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Four Short Blasts: The Great Gale of 1898 and the Loss of the Steamer Portland
Four Short Blasts The Great Gale of 1898 and the Loss of the Steamer Portland Author:Peter Dow Bachelder, Mason Philip Smith The greal gale of November 1898 ravaged the New England coast from Connecticut to Maine. Over 500 lives were lost to the storm and hundreds of vessels, large and small, disappeared beneath the ocean or were cast up on the shoreline. The largest loss of life, 192 passengers and crew, was aboard the 280-foot, white hulled, steamer Portland which d... more »isappeared on its regular run from Boston to Portland, Maine. At the time it was the largest shipwreck in New England history. Over the years the mystery of the vessels disappearance left many haunting questions as to why the vessel sailed, when was it last seen. he book relives the storm, from its inception through its lingering after effects. It views many of the tragic maritime disasters that took place during the gale throug the eyes of the network of intrepid Live Saving Service crews who single-handedly saved 133 lives of imperiled mariners, often in the face of tremendous odds. This Discovery Edition contains a special appaendix of words and images about the 2002 discovery of the actual wreckage of the Portland on the Steelwagen Bank in Massachuetts Bay and includes both side-scan radar and still images of the wreck of the Portland. The book and co-author Mason Philip Smith were recently featured on the History Channel show "Deep Sea Detectives, which dealt with the loss of the Portland and the 2002 discovery of the ship's wreckage.« less