Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

News and Events

PMNM is proud to present the premiere screening of the film

Lightning Strikes Twice: the Real Life Sequel to Moby Dick

When:	Saturday, March 22, 2014, from 6:00-9:00 pm
Where:	The Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art 900 South Beretania Street Honolulu, HI 96814 808-532-3033
What:	Presentation and film about the discovery of the Nantucket whaleship Two Brothers, captained by George Pollard, Jr., who earlier commanded the ill-fated Essex, which inspired the classic tale Moby Dick.

Synopsis

Dr. Kelly Gleason investigates a ginger jar at the <em>Two Brothers</em> shipwreck site.

Dr. Kelly Gleason investigates a ginger jar at the Two Brothers shipