Vineyard Lightship

There are many conflicting stories of how the Vineyard lightship sank during the hurricane of that September 14/15, 1944; perhaps with this article some of the misinformation can be corrected. Using some known and available facts, along with a little background history, the Vineyard Lightship tragedy may be better understood.

Lately there has been a revival of nostalgic remembrances of lighthouses and lightships, with mystical inferences, especially the loss of Vineyard South lightship - William Quinn in his excellent "Shipwrecks Around Cape Cod" mentions the sinking. Francis Ross Holland, Jr., in his "America's Light Houses" brings this forth. The latter has two bodies coming ashore, and Quinn has five bodies coming ashore. Mr. Quinn is right in this instance. However, the picture in his book is not a picture of Vineyard Sound lightship. Not that he says it is, but one assumes so.