was alone on the ship. But I chalked it up to possibly interference in the magnetic speakers picking up radio waves or something like that.
On my next rounds I discovered a shipyard worker had left a soldering iron on and it had practically melted a whole in the deck; not a fire, but a bright red spot and some smoking. I called it in and it was handled by the shipyard damage control people.
In the morning when the crew arrived I was discussing it with a member of the crew assigned to be the OOD for the day. When he asked if anything else had happened overnight I casually brought up the weird experience with the loudspeaker incident as a joke. He responded completely deadpan that it was the former XO of the ship who apparently dropped dead at the intercom station. He said they'd experienced it a few times before and it always preceded some kind of incident that could have gotten a crew member injured or endangered the ship.
I wasn't sure if he was messing with me or if this was just typical sailor superstition that I've experienced before. So I was just polite about it and acted surprised/impressed.
Fast forward a few shifts later and I get the whistle and weird crackling again. So out of pure paranoia I decide to start my next rounds early. Sure enough, the seawater coolant system in the engine room is leaking into the compartment. Not a large leak, but if left unchecked who knows what damage could have been done.
About a year later I ran into that same officer and he told me the captain had requested the old loudspeakers be left up even though they were disconnected. He said he'd left the crew shortly after those incidents so he wasn't aware of any new cases.
I've never had anything like this happen before or since, but I still think about it all the time. I keep telling myself there's a logical explanation and it's just a weird coincidence... but I can't shake the eerie feeling from it all.
59points
#19
My dad was fishing in his wee speed boat off Vancouver island. He decided to travel out over the ocean to try his luck far away from his usual run. He was at it for a few hours when suddenly in his peripheral vision he spotted what he thought was an old man,bobbing up from behind his boat. He turned abruptly but the man was gone. He stared around the near ocean surface for a minute hoping to never see him again, when gurgling up from the depths appeared the biggest grey faced sea lion he has ever seen.
58points
#20
I had a humpback whale surface on the side of the Race Yacht I was delivering up east coast Australia. I rub along him and it caused $100k in gelcoat damage. He blew his blowhole and I got covered in whale snot... Well stink water anyway.
55points