Mary Celeste and the limits of a plausible explanation

What might explain the disappearance of everyone aboard Mary Celeste?

An alcohol-vapour scare and failed evacuation is possible, but the evidence is too incomplete to know.

Certainty is impossible because Mary Celeste remained broadly functional while everyone aboard disappeared. One plausible mechanism is a flash or feared explosion from alcohol vapour in the cargo, prompting the crew to launch the boat and stand off temporarily. Rough weather or a failed tow could then prevent their return. Yet an orderly boat launch and the lack of surviving witnesses leave the sequence unprovable. The case shows the difference between constructing a mechanism that fits some evidence and possessing enough evidence to call it the historical solution.