“The Sinking of the Paddlewheel Steamship ATLANTIC”

Presented by Captain Bill Palmer

Wednesday, September 18, 7:30 p.m.

Latham/Chester Store, 108 Main Street, Noank

On the day after Thanksgiving, November 27, 1846, the paddlewheel steamship Atlantic sunk in Fishers Island Sound with a tremendous loss of life.  This September, Captain Bill Palmer will share the story of terror, courage and sacrifice, as the steamer drifted, powerless, in hurricane force winds for two nights and a day as the Captain, crew and passengers did all they could to help. It’s been over 175 years since the ship wrecked on the rocky shores of Fishers Island and nothing is left of the Atlantic now except monuments and tombstones, which dot the Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London.

Captain Bill has been diving since the late 1960s and has been running dive boat charters since 1974.  He is the owner and operator of the Thunderfish and the new Thunderfish Express.  Capt. Bill also operates Thunderfish Productions, which produces videos on east coast shipwrecks and marine subjects.  He has written several books including “Night of Terror: The Sinking of the Paddlewheel Steamship Atlantic.”  Copies of this book will be available at the Latham/Chester Store.