Lecture: The Tragedy of the Pelican

Mia Certic, executive director of Montauk Historical Society, will be presenting a lecture titled “The Tragedy of the Pelican” at 1:00PM on Thursday, May 8 at Southold Historical Museum’s Maple Lane Campus.

On the sunny morning of September 1, 1951, 62 people set sail from Montauk for a day’s fishing, along with two crew members.  When a freak storm rolled in and the fishing vessel Pelican tried to return to port, it was hit by a massive wave and capsized only a mile off the Montauk Point Lighthouse.

Forty-five people were lost, including the captain, and the bodies of 18 of them were never recovered.  For the past four years, Montauk Historical Society has been seeking to find survivors, family members of the victims and others with stories to tell about the Pelican.

This lecture will address how the disaster occurred, what the Coast Guard did to ensure it would never happen again, and why it took over 70 years to recognize the tragedy and create a memorial.

The lecture is free to attend, but donations gladly accepted.

Kindly RSVP.