On March 28, the Port Townsend Yacht Club (PTYC) is hosting a fundraiser for the PTYC Fund for Marine Trades & Sciences—Night of Gold.

The evening’s presentation will weave the story of the Ship of Gold, which is a blend of historical tragedy, extraordinary marine science innovation, and the discovery of gold from the Gold Rush. 

The event is at the Northwest Maritime Center and will begin at 6:30 p.m. with appetizers and wine followed by the presentation from 7:00 to 9:00. Tickets are $35 each or $250 for table of 8.

The Story and Achievement

In 1857, the SS Central America, was destroyed by a hurricane 200 miles off the Carolina coast. This was one of the ships taking Gold Rush gold coming from the San Francisco mint to New York. It carried 600 passengers and sank 8,000 feet to the bottom of the ocean with over 400 lives and 21 tons of gold lost.

In 1985, an extraordinary marine science engineer, Tommy Thompson, invented the technology to work the deep ocean floor, which had never successfully been done before. He assembled a group of investors, Columbus-America Discovery Group, and raised almost $20 million to fund a massive treasure hunting expedition to find the sunken SS Central America and its store of gold. 

The presenter, Alan Scott, was the sonar expert aboard the ship. In 1988, he was navigating the Columbus-America Discovery ship with its tethered undersea vehicle along a track line that he had set up based on loran fixes from a 1986 sonar survey. At 3:10 p.m. on September 11, they found the ship and work began to retrieve its treasure. The story continues with a twist of intrigue—Thompson disappeared, the investors haven’t reaped the rewards from their initial investment, and some of the gold has vanished. Join fellow boaters and adventurers to hear the whole story!