April 2025

On March 15, Boston resident Chase Collins proposed marriage to the surprise of his girlfriend, Brianna Dissler, on board Nantucket Lightship/LV-112, during a Boston cityscape sunset.

Chase and Brianna met at college in Virginia. After graduating, they both moved to Boston in January, and Chase knew he wanted to take the next step — propose to Brianna right here in Boston. Congratulations to Chase and Brianna! Chase shared the following with us:

“I spent over a month traveling around the state trying to find the perfect spot to propose, but every location had something wrong with it. That was until I was walking along the water in East Boston and saw the Nantucket. I had looked at the Nantucket a few days earlier but saw that she wouldn’t be open for tours until mid-spring, but I figured I would call as a “Hail Mary.” How lucky was I that Bob (Mannino) gave me a call back the next day, saying he would be more than happy to accommodate us. I set the plan in motion, and on Saturday, March 15, 2025, as the sun was setting behind the Boston skyline, Brianna and I boarded the Nantucket — and the rest is history.

I cannot thank Bob and the Nantucket Lightship Museum (USLM) enough for being so welcoming and allowing Brianna and me to have such an amazing engagement. I hope that others can come visit the Nantucket and experience just a fraction of the magic that we did.” — Chase Collins

Chase and Brianna celebrate their engagement by ringing the 1,200-pound fog bell on LV-112’s foredeck.

Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 celebrates

her 89th birthday

The newly built, steam-powered Nantucket Lightship/LV-112, leaving her homeport of Boston, passing Boston Lightship on her way to Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station, 1936.

Nantucket/LV-112’s first Master, David B. Studley, at the helm, steering LV-112 out to sea from Boston Harbor, 1936.

Coincidently, another March celebration has taken place — Nantucket/LV-112’s 89th birthday. LV-112 was launched on March 21, 1936, from the Pusey and Jones Corporation shipyard, Wilmington, DE, under contract for the U.S. Light House Service (USLHS). The Nantucket was an active lightship for 39 years — serving the longest of any lightship on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station, established in 1854. LV-112 guided transatlantic shipping on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station her entire career, except during WWII (1942-45), when the ship was reassigned to Portland, Maine Harbor as a converted, armed examination vessel, renamed USS Nantucket. The Nantucket guarded the entrance of Portland Harbor from enemy intruders. South Portland was home to robust vital construction of WWII Liberty Ships. After WWII ended, LV-112 was restored back to its lightship configuration and returned to service. LV-112 also served two years as a Relief Lightship on the New England coast (USCG First District), 1958–60, in preparation for a USCG major refit and updating for continued service on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station, until her retirement in 1975.

LV-112 construction progress, November 6, 1935

The daughter of the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Lighthouses Harold D. King, Edith, christens Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 with a bottle of champagne at the Pusey and Jones Corp. shipyard, Wilmington, DE, March 21,1936.

After the christening, LV-112 was launched and released down the slipways into the water. LV-112 was then fitted out and completed while in the water, prior to sea trials.

An LV-112 oiler in the engine room, keeping the 600 HP compound reciprocal steam engine, with its massive connecting rods, well lubricated while the lightship is underway at sea, en route to Nantucket Shoals lightship Station, nearly 200 miles from Boston, 1936.

Nantucket Lightship/LV-112, docked at Chelsea Depot (MA), 1936. Chelsea Depot serviced the U.S. Light House Service (USLHS) lightships, buoy tenders, navigational buoys, fog bells and other lighthouse components. The USLHS merged with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. LV-112 was decommissioned at Chelsea Depot in 1975. Eastern Salt Co., Inc. presently occupies this former USLHS/USCG Depot as a storage facility and port for unloading road salt from bulk-carrier ships. Opposite the former USLHS/USCG Depot is a historic shipyard location (operational since 1631), owned by Fitzgerald Shipyard, where LV-112 goes for dry-dock servicing and restoration project work.

Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station was established in 1854 as a result of the numerous shipwrecks and lives being lost on the many miles of dangerous shallow shoals, interfering with transatlantic commerce. More than 700 shipwrecks have occurred on Nantucket Shoals and around 3,000 shipwrecks on the outer Cape Cod region, considered a graveyard of the North Atlantic (Nantucket Shoals – approx. 23 mi. x 40 mi.) becoming as shallow as 3-feet deep. MV Argo Merchant, most noted for running aground on Nantucket Shoals, December 1976, and subsequently sinking more than 24 nautical miles off her intended course, caused one of the largest marine oil spills in history. The photo shows the ill-fated oil tanker breaking apart, split in two and ravaged by the horrific pounding seas. This incident was reported as a result of an inexperienced crew and faulty navigational systems on board the Argo Merchant. As a result of the high cost of maintaining lightships and the advancements in navigational resources, the U.S Lightship Service was terminated in 1983. Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station was the last station to be discontinued, out of 116 stations located around the U.S. coastal regions, Gulf of America and Great Lakes.

Nantucket/LV-112’s 2025 visiting hours:

April 26 – October 25, Saturdays 10am – 4pm

During LV-112’s restoration, regular visiting times are limited to Saturdays. However, individual and group tours can be scheduled by appointment throughout the year, weather permitting.

In memoriam: former USCG Nantucket/LV-112

crew members and USLM volunteers —

Robert E. Burbank (1942-2025) 

Wayne P. Staltare (1947-2025)

Both Robert (Bob) Burbank (left) and Wayne Staltare were the quintessential Nantucket/LV-112 tour guides, having served on the the largest U.S. lightship ever built. Enduring frequent rough seas and heavy fog, the ship was stationed on the most remote and treacherous lightship station in the world — a notorious area with shallow water and strong currents, considered the most dangerous duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. The two veterans enjoyed sharing dramatic stories of their horrific and unique encounters with visitors on LV-112, stimulating much amazement by awestruck youth and adults during their guided tours of the historic lightship. Bob and Wayne often carpooled to LV-112 together, as they lived relatively close to each other. Both Bob and Wayne’s presence will be dearly missed.

Wayne Staltare (USCG, 1967–71)

Wayne P. Staltare "crossed the bar" on January 24, 2025. He proudly served in the USCG from 1967 to 1971, serving on LV-112 from 1967–68. Following his tour of duty in the USCG, he began a career in the restaurant industry. He later changed his career path and became a teacher in the Worcester, MA, public school system until his retirement. Born in Worcester, Wayne lived in Milford, MA. He was a graduate of Seekonk, MA, High School and also the former Worcester State College, from which he later earned his master’s degree. To view Wayne’s obituary, click here.

Looking forward on Nantucket/LV-112's weather deck, the ship approaches the crest of a large wave during hurricane-force winds while anchored on station. Click on the red arrow in the photo to view the rough conditions that many lightships battled while anchored at sea. Being anchored the farthest out to sea and the most isolated lightship in the world, Nantucket/LV-112 was subjected to the worst weather and sea conditions imaginable. Note that the ships in the video are underway and not anchored. Because lightships had to remain anchored in these types of conditions, they faced even greater risks of damage to the ship and danger to its crew, especially Nantucket Lightship. Imagine being on board during these conditions while you are trying to rest comfortably in your bed at night.

Nantucket LV-85 (c. 1920) is depicted battling rough seas, a common occurrence, during a winter storm while anchored on station, guiding ships in and out of the North Atlantic sea lanes, to and from the U.S. and Europe. Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station has a notorious reputation for horrific sea conditions and frequent blinding fog. Illustration: c. 1920, unknown origin, provided by Ron Janard

Wayne also liked to write and wrote about a dramatic and unforgettable incident that he experienced on Nantucket Lightship. Click here to read his full story about his experience on LV-112 (also known as WLV-534). The following is a passage from his story: 



“…The Nantucket Lightship was the first of four assigned duty stations in my four-year tour of service in the U.S. Coast Guard. It was also the only place and time I ever encountered giant waves that glorious and magnificent. I did encounter rough seas many times after, [but) that first “10 Minutes” is what I will always remember best. The sight of that giant wall of water during that encounter on that unforgettable day will always remain imprinted on my mind. That day left me with a humbling effect; the awareness that humans are simply shorttime visitors and that nature can at any time in a simple breath sweep us away, became a reality. From my very youngest memories the ocean has always been my favorite place, this feeling has never left me. After that encounter I learned to always observe caution and respect for that great amazing wonder we refer to as the sea. — Wayne Staltare, WLV-534 (LV-112), Fall 1967–April 1968

