Lost in Sea in 1963
Posted by Rebekah Harris on
The US Revenue Cutter Bear was built in Scotland in 1874 and shortly after purchased by the US Treasury Department. The Bear's first notoriety came from successfully rescuing the few survivors of the Greely Expedition. Its most famous Captain was the first US Coastguard Captain of African American descent, Hell Roaring Mike Healy. Under Healy the Bear traversed miles of cold, performing rescue missions, escorting whaleships, bringing medicine to Alaskans during the Spanish flu epidemic... The ship served in both world wars, served as a museum, was used as a movie set and was heading to Philadelphia to become a floating restaurant when it sank off Sable Island...maybe it was just tired from it's nearly 90 years of service...A record for a wooden ship. The wreck of the bear was discovered in October 2021.
