In December 1902, the Frank A. Palmer and Louise B. Crary collided in Massachusetts Bay and sank in over 300 feet of water. Eleven sailors perished as a result of the event. Today, the schooners sit upright on the seafloor touching at their bows in the same orientation in which they came together. Each vessel measures over 260 feet in length and is remarkably intact. The schooners exemplify a critical transportation network that supplied New England’s energy needs and their involvement in the coal trade connects them to Americans throughout the East Coast.
Three years of historical and archaeological research by the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) and the National Undersea Research Center at the University of Connecticut (NURC-UConn) resulted in the shipwreck's listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Click here to download the NOAA press release.

On Saturday 15 July 2006, SBNMS and the NURC-UConn conducted two 30 minute live broadcasts from the shipwreck of the coal schooner Frank A. Palmer. Viewers at the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center in Gloucester, MA, the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, MI and over the World Wide Web watched live underwater video and asked the research team questions as they investigated the wreck. SBNMS maritime archaeologists Deborah Marx and Matthew Lawrence were joined by Ivar Babb, director of NURC-UConn, who provided commentary on the technology that made the broadcast possible and the marine life observed on the shipwreck. Over 1000 people watched the broadcast, which was supported by NURC-UConn, the University of Connecticut, Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, the City of Gloucester, NOAA’s Preserve America Initiative, NOAA’s Maritime Heritage Program, NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, and VBrick Systems.

This underwater investigation of the coal schooners Frank A. Palmer and Louise B. Crary has enabled us to learn more about the site's archaeological and historic features as well as documenting the tremendous abundance and diversity of marine life resident on the shipwreck. Archived video from the 2006 broadcast will be available shortly. In the meantime, feel free to view the video highlights from previous SBNMS/NURC-UConn missions.

Last Updated: October 13, 2006