What happened
On August 6, 1848, the Royal Navy frigate HMS Daedalus was sailing toward St. Helena, several hundred kilometers off the coast of present-day Namibia. Captain Peter M'Quhae and several officers saw a huge animal swimming at a steady speed with its head raised about 1.2 meters above the water. The visible part of the body measured at least 18 meters and was about 40 cm in diameter; it was dark brown with a lighter throat, and on its back was something like a horse's mane or a clump of seaweed. Its jaws were said to be full of large, jagged teeth. The animal remained in sight for 20 minutes and passed so close that the captain claimed he would have recognized the features of a man he knew. The Admiralty requested a report, which “The Times” published in October 1848, sparking a heated debate.
Witnesses
Captain Peter M'Quhae, officers of the frigate and several crew members.
Explanations and hypotheses
Anatomist Richard Owen concluded that the sailors had seen a swimming elephant seal or another large seal, which M'Quhae firmly denied. Other hypotheses include a giant squid swimming just below the surface, a floating log with seaweed or a fin whale seen from an unfavorable angle. In 2023, Karl Brandt proposed that some famous sea serpents may have been harpooned sperm whales towing capsized whaleboats with lines and wreckage trailing behind them. The Daedalus report remains one of the most seriously regarded sea serpent accounts.
Unexplained There is no convincing explanation.
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