AH-WR-1851

Mary F. Curtis

Auxiliary Fishing Dragger · United States · Lost 1952 · Nova Scotia & Sable Island

Seven fishermen escaped when this Gloucester dragger grounded near Shelburne during a February 1952 blizzard.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Mary F. Curtis was launched at Essex in 1903 as a dory trawler and also worked seasonally as a mackerel seiner. Sold by Gorton-Pew Fisheries in 1939, she was converted to dragging. In February 1952 she left Gloucester for ocean-perch grounds off Nova Scotia, but a blizzard drove Captain Philip Giamanco to seek shelter at Shelburne. She grounded near Roseway Island and was destroyed; all seven aboard reached safety.

Vessel

Built: 1903
Builder: Not established
Yard: Essex, Massachusetts
Material: Not established
Length: 101 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Auxiliary engine; engine particulars not supplied
Owners: Mrs. Philip Giamanco and Mrs. Rose Frontiero; previously Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co. Ltd.

Loss

Date: February 17, 1952
Cause: Grounding
Location: Roseway Island, near Shelburne, Nova Scotia; appended note places initial grounding on a shoal about two hundred yards offshore
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Gloucester, Massachusetts → Nova Scotia ocean-perch grounds; diverted toward shelter at Shelburne
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 7
Lives lost: 0
Master: Philip Giamanco

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Roseway Island, near Shelburne
Region: Nova Scotia & Sable Island

Named island and harbor-approach locality fit existing region; no verified wreck position or distance-derived coordinates.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (83/100)

Hull material, surveyed wreck position, surviving remains and salvage history are unestablished; escape details differ between the report and appended note.

R. Sheedy, Down to Sea — The Mary F. Curtis (February 19, 1952 account and appended notes)
Full historical transcription and appended notes: Essex 1903 launch; 101 ft; dory trawling and seining, Gorton-Pew 1939 sale and conversion; Sunday grounding at Roseway while seeking Shelburne shelter, February 17 derived from dated report; seven named aboard and all safe; captain's total-loss and lobster-boat evacuation follow-up; conflicting escape details. Original newspaper not independently inspected; no hull material or verified wreck site.