AH-WR-1854

Olivia Brown

Fishing Dragger · Lost 1953 · Nova Scotia & Sable Island

Seven fishermen escaped in dories before Olivia Brown sank off southwestern Nova Scotia in July 1953.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Olivia Brown was built at Essex in 1927 and worked as an 81-foot ocean-perch dragger out of Gloucester. Captain Frank Brown operated her in the redfish fishery during the early 1940s. Under owner-master John M. Fragata, she was fishing off southwestern Nova Scotia when rapid flooding developed on July 4, 1953. All seven aboard escaped in two dories before watching her sink stern first. Edith L. Boudreau rescued them and returned them to Gloucester the following evening.

Vessel

Built: 1927
Builder: Not established
Yard: Essex, Massachusetts
Material: Not established
Length: 81 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Engine-powered; engine particulars not supplied
Owners: Owner-master John M. Fragata at loss; built for Captain Brown and previously operated by Captain Frank Brown

Loss

Date: July 4, 1953
Cause: Not established
Location: Western Hole fishing ground, reported 45 miles southeast of Seal Island near Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Gloucester, Massachusetts → Ocean-perch fishing grounds off southwestern Nova Scotia
Cargo: Reported 50,000 pounds of ocean perch
Aboard: 7
Lives lost: 0
Master: John M. Fragata

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: Seal Island, southwestern Nova Scotia
Region: Nova Scotia & Sable Island

Reported southwestern Nova Scotia locality fits existing region; no surveyed position supplied or coordinates calculated from bearing and distance.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (82/100)

Hull material, engine particulars, underlying flooding failure, surveyed wreck position, depth and present remains are not established.

R. Sheedy, Down to Sea — The Olivia Brown (July 6, 1953 account)
Complete historical transcription: Essex 1927, 81-foot dragger; Captain Brown original customer and Frank Brown early-1940s service; owner-master Fragata and six named crew; June 26 departure; Saturday flooding and witnessed stern-first sinking at Western Hole, reported 45 miles southeast of Seal Island; 50,000 pounds perch; failed pumping; seven survivors in two dories; Edith L. Boudreau rescue and Sunday Gloucester landing. July 4 derived from July 6 report heading and Saturday chronology. Original newspaper not independently inspected; no surveyed position or hull material established.