NANTUCKET: The Nantucket Historical Association, in partnership with the Egan Maritime Institute, is proud to announce that the two organizations will be hosting an evening with Dr. Kelly Gleason, internationally-renowned marine archaeologist and discoverer of the wreck of the Nantucket whaleship Two Brothers on Tuesday, August 16. Dr. Gleason will be delivering her lecture at the Nantucket Whaling Museum.
On February 11, 1823, the Nantucket whaleship Two Brothers out of Nantucket hit a shallow reef near French Frigate Shoals off the coast of Hawaii during a storm. She sank soon after, and was never seen again.
Until now.
Exactly 188 years to the day after she sank, the announcement was made that the Two Brothers had been found by a team of underwater archaeologists led by Dr. Kelly Gleason. On February 11, 2011, the ship that had rested anonymously in the Pacific for nearly two-hundred years was lost no more. The wreck site is located approximately 600 miles from the coast of Honolulu, in a national marine sanctuary called the Papahnaumokuakea Marine National Monument, where Dr. Gleason is a staff scientist and scuba diver specializing in marine archaeology.
Gleason is on the cutting-edge of underwater exploration, and her educational resume includes a Ph.D. in nautical archaeology from East Carolina University. She has put her education to work at shipwreck sites around the world, including locations in Scotland, North Carolina, California and, of course, Hawaii. “Shipwreck sites like this are important in helping tell the stories of the early days of sailing, including whaling and maritime activities both in the Pacific and around the world,” said Gleason of the Two Brothers discovery.
In confirming the identity of the wreck, Dr. Gleason worked closely with Ben Simons, the Robyn and John Davis Chief Curator for the Nantucket Historical Association. Simons and the NHA hosted Dr. Gleason on a visit to the NHA’s vast archives, a trip that was instrumental in the positive identification of the wreck. “Dr. Gleason’s work has brought this dramatic historical event back to life out of the pages of history, and offered a thrilling glimpse of Nantucket’s storied whaling past,” said Simons.
To go with Dr. Gleason’s lecture, Simons is planning a photography exhibit displaying photos of the wreck site and artifacts discovered there, including trypots, harpoons, blubber hooks and the ship’s anchor, which was the first artifact discovered at the wreck site by Dr. Gleason. Simons also plans to have a map of the region, showing the exact location of where the Two Brothers was found, as well as the locations of other nearby whaleship wrecks.
Space for this world-class lecture is limited, and advance reservations are required.
The lecture will begin at 6 PM in Gosnell Hall inside the Whaling Museum at 13 Broad Street, and a cocktail reception will follow on the museum’s rooftop deck. Tickets for the event are $50, with proceeds from the event benefiting programs at both the Nantucket Historical Association and the Egan Institute for Maritime Studies. To reserve tickets, call the Nantucket Historical Association at 508-228-1894, ext. 0.
