One of the most monotonous, arduous and dangerous duties that the early Coast Guard performed was manning lightships. The Nantucket station, established in 1854, had become the major beacon that guided vessels from Europe to New York and other Atlantic coast ports. Duty at the station was hazardous because many of the large steamers, using the beacon as a navigating aid, steered directly toward the lightship. This danger was compounded by the frequent and heavy fogs in the area. On May 15, 1934, Nantucket was struck by the passenger liner Olympic, sister ship to the Titanic. Olympic, nearly 75 times larger than the lightship and traveling at about 20 knots, struck it broadside in heavy fog and drove it to the bottom. Boats from Olympic were immediately put over, but the lightship sank within minutes, killing seven of the eleven crewmembers. (Permission to reprint this work must be obtained from the artist. For information, contact Mary Ann Bader at Mary.A.Bader@uscg.mil.)
