JUNEAU – Join Dr. Bradley Stevens for a presentation on the discovery of the Kad’yak shipwreck and his new book, The Ship, the Saint, and the Sailor: The Long Search for the Legendary Kad’yak on First Friday, October 5 at 6:30 pm at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum at 395 Whittier St. The presentation will be recorded for later broadcast on 360 North and online. This is also the last First Friday to view this summer’s special exhibit, Titanic of the North: The 1918 Wreck of the S.S. Princess Sophia, which is open through October 6.
In 1861, the Russian barque Kad’yak set sail from Kodiak with a shipload of ice, but within a few miles struck a rock and foundered. Prior to the wreck, Captain Arkhimandritov had given a solemn vow to hold a service over the grave of Alaska’s revered Father (now Saint) Herman on Spruce Island, and then reneged. Because it was full of ice, the Kad’yak drifted for four days before sinking right in front of Saint Herman’s grave. Over 140 years later, Stevens learned about the ship and began a 10-year odyssey of painstaking documentary research. After many frustrating false starts, he finally encountered a lost map that held an important clue to the ship’s location. Using this information, he found the ship with a team of volunteer divers, two of whom attempted to claim private ownership of the wreck site. The Ship, the Saint, and the Sailor: The Long Search for the Legendary Kad'yak tells the incredible story of the ship (Kad’yak), the Saint (Herman), and the Sailor (Captain Arkhimandritov) and their intertwined history within the larger context of the Alaskan ice trade, Russian colonialism, and Alaskan history. It is the story of how the ship was found, almost lost again to private salvors, and ultimately became the site of the first underwater archaeological survey in Alaska.
Due to Dr. Stevens’ work with the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology, several significant items from the Kad’yak archaeological site are now in the collections of the Alaska State Museum. The wheel hub, rudder pintle, and a gudgeon are on display in the Russian America section of the Museum’s exhibits.
Dr. Bradley Stevens is a diver, musician, scientist, underwater explorer, and sailor, in no particular order. For 22 years, he conducted research on biology and reproduction of king crabs in Kodiak, Alaska, before arriving at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 2009, where he is now a tenured Professor of Marine Science. He has authored over 100 scientific publications, including King Crabs of the World, the definitive reference book for all things king crabby (CRC Press, 2014). His research involves scuba diving, underwater video, and photography. He has made more than 600 scuba dives and over 60 dives in research submersibles. In 2003, he discovered the wreck of the Kad’yak, the oldest known shipwreck in Alaska and the fist ship from the Russian colonial period ever found. He currently supervises the AAUS Scuba Diving program at UMES, and is a member of the University System of Maryland Diving Control Board.
The Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums collects, organizes, preserves, and makes accessible materials that document the history of Alaska, provides access to government information for state agencies and other researchers, and promotes the development of libraries, archives, and museums statewide for the benefit of all Alaskans.
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