Bob Burbank (USCG, 1959–63 )

Robert E. Burbank crossed the bar on February 22, 2025. Bob also proudly served his country for four years in the USCG He was assigned to Nantucket/LV-112 for his first tour of duty from 1959–60. He had a passion for history, as evidenced by being a Civil War reenactor and long-time volunteer tour guide on his ship, LV-112. Bob was born in Worcester and graduated from Grafton High School. Upon leaving the USCG, he became a farrier (a craftsman who trims and shoes the hooves of horses), operating his business, known as “The Village Smithy,” as the self-proclaimed "equine podiatrist." His son Matt has carried on the family farrier business. To view Bob’s obituary,

click here.

Longtime supporter and USLM donor visits Nantucket/LV-112 from Colorado —

remains involved and passionate to this day

Joe Mongrain stands next to LV-112’s main engine, a 900 HP/8 – cylinder Cooper Bessemer diesel engine (replaced original compound reciprocal steam engine in 1960, during LV-112’s major refit).

Recently, Joseph Mongrain, a longtime LV-112 supporter and donor, made a return visit to the Nantucket from Colorado. Joe has been a supporter of the U.S. Lightship Museum’s historic cause for 14 years — joining our mission shortly after the USLM was established for the purpose of rescuing Nantucket/LV-112, a National Historic Landmark, from being scrapped. 

Joe has over 43 years' experience in the oil-exploration industry, starting his career as a Field Engineer servicing oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, the Middle East and the North Sea. Joe transitioned from the field into management and eventually became Chief Human Resources Officer at Cameron International, which owned the Cooper Bessemer brand. Joe transitioned back into management and became the Division President for Process and Compression Systems, which had responsibility for the Cooper Bessemer line of business. It was at this point that Joe became involved with the LV-112, remaining involved and passionate about the ship to this day. Joe’s initial connection is LV-112’s 900 HP/8-cylinder Cooper Bessemer diesel engine.

LV-112’s main diesel engine nameplate mounted on the engine block.

Helping to educate and introduce the value of our natural resources within our marine environment — land and sea

Nantucket Lightship/LV-112, was more than a USCG floating lighthouse, helping to safely guide transatlantic shipping to their ports of call. LV-112 also functioned as a research and reporting vessel in conjunction with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and functioned as a weather reporting station for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) while a commissioned USCG lightship. Presently, as a museum ship and floating learning center, the USLM is carrying on the historic tradition of Nantucket/LV-112’s past collaboration with coastal environment and oceanographic educational institutions and organizations. 

Research and reporting equipment kits furnished by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) were distributed to established U.S. East Coast observation posts, including 12 USCG lightships (in addition to 4 Relief Lightships) from Portland, Maine, to Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina. WHOI, with support of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Office of Naval Research and the USCG, had undertaken an intensive hydrographic study of the waters over the Atlantic Continental Shelf, 1955–75. To see a previous article published in WHOI’s magazine, Oceanus, that describes some of the unique and interesting research methods (e.g., deploying drift bottles with messages, supplied in WHOI lightship kits) that were employed on USCG lightship stations and other vessels in the western North Atlantic, click here.

Among research and reporting methods included in the WHOI research and reporting kits were two primary research instruments — the Bathythermograph, or BT, and the Nansen Bottle. The BT is an instrument, which when lowered into the sea, produces a plot of temperature vs. depth. Developed during World War II, the BT was used to adjust a ship’s sonar against submarines; and conversely, used by submarines, to evade attacks. Peacetime research applications are global climate, fisheries and ocean currents. In 1894, the Norwegian oceanographer Fridtjof Nansen designed a device for sampling water at a specific depth. The device was a cylindric metal bottle open on both ends to allow the water to enter and be trapped. To collect the samples, these bottles were lined up and hung from a metal wire. They were then triggered and shut by a small weight called a “messenger.” When the messenger falls, it pushes a button that makes the bottle turn upside down, shutting the openings. Acknowledgment: The BT and Nansen Bottle in the photo above are on loan from WHOI to the USLM for exhibit purposes.

