GLOUCESTER MARITIME HERITAGE CENTER

HOSTS LIVE BROADCAST FROM HISTORIC SHIPWRECK

Join NOAA scientists and Archeologists from the National Undersea Research Center at the University of Connecticut and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary on Saturday, July 15, 2006 at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center as they explore the shipwreck of the coal schooners Frank A. Palmer and Louise B. Crary via a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). 30 minute live boradcasts from the shipwreck will take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in both the Heritage Center’s auditorium and boatshop.

In December 1902, the Frank A. Palmer and the Louise B. Crary collided in Massachusetts Bay and sank in over 300 feet of water. Eleven sailors perished as a result of the event. Today the schooners sit upwright on the seafloor touching at their bows in the same orientation in which they came together. Each vessel measures over 260 feet in length and is remarkably intact. Recently, the shipwreck was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in American history.

The broadcast will be part of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Celebration at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, which highlights the natural and historical resources of New England’s only national marine sanctuary. The Celebration will also include divers participating in the Great Annual Fish Count, an international program that encourages divers and snorkelers to indentify and count fish in local waters.