MARIE... Converted LCVP

MARIE TRAGEDY EVENT - June 7, 1960

AN event to

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MARIE: Converted Landing Craft (LCVP)

The MARIE along with scuba diving crew, gear, and a captain were hired by Raytheon from a local sporting goods store, McCaffrey Brothers Sporting Goods, as a transport vessel for the Raytheon-related project team and its equipment. The vessel was their transport to the waters off Santa Cruz Island.

The MARIE was a converted WWII Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel (LCVP), 42-1/2 feet in length, with a ten foot seven-inch beam, powered by a Gray marine diesel and was built in 1943 by Chris Craft for Military Service as a troop transport. "An owner had converted it to a more sporting type of boat by extending the front part or bow of the boat forward and bringing it to a point, and making something of a more sport fishing type boat of it," Richard W. Dowse said in US District Court, Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 28, 1963.

In 1969, two abalone divers reported to the Santa Barbara News Press that they had stumbled onto the MARIE; however, these divers made no attempt to record the location nor officially prove a discovery. These divers made the observation that it looked like the craft had exploded. Portions of the wreckage that they salvaged included portions of the rudders and keel. – The divers reported that they found the wreckage 2.5 miles from the shoreward side of Santa Cruz Island and 1.5 miles east of Painted Cave... at rest in 55ft of water.

The above images give you a view of the MARIE's size, shape, and use prior to its conversion after WWII. These images are in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government.

ENGINE?

See A Gray Marine Boat Engine, like the Marie's in Action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdy9BY4Fp4I&feature=player_embedded#!

remember,

honor,

Rejoice because we can.