During the program, lightship crew members went through a rigid training process by WHOI staff to learn how to conduct research and requirements for reporting data.

The oceanographic and meteorological observation data made at certain lightships and shore stations proved invaluable in studying the daily, monthly, seasonal and annual fluctuations of temperature, salinity and circulation and the relation of the fluctuations to changes in the distribution and abundance of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna, contributing vast amounts of data to studies of the oceanography and ecology of Continental Shelf waters.

The USLM participates in WHOI/Sea Grant oceanographic teacher workshops, such as the study of planktonic animals and the marine environment. This program is a great platform for training USLM volunteers to offer resources that help inspire and motivate students visiting Nantucket/LV-112.



Students on board LV-112 capturing plankton in the harbor with a drift net for viewing under a microscope.

U.S. Lightship Museum collaborative community outreach events

The USLM’s exhibit booth is set up prior to the start of the Belle Isle Marsh Harvest Festival last fall, in addition to other ecosystem and environmental-related organizations. The festival, which included educational nature walks, activities and live music, was free and open to the general public.

The U.S. Lightship Museum continues to forge new collaborative partnerships and cultivate existing ones with community and institutional organizations, in an effort to help educate youth and the general public about historic preservation, important environmental, oceanographic, nautical and cultural topics that make learning fun, inspirational and motivational. Last fall, the USLM set up an exhibit booth at an educational outdoor event at the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation in East Boston. The USLM was so impressed with the Reservation, it was a pleasure to collaborate. The Harvest Festival was sponsored by The Friends of Belle Isle Marsh (FBIM), a member-based nonprofit organization. The Belle Isle Marsh Reservation is managed and maintained by the Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation & Recreation (DCR), in addition to other state parks, encompassing a total of 450,000 acres.

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation is open year-round to the public and offers free parking to visitors.

Students on a guided tour of the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. Photo credit: Friends of Belle Isle Marsh (FBIM)

The FBIM, which originally came together in the 1980s to protect the salt marsh and abutting uplands from toxic industrial use and development, presently works towards conservation and non-intrusive recreation. 

Panoramic view of Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. Photo credit: FBIM

A group of kayakers enjoy a trip through Belle Isle Marsh. Photo credit: FBIM

Belle Isle Marsh attracts a lot of wildlife, including many species of birds and marine life. Bird-watching is a favorite past-time for many visitors, as well as a place for visitors to explore marine life habituating in the wetlands and tidal flats. Photo credit: FBIM

A baby horseshoe crab, also referred to as trilobite larvae, found on the tidal flats, is examined by a visitor.

A fiddler crab on the mud flats poses for a picture. Photo credits: FBIM

Belle Isle Marsh is one of the last remaining salt marshes within Boston Harbor. Per the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, “It is one of the most biologically significant habitats in Boston.” Belle Isle Marsh is a salt marsh in a low-lying, coastal area mostly composed of native plants and grasses, which is flooded by ocean tides daily. The 359-acre marsh is nestled between the urbanized cities of Boston and Revere, and the suburban town of Winthrop, MA.

Several hundred years ago, when colonists ventured into the Boston area, they came across land sprawling with wetlands, mudflats, and salt marshes. Since then, much of the area has been filled in with landfill to build the city we know today.

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation is open to the public, 7 days a week, from 9am–4pm. It has several trails throughout the reservation. Everyone is welcome — youth, students, teachers, nature lovers, bird lovers, environmentalists, etc.



Nantucket/LV-112’s ongoing restoration

USLM volunteer Jim Hewitt is replacing lighting fixtures in LV-112’s crew’s quarters with historically accurate Navy Mil Spec vapor sealed lighting fixtures. These fixtures are made to withstand the harshest wet saltwater environments, built for safety and engineered for Naval submarine and surface ship lighting. Like Nantucket Lightship LV-112, the fixtures are also made in the USA and came from the historic USCGC Tamoroa (WMEC–166), formerly the USS Zuni (ATF–95), that was built in 1943 and unfortunately scuttled in 2017 as an artificial reef. Since many components integral to historic vessels are not manufactured anymore, it becomes necessary to search and acquire historically accurate parts from other Navy and USCG vessels, compatible in age, that are scheduled to be scrapped. In addition, some parts have to to be re-made and reverse engineered from the original patterns. As a USLHS / USCG vessel from 1936–1975, LV-112 went through many service upgrades and must be accurately restored in its 1975 decomissioned lightship configuration. 

Jim Hewitt is a retired first-class marine electrician who used to work for General Dynamics Quincy Ship Building Division at the former Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, MA. He has been a LV-112 volunteer since we acquired the Nantucket in 2009. In fact, Jim has restored a majority of LV-112’s electrical systems. When the U.S. Lightship Museum rescued the historic lightship, it was a “Dead Ship” – nothing was operational. Jim's professional marine electrical experience and expertise has been an extremely valuable asset in helping to bring LV-112 back to life. Jim is also a volunteer at the USS Cassin Young, another museum ship berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.

USCGC Tamaroa, formerly the USS Zuni, c. 1990

The historically accurate light fixtures currently being installed by Jim Hewitt on Nantucket/LV-112 are from the USCGC Tamaroa, which was originally built in 1943 as the U.S. Navy's Zuni (ATF-95), a 205-foot fleet ocean/salvage tug. She was one of 70 in her class. She served as a Navy tug and saw action in the Pacific Theatre until she was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in 1946. She earned four battle stars for her service during World War II. The Zuni was then decommissioned and transferred to the Coast Guard in 1946. 

On July 25, 1956, the Italian luxury liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the MS Stockholm and sank off Nantucket Shoals, approximately 18 miles from Nantucket Lightship. Tamaroa arrived on scene and rendezvoused with the USCGC Owasco. Both cutters then escorted the damaged Stockholm safely to New York harbor. Tamaroa is perhaps even more famous for rescuing four crewmen from a downed New York Air National Guard helicopter on October 31, 1991, described in the 1997 book "The Perfect Storm" and depicted in the 2000 movie "The Perfect Storm." The Tamaroa was finally decommissioned in 1994. A nonprofit group made a gallant effort to preserve the Tamaroa as a museum ship, but was unfortunately, was unable maintain her, and she met her fate as an artificial reef off Cape May, NJ, in 2017. 

The U.S. Lightship Museum is now a member of 'Museums for All'

The U.S. Lightship Museum (USLM) has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits. The program supports those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits, who can visit Nantucket/LV-112 for free, up to four people, with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. Similar free and reduced admission is available to eligible members of the public at more than 850 museums across the country. Museums for All is part of the USLM’s broad commitment to seek, include and welcome all audiences. For more information about Museums for All, click here.

ACK Marine and General Contracting, LLC

American Express

Amex Industrial

Services, Inc.

Association of Public Safety Communications Officials - Atlantic Chapter

BAE Systems

Battery Wharf Hotel

Bluefin Robotics

Boston Forge & Welding Corp. 

Boston Harbor

Shipyard & Marina

The Boston Foundation

ThreeBees Fund

Boston Marine Society

Burnham Associates, Inc.

Burnham Marine

California Public Safety Radio Association 

Cameron International Corporation

Charitable Adult Rides and

Services, Inc.

City of Boston

Community Preservation Act

C/J Towing & Recovery

Claflin & Son

Nautical Antiques

Crandall Dry Dock Engineers

Joe and Pepette Mongrain

Fund

National Park Service

Save America's Treasures

National Trust for   

Historic Preservation

New England 

Lighthouse Lovers 

New London Maritime Society and Custom House Maritime Museum

Patriot Marine, LLC

Red Top Boats Water Taxi

The Sail Loft, LLC, Nantucket

Sea Tow Boston

Sherwin-Williams

Industrial Marine Coatings Division

State Street Corporation

T & M Services

Town of Oyster Bay, 

Long Island, NY

U.S. Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association 

U.S. Lighthouse Society

West Marine

Westerbeke Company

Verizon Foundation

Zuni Maritime Foundation

USS Zuni / USCG Tamaroa  

Individual Donors

USLM Members  

Nantucket/LV-112

Ambrose/LV-87

Overfalls/LV-118

Chesapeake.LV-116

Portsmouth/LV-101

Huron/LV-103

Swiftsure/LV-83

Columbia/WLV-604

Relief/WLV-605