A lifeboat launched in a full storm - yet only one man made it inside

A lifeboat launched in a full storm - yet only one man made it inside

Fear of a sudden, inexplicable disaster: a nearly century-old tug sank intact in 38 feet of water on December 30, 1962, nine men vanished, and the official inquiry later disappeared-what really happened in that one hour between the last radio call and silence?

In this episode, we tell the story of the Gwendoline Steers' final voyage, the crew aboard, the violent weather that struck in under an hour, the prior grounding and hurried repair a week earlier, and the baffling gaps left by a missing inquiry-could a repaired hull, a storm, or something else explain the loss?

Person: Captain Herbert Dickman Date: December 30, 1962 Location: Long Island Sound, east of Captain Island (about 16 miles out) Event: Tug sunk upright in 38 feet of water; nine crew lost Vessel: Gwendoline Steers (built 1888, 96.5 feet long, 140 gross tons)

- Last radio contact at 4:30 PM: Captain Dickman reported shipping water, pumps and engines working. - An hour later the Coast Guard called back and received no answer. - Weather changed in under an hour: temperature fell from 50°F to near 0°F, winds rose to 58-60 mph with gusts to 90 mph, and waves reached 10-12 feet. - The tug had run aground on December 22, 1962 and received a hull repair by a welder before returning to service. - Divers found the vessel upright with no hull damage and no bodies; the official inquiry report later vanished from Coast Guard and National Archives.

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