BETHEL – Mason Philip Smith will speak on “The Great Gale of 1898 and the Loss of the Steamer Portland” at the fourth lecture in the 2003 series on the history of transportation in Maine at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Bethel Historical Society’s Regional History Center, the Dr. Moses Mason House.

The great gale of November 1898 ravaged the New England coast from Connecticut to Maine. More than 500 lives were lost in the storm and hundreds of vessels, large and small, disappeared beneath the ocean or were cast up on the shoreline.

The largest loss of life, 192 passengers and crew, was experienced by the 280-foot, white hulled steamer Portland, which disappeared on its regular run from Boston to Portland. At the time, it was the largest shipwreck in New England history. Over the years, the mystery of the vessel’s disappearance left many questions.

Smith has recently published a book, “Four Short Blasts: The Great Gale of 1898 and the Loss of the Steamer Portland,” containing images relating to the 2002 discovery of the actual wreckage of the Portland on the Steelwagen Bank in Massachusetts Bay and includes side-scan radar and still images of the wreck. The views will also be presented in the lecture.

A Maine native, Smith has been a writer and photographer for more than years. He has been the author or editor of a number of books about Maine and others ranging from cycling in Holland to a history of northwestern Russia. He is working on a book about World War II espionage.

The largest family unit lost on the Portland was Smith’s great-aunt and uncle and their two children, who boarded the vessel in Boston, while returning home from a visit to their Danish homeland. Smith was recently featured on the History Channel’s “Deep Sea Detectives,” discussing the loss of the Portland and the 2002 discovery of its wreckage.

Smith will have copies of his book on the Portland available for sale and signing.

The lecture is made possible in part through the support of the New Century Community Program and the Maine Humanities Council.

At 6:30 p.m., prior to the 7:30 lecture, three other authors, Robert Spidell, “The Pynelis Journals,” Pat Stewart, “Mollyockett,” and Randall Bennett, “The White Mountains: Alps of New England,” will be present to autograph copies of their books.

Anyone who has purchased “The Pynelis Journals” from the Bethel Historical Society’s Museum Shop can stop during business hours (Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.) to pick up a free copy of the newly published index to the book.

More information about the society and its activities may be obtained by calling 824-2908, 1-800-824-2910 or e-mailing [email protected].