January ‘25 - HMS Culloden
The HMS Culloden, a 74 gun third-rate ship of the Royal Navy, ran aground at North Neck Point in Montauk on January 23, 1781. Originally launched on May 18, 1776, the HMS Culloden served with the British Channel Fleet during the Revolutionary War after seeing action in the Battle of St. Vincent. The ship's specific duties were to blockade the French, who were assisting the Colonialists, from landing in Newport, Rhode Island. While attempting to intercept the French ships, Culloden encountered severe weather and ran aground. After several unsuccessful attempts to refloat the vessel, she was scuttled and burned to the waterline to prevent capture. 46 guns were retrieved by the British, and the rest pushed into the water. In 1971, Henry W. Moeller discovered the wreck in 15ft feet of water, where a cannon was recovered. The site is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
February ‘25 - Frozen GSB
Tales of a frozen Great South Bay have been experienced and swapped for years, from ice hockey matches to the legendary ice scooters. But the allure of driving across the icy expanse has been a goal for many. A collection of images from years past of drivers taking to the water, mostly for fun, but also for work. Family legend has it that my grandfather drove across it himself in a Model T, with the help of some spirits to help fight off the cold. Sadly, no images exist of that day.
March ‘25 - Iceberg on the GSB
It may be the first day of spring, but it’s hard to believe when you look at this postcard from over 100 hundred years ago. A [reportedly] 28 foot tall iceberg was spotted on the Great South Bay, prompting a group of men to venture out and climb it, before it ran aground near Patchogue. The photo was taken on March 21, 1907.
April ‘25 - USS Baldwin
On April 16, 1961, the 19-gun Gleaves-class destroyer USS Baldwin ran aground off the coast of Montauk Point. No one was injured…because no one was aboard. The USS Baldwin was a World War II era destroyer that took part in the Normandy landings, sank multiple German vessels, and even transported President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 to meet with world leaders about ending the war. After a storied career, the ship was being towed from the South Boston Naval Annex to Philadelphia when stormy seas caused its tow lines to snap, setting the vessel adrift. It ran aground at Clark’s Cove, right in front of abstract artist Balcomb Greene’s house, in the middle of the night. Greene slept through the entire ordeal but woke up to find a destroyer in his backyard. Several attempts were made to free the ship. One resulted in the death of a sailor and further damage to the vessel. Months later, a solution was finally reached: the topside was sealed, including the guns, smokestacks, and portholes. Air was pumped inside, and the ship eventually floated free of the rocks. The USS Baldwin was then towed seven miles out to sea, scuttled, and sunk in 200 fathoms of water.
May ‘25 - Captain Kidd
William Kidd, better known as Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer hired by the English to protect against piracy in North America and the West Indies. Born in Dundee, Scotland, he later settled in New York City. Early in his career, Kidd sailed under the pirate Captain Jean Fantin, but eventually led a mutiny and took command of the ship himself. In 1695, he received a letter of marque from the Earl of Bellomont, the governor of New York, Massachusetts Bay, and New Hampshire, granting him legal authority to hunt pirates in the Indian Ocean. On January 30, 1698, Kidd captured the Quedagh Merchant, an Indian ship loaded with gold, silver, and fine silks. Though Kidd claimed the ship was sailing under French passes, news of the seizure branded him a pirate. After selling some of the goods in Madagascar, much of his crew abandoned him. Knowing he was a wanted man, Kidd returned to New York. He landed at Gardiner’s Island to stash treasure, then made his way to Oyster Bay. Legend claims he also buried gold at the fabled Money Ponds near Montauk Point, which are said to be bottomless. Kidd was later arrested in Boston, sent to England, and hanged at Execution Dock in London on May 23, 1701.
June ‘25 - Frank Mundus
With the 50th anniversary of the [arguably] greatest movie of all time right around the corner, it’s only fitting that we pay tribute to the man who was the real life inspiration of one of the greatest characters to grace the screen. Frank Mundus was a legendary shark fisherman from Montauk that was the basis for Quint. Mundus was born in New Jersey, and started his first charter there with his boat ‘Cricket’. Before his move to Montauk in 1951, he had ‘Cricket II’ custom built, the boat on which most of his legendary charters took place. Munuds also played a pivotal role in the response to the F/V Pelican disaster, helping tow the capsized boat to port. His accolades include the catch of a 3,427 lb Great White, the largest fish ever to be caught via rod and reel. Mundus had some controversial methods to lure sharks, including the chumming of whales, but later in life, he became a shark conservationist, urging the capture and release of the species. He was known for his colorful personality around Montauk, often boasting red and green painted toe nails and an Australian slouch hat. After retiring as Captain in 1997, he moved to Honolulu, Hawai’i, where he passed away in 2008.
