Bel Amica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bel Amica is a ghost ship discovered off the coast of island of Sardinia near Punta Volpe on August 24, 2006. The Italian Coast Guard discovered the ship without having any apparent crew on board. The crew embarked upon the vessel and steered it away from heading into rocks and shallow waters. Once inside the ship, they discovered a half-eaten meal of Egyptian food, French maps of North African seas, a pile of clothes, and the flag of Luxembourg.
The ship has been described as a "classic style" schooner never seen in Italy before.[1] It also was found never to have been registered in Italy nor any other country as the investigation was being done. The only identification aboard the ship was a wooden tablet or "plaque" as described in some papers that read "Bel Amica", or "Good Friend". The interesting thing about this name for the ship is that it is misspelled, missing an additional "L" to read this phrase in modern Italian.[2]
Shortly after the original reports, Italian newspapers reported the owner had been found. Franc Rouayrux, from Luxembourg, was identified as the owner of the vessel. It had been left anchored in deep water for somewhat nebulous reasons, and the owner stated that he had expected to return to the yacht after returning home to address an emergency. The Italian press reported that an attempt to avoid steep taxation of luxury vessels may have been involved.[3]
Many reports at the time identified the Bel Amica as a schooner. This term is frequently associated with sailing ships from the pre-steamship era; however, it is simply a technical name for the layout of the sails. Schooners of many sizes are in current production. The misidentification of this modern yacht as an antique ship deepened the mystery and probably contributed to the brief international interest at the time.
