The Sea Monster of HMS Daedalus is an alleged cryptid that was said to have been observed by a British military ship in the southeast Atlantic Ocean in 1848. On August 6, 1848, around 5:00 PM, the corvette HMS Daedalus, returning from New Zealand, sailed in the waters between the Cape of Good Hope and the island of Saint Helena. Midshipman Sartoris alerted the officers on the ship’s quarterdeck that he had seen something unusual crossing their course.
Description
Captain Peter M’Quhae and two officers were able to observe an enormous creature they had never seen before. In the official report to the Admiralty, the captain described the animal as a huge serpent, with the head and shoulders constantly held above the water surface for at least 3.9 feet, a body roughly the size of the mainmast cage spar, and at least 60 feet of which held just above the water, unused, as they felt, for movement, neither vertically nor horizontally. At least another 30-40 feet would be immersed.
The diameter of the body was estimated to be about 16 inches. When it opened its mouth, equipped with many large and serrated teeth, it could be imagined that a man could stand upright in it. The animal swiftly passed at about 15 knots (17 mph), but so close downwind that if it had been a man of his acquaintance, he would have surely recognized him with the naked eye. It had no fins, but something like the mane of a horse or a mass of scattered algae on its back.
The head was snake-like. The captain did everything to chase the being, but it continued in the opposite direction. First Officer Edgar Atheling Drummond sketched the serpent and noted some other aspects in his diary, such as the presence of a black fin moved back about 20 feet, a long, pointed head flattened on top, and the jaw projecting considerably forward.
The upper parts were dark brown, and the lower ones were whitish-brownish. The animal followed a constant course without deviations, keeping its head horizontal and quite raised above the water surface, occasionally disappearing under the waves for a very short time, and this movement apparently was not linked to any need to breathe. It resembled a large snake or an eel. He claimed that no one on the ship had ever seen anything like it.
It remained visible to the naked eye for at least 5 minutes, and with a telescope, for at least another 15. The day was very cloudy and stormy, and the sea was rough. An account from 1858 by an anonymous officer added that the creature was no less than 590 feet from the ship, with water flowing under its chest, and it was in sight for about 10 minutes, during which the eyes, snout, nostrils, color, and shape were distinctly visible.
On October 10, The Times newspaper published an article on the event. The London Illustrated News greeted the incident as a new testimony to the existence of the great sea serpent, also featuring some engravings commissioned by Captain M’Quhae for an illustrator. The event caused quite a stir, with mixed reactions and even parliamentary inquiries into the appropriateness of a Royal Navy officer making such a report public.
Explanations
The first and immediate attempt to explain the incident was made by Sir Richard Owen, who stated that it was simply a sea elephant swimming in open water. Obviously, the hypothesis was vehemently rejected by the captain, arguing that what they witnessed was clearly something else. More recently, in light of Officer Drummond’s observation and his drawing, G. J. Galbreath believes it could have been a sighting of a baleen whale feeding on the surface with its mouth wide open.