July ‘25 - Emma T. Crowell
On July 17, 1894 the Emma T Crowell, a bark carrying 39,000 cases of oil, caught fire off of Fire Island. Emma T Crowell was bound for Shanghai, carrying cargo for the Standard Oil Company, when it caught fire 12 miles offshore. The crew, captained by A. S. Pendleton, escaped to safety as they watched the vessel burn, first catching the masts then sails and “with a loud explosion, shot up in a great sheet of fire.” The survivors were picked up by the steamship Runic, and were safely transported to the Sandy Hook Lightship, as the Emma T Crowell burned for 6 days, eventually to the waterline. It was later transported to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, still smoldering.
August ‘25 - The Great Eastern
The Great Eastern, originally named Leviathan, was launched in 1858 as the largest ship in the world. It was designed by engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel to carry 4,000 passengers and travel vast distances without refueling. At nearly 700 feet long and fitted with both paddle wheels and a screw propeller, it was an engineering marvel of its time. Though envisioned as a luxury liner, the ship proved too costly and unwieldy for passenger service, and its true legacy emerged in laying transatlantic telegraph cables, bridging continents with rapid communication for the first time. In 1862, while passing Montauk Point, the Great Eastern struck an uncharted rock; though the hull was damaged, its double-bottom construction prevented disaster. The incident led to the naming of the formation “Great Eastern Rock,” which is still charted today. The ship went on to successfully lay thousands of miles of cable, cementing its place in history as a vessel that helped shrink the world. Despite its achievements, the Great Eastern struggled financially and was eventually sold for scrap in 1889, but its legacy remains.
September ‘25 - Hurricane Gloria
September is hurricane season, and although the Atlantic has been quiet this year, that wasn’t the case in 1985. On September 27, Hurricane Gloria made landfall on Long Island as a Category 2 storm, bringing winds up to 95 mph and leaving more than 700,000 residents without power. Originally forming off the coast of Africa, and making initial landfall in the Outer Banks, Gloria was the strongest hurricane to hit the Island in decades, and for many who lived through it, the storm remains a defining weather event of the era. Along Fire Island and the barrier beaches, dunes were washed over, homes damaged, and the shoreline forever reshaped.
October ‘25 - Nike Missile Sites
Halloween is a time for scares, but few things are more chilling than the threat of a nuclear winter. Unknown to many residents, Long Island once hosted ten Nike missile sites during the height of the Cold War. Even less known is that on October 16, 1962, at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis, every Nike installation on Long Island and throughout the tri-state area went on full alert, their missiles armed and ready for launch. Originally outfitted with conventional Nike Ajax missiles, all Long Island sites were later converted to the nuclear-capable Nike Hercules, a supersonic surface-to-air weapon designed to intercept Soviet bombers before they reached New York City. The men stationed at these sites were trained to respond within minutes, their underground magazines and radar control centers forming a hidden ring of defense around the region. Fortunately, no missile was ever fired, and the crisis ended before war broke out. The Long Island sites remained operational and fully manned until 1974, when the Nike program was decommissioned nationwide. In the years that followed, most of the land was sold or repurposed, but traces remain. Buried silos, concrete launch pads, and rusted access hatches, hidden in plain sight beneath suburban streets and parkland.
November ‘25 - Amityville Horror
Halloween may have been two weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean that the Horror is. On November 13, 1974, the grizzly murders that later came to be known as “The Amityville Horror” took place. Ronald DeFeo Jr., who was 23 at the time, killed 4 of his siblings and his parents in their home on Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY. Originally claiming it to be the work of a mob hitman, DeFeo later confessed to the murders, under the plea of insanity, and was sentenced to six sentences of 25 to life. Multiple families have lived in the home since, most notably, the Lutzes, who claimed that the house had an evil energy, and drastically changed their moods and character. They left the house 28 days later. The events inspired the novel, and later, the original film, which in turn became a franchise, most of which dropped any reference to Amityville at all. The house still stands today, though the iconic quarter-moon windows have been removed.
December ‘25 - Blizzard of 1947
Everyone dreams of a White Christmas, especially in a city that has been the center of the holiday for quite some time. On December 25, 1947, everyone got their wish. What began as a light snowfall on Christmas morning turned into one of the most paralyzing blizzards in New York City’s history. By the time the storm ended the next day, 26.4 inches of snow had fallen in Central Park; more than had ever been recorded in a single storm at that time. Drifts reached rooftops in some neighborhoods, and much of the city came to a complete standstill for nearly a week. Trains were immobilized, cars abandoned, and delivery trucks stranded in the streets, forcing residents to navigate the city on foot [and cross country skis]. Unlike typical nor’easters, the storm carried little wind, allowing the snow to pile high and undisturbed. Long Island, New Jersey, and southern New York were hit just as hard, with over two feet falling across the region. Though thousands were trapped in offices, theaters, and subways overnight, the city slowly dug itself out, turning that Christmas into a memory etched into New York’s long relationship with winter.
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