1949 — Aug 26, gale, scallop dragger Gay Head hits shoal/shatters off Nantucket MA — 11

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 8-9-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–11  Fairhaven Neighborhood News, MA. “Photos of fishing boats/people sought for ‘Lost…”[1]

–11  Lost Fishermen From The Port Of New Bedford. “Gay Head.” Accessed 8-9-2024.

Narrative Information

Lost Fishermen From The Port Of New Bedford. “Gay Head.”

“8/26/1949 

“The scallop dragger Gay Head was returning to Fairhaven with a full catch when she struck a shoal during a heavy gale and was instantly shattered by the heavy seas off Nantucket, giving the crew no opportunity to escape. She had last been sighted that morning by the Jerry and Jimmy about 30 miles east of the Nantucket Lightship.

“The dragger Southern Cross sighted wreckage off Wasque buoy, and the Coast Guard tug Arundel searched the scene. The wreckage, found on Muskeget Shoal, was landed at the State Pier in New Bedford, where the owner, Captain Daniel F. Mullins, identified it. No trace of the crew members was ever found. One of the crew members, Kenneth Warne, was the nephew of Captain Karl Haakonsen.”

[List of Crewmen]

Jacob Helgesen

Karl Haakonsen

Hans Johansen

Sivert Pettersen

Peter Apeland

Douglas Cline

William Dunn

Terge Pedersen

Lewis Tripp

Kenneth Warne

Ranyald Abelsen”

Newspapers

Aug 31, AP: “New Bedford, Aug. 31 (AP) – A 70-foot scallop dragger, carrying a crew of 11, which was at sea during Monday’s gale, was listed as overdue today. The vessel, the Gay Head, was last reported off Nantucket lightship Monday morning, apparently heading back to New Bedford with a full trip of fish.” (Associated Press. “New Bedford.” The Lowell Sun, MA. 8-31-1949, p. 1.)

Sep 3, INS: “New Bedford, Mass. (INS). Coast Guard air and surface craft continued a hunt off the Massachusetts coast today for a New Bedford scallop dragger missing since Monday. The dragger Gay Head was last seen before the tail end of the Florida hurricane struck the area Monday.” (INS. “Hust Is Continued For Scallop Dragger.” Newburyport Daily News, MA. 9-3-1949, p. 2.)

Sources

Associated Press. “New Bedford.” The Lowell Sun, MA. 8-31-1949, p. 1. Accessed 8-9-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-sun-aug-31-1949-p-25/

Fairhaven Neighborhood News, MA. “Photos of fishing boats/people sought for ‘Lost Fishermen’.” 4-14-2016, p. 13. Accessed 8-9-2024 at: https://www.fairhavenneighborhoodnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/04-14-16-HealthFair.pdf

INS. “Hust Is Continued For Scallop Dragger.” Newburyport Daily News, MA. 9-3-1949, p. 2. Accessed 8-9-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburyport-daily-news-and-newburyport-herald-sep-03-1949-p-2/

Lost Fishermen From The Port Of New Bedford. “Gay Head.” Accessed 8-9-2024 at:

https://www.lostfishermen.com/vessel/45/Gay%20Head

[1] Lists the name of the boat as “Gayhead.”