On August 12, 1955, as gale force winds from Hurricane Connie raged up the Chesapeake Bay, a three-masted schooner by the name of the Levin J. Marvel sank off of Holland Point in the bay near North Beach, MD. Fourteen of the 27 passengers on board died in this tragedy. Thirteen passengers survived due to the heroic efforts of many local residents.
This tragic and significant Chesapeake Bay maritime event changed Coast Guard safety regulations applying to small passenger vessels.
The Bayside History Museum will present a program with displays and exhibits commemorating “The 60th Anniversary of the Sinking of the Marvel” on August 12, 2015, 7:00pm-9:00pm at the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department Bay View Hall located at 8536 Bayside Road, Chesapeake Beach, MD. 20732. The event is free and open to the public.
Featured speakers are John Ward of the Deale Area Historical Society ; Dr. Susan Langley, Maryland State Underwater Archaeologist; Bill Verge, Executive Director, USCGC INGHAM Memorial Museum, who served as mate on the Marvel that summer; Diane Harrison of Bayside History Museum, and Johnson Fortenbaugh, Jr. who will perform his song, “The Levin J. Marvel”.
David Healey , author, will have a book signing and sale for his book Great Storms of the Chesapeake.
Grace Mary Brady, President of the Bayside History Museum, will be available from 5:30pm to 7:00pm to video record oral histories with people who have personal recollections of the Marvel.
