On July 20th, 1968, a fishing boat named El Fausto set off from La Palma Island in the Canary Islands with four crew members: three experienced fishermen and a fourth man, Julio, who had hitched a ride to get home to his sick daughter. After a successful trip to El Hierro Island and a night in port, the crew set off for La Palma but never arrived. An extensive search effort was launched, and four days later, a British ship, Dukesa, found the crew alive but adrift 120 miles off course. However, the crew refused to be towed to shore, despite being offered help.
After receiving supplies, the crew sailed off, but they vanished over the horizon, and their disappearance sparked a massive search operation. Two months later, an Italian ship, Anna Demaio, found El Fausto, but there was no one on board. Two sailors from the Italian ship discovered a dead body in the engine room, later identified as Julio, and a notebook with cryptic messages. The notebook's middle section was missing, leaving many questions unanswered.
Theories about the crew's disappearance include a series of setbacks, panic, and bad decision-making, as well as more sinister explanations such as abduction or illegal trafficking. The case remains a mystery, with the missing 28 pages from the notebook potentially holding the key to what happened to El Fausto and its crew.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. On July 20th, 1968, a small fishing boat called El Fausto set off from La Palma Island in the Canary Islands.
2. There were three experienced fishermen and sailors on board: Ramon and Aliberto Hernandez, and their cousin Miguel Acosta.
3. The boat was headed to El Hierro, another island about 50 miles to the south.
4. The trip to El Hierro was uneventful and took about seven hours.
5. The crew arrived at the port in the early evening hours and unloaded their cargo, which included explosives used in agriculture.
6. After unloading, the three men went to get food and relax before returning to the dock to prepare to leave.
7. As they were preparing to leave, a man named Julio Garcia approached them, frantically waving and asking for help.
8. Julio told them that his wife had called him earlier that day, saying their two-year-old daughter was very sick, and he needed to get home right away.
9. The crew of El Fausto agreed to take Julio with them, and they set sail for La Palma at around 2:30 in the morning on July 21st.
10. The return trip was calm, with only a light mist forming over the water in the early morning hours.
11. Despite the calm conditions, the crew of El Fausto failed to arrive at La Palma on schedule.
12. A search boat was sent to look for them, but they were not found.
13. The owner of the boat contacted authorities, and a formal search and rescue effort was launched.
14. On July 25th, four days after El Fausto left El Hierro, a British ship called Dukesa spotted the boat drifting in the water.
15. The crew of Dukesa found the four men on board, including Julio, and offered to tow them to shore.
16. However, the men refused, saying their boat was fine and they just needed some supplies.
17. The crew of Dukesa gave them food, water, cigarettes, and fuel, and watched as they sailed off towards La Palma.
18. However, the men failed to arrive at La Palma, and a massive search effort was launched.
19. Two months later, an Italian merchant ship called Anna DEMAIO spotted El Fausto drifting in the water.
20. The crew of Anna DEMAIO boarded El Fausto and found a dead man in the engine room, partially mummified and clutching a transistor radio.
21. The dead man was later identified as Julio Garcia, and a notebook found on the boat was confirmed to be his.
22. The notebook contained a farewell message from Julio to his wife, as well as instructions on how to access his insurance policy and sell his properties.
23. The notebook also mentioned that Julio had known he was going to die and had written a detailed description of what happened to him and the other crew members.
24. However, 28 pages of the notebook were missing, leaving many questions unanswered.
25. The ship was later towed to Venezuela, but it suddenly sank before it could be examined further.
26. The case of El Fausto remains a mystery, with many theories about what happened to the crew, including abduction, illegal trafficking, and seeing something they shouldn't have.