Disaster Off Martha's Vineyard

[I will speak about this disastrous shipwreck at Tales of Cape Cod on Monday May 19, 2014 in Barnstable, MA.  Here's a link to a YouTube video of my talk!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KzUo-JDe2k&feature=youtu.be]

This dramatic tale lives on.  The shipwreck took place off Gay Head in the brutal winter of 1884, and it lives on in Vineyard lore.  More than a hundred innocent souls died due to a confluence of errors and miscues where common sense and following orders were absent without leave.

John Hough suggested I write this book, even though his grandfather had written Disaster Off Devil's Bridge about the same ship, a half century ago.  I had access to internet research, and I was fortunate to meet the man who discovered the sunken wreck, in the summer of 2000.  It's a very dramatic tale.

The author reading Disaster Off Martha's Vineyard. (Photo by Robert Aldrin)

Good reviews  whet the appetite of the curious.  Here's  a great piece on Disaster Off Martha's Vineyard by Mark Lovewell, of the Vineyard Gazette.  
Read the review in the Vineyard Gazette.









And here's the link to an interview with Mindy Todd on WCAI on the book, Disaster Off Martha's Vineyard: http://www.capeandislands.org/post/recalling-tragic-shipwreck-marthas-vineyard

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The dramatic story of a shipwreck off the shores of Martha's Vineyard resonates decades after the event.  Tidbits of information surface every now and again, making the story a vivid reminder of the dangers of the seas.  As noted in the foreword, by Matthew Stackpole, the key element to the success of an ocean venture is a capable crew.  Read Disaster Off Martha's Vineyard to learn the damage wrought by crew members who failed to pursue the best elements of their profession.