The Wreck of the H.P. Kirkham

The Wreck of the H.P. Kirkham. . Dangerous shoals, left behind by glaciers, lie to the east of this spot. On the night of January 20th, 1892 the Rose and Crown Shoal became the final resting place of the H.P. Kirkham. Bound for New York, the freight-laden schooner from Nova Scotia struck the shoal in a howling winter storm., The keeper of Sankaty Lighthouse, Joseph G. Remsen, thought he saw flares go up that night. It was actually the crew burning mattresses in the stricken ship's rigging. As dawn neared on January 21st, Remsen spotted the masts of the Kirkham, 15 miles to the east, from his lookout atop the lighthouse., Remsen alerted Captain Walter Chase at the Coskata Life-Saving Station, 6 miles to the north, beginning a rescue that would be regarded as one of the most dramatic rescues in the history of lifesaving. Captain Chase and his surfmen sailed out to the Kirkham by midday and, battling high waves and winds, were able to rescue the 7 crewmen. Unable to row against the tide in the overloaded boat, Chase was forced to anchor overnight and wait for fairer conditions. The next morning the exhausted crew managed to row to 'Sconset, ending a 26-hour ordeal., For more information about the wreck of the H.P. Kirkham and the heroic rescue of is crew, please visit the Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum.