Explore New England Shipwrecks at Shoals September 5
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Bounty at OceanicA SUPER WEEKEND

Visitors can experience island life and learn about historic shipwrecks of New England while relaxing at the Isles of Shoals, six miles off the New Hampshire coast, from Friday afternoon, September 5 through Sunday afternoon September 7. (Click title for more) 

Open to the public, the weekend program entitled “The Undersea History of the Isles of Shoals” is sponsored by the Isles of Shoals Historical and Research Association (ISHRA). Featured speakers will tell true tales of historic shipwrecks around the Shoals, Boon Island and coastal New England.

Among the speakers will be Stephen Erickson, co-author of "Boon Island: A True Story of Mutiny, Shipwreck and Cannibalism," Warren Riess, author of "Angel Gabriel: The Elusive English Galleon," who personally recovered nine cannons from the Boon Island wreck, and Ray Demers, who discovered the wreck of the 1744 Royal Navy ship Asterea in the Piscataqua River.

Conference participants will leave Portsmouth mid-afternoon Friday, September 5, aboard the Thomas Laighton and return Sunday afternoon, September 7. Casual social events, island strolls and a candlelit service in the 214-year-old Gosport Chapel will round out the weekend’s activities.

Attendees will stay in rustic yet comfortable accommodations in the historic Oceanic Hotel and surrounding buildings on Star Island. Registration is $65 per person. Room and board, including all meals and round-trip boat transportation from Portsmouth, starts at $290 per person for the weekend, depending on type of accommodations.

Reservations are still being accepted as long as places remain available. For more information, visit starisland.org call 617-334-5675. 

PHOTO CAPTION:

The HMS Bounty visits Star Island in September 2012, a month before its tragic sinking during Hurricane Sandy. Shipwrecks will be the theme of a Star Island conference September 5-7, open to the public.