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It was almost a disaster on the scale of the RMS Titanic. But instead of a tremendous loss of life, 1,644 passengers on the luxury Italian liner SS Andrea Doria were saved before it sank to its watery grave.
Now 68 years later, this upcoming spectacular event is your chance to meet survivors, view recovered artifacts from this glamorous ocean liner, view films and propel a restored Andrea Doria lifeboat. On July 24–26, the U.S. Lightship Museum, owner of Nantucket Lightship/LV-112, and Mark Koch, owner of the restored SS Andrea Doria’s Lifeboat No. 1, will host “Celebrating Lifesavers at Sea” on the 68th anniversary of the collision of the SS Andrea Doria and the MS Stockholm and the Andrea Doria's sinking July 25–26, 1956. The collision occurred off Nantucket Shoals within the North Atlantic shipping lanes between the United States and Europe,
JULY 24: This major three-day event will begin at the Battery Wharf Hotel on the Boston waterfront (note new venue!) on Wednesday, July 24, 5pm–9pm, featuring a reception (hearty hors d'oeuvres, live music, cash bar), PBS film "The Sinking of the Andrea Doria," presentations by John Moyer, a renowned underwater explorer, and the chance to hear the harrowing stories of eight survivors of the 1956 collision, who are coming to our event from around the country. Due to the extraordinary lifesaving response from 25 ships, the disaster became known as "the greatest sea rescue in peacetime" — saving 1,644 passengers in the dead of night. The event will serve as a fundraiser for the restoration and preservation of Nantucket Lightship/LV-112, which provided communications support during the disastrous episode.
JULY 25 & 26: FREE EVENT: On Thursday and Friday, the event primarily will take place at the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina in East Boston. Among highlights are a memorial service for the 51 passengers who died in the collision, a U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter demonstration in Boston Harbor, displays of Andrea Doria artifacts and underwater exploration equipment, and the opportunity to board the Andrea Doria Lifeboat No. 1 while secured to the dock. On Thursday evening at the Battery Wharf Hotel, the film "Andrea Doria: Are the Passengers Saved?" will be shown by survivor, author and award-winning filmmaker Pierette Domenica Simpson, who also will lead a Q&A discussion with seven other survivors.
Once-in-a-lifetime experience ... Propel an Andrea Doria lifeboat!
The event on July 25 and 26 includes a harbor excursion in a historic lifeboat, with passengers experiencing what it was like at sea, manually propelling one of the Andrea Doria’s actual lifeboats, fortunately with the absence of the horrific conditions its passengers experienced during the 1956 tragedy. Seats are limited, so reserve now. For more details and to make reservations for "Celebrating Lifesavers at Sea," click here.
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