F/V Twin Lights, heading out, by David W. Dunlap (2011).
Jean Frottier, as owner of Gifford House, by David Jarrett (1981).
There had been recent tragedies at sea — Fernando Ribeiro died on Charlotte G. in 1999 and John Woods aboard Dixie II in 2010 — but the town had gone 28 years without a fatal sinking until 18 November 2012. Capt. Jean Frottier, a charter member of the Provincetown Fishermen’s Association and former owner of the Gifford House, was scalloping with Eric Rego aboard the 40-foot fiberglass Twin Lights, built in 1985 by Young Brothers & Company of Maine. Two miles north of Race Point, the scallop rake became entangled. As Twin Lights came around to straighten it out, she rolled over in a swell. The crew of the nearby Glutton rescued Rego, but their efforts to make contact with Frottier by knocking on the overturned hull were fruitless — a chilling echo of the S-4 disaster. After 40 minutes or so, Twin Lights sank in about 190 feet of water, bearing her captain along.
More than 2,000 buildings and vessels are searchable on buildingprovincetown.com. The Building Provincetown book is available for purchase ($20) at Town Hall, Office of the Town Clerk, 260 Commercial Street, Provincetown 02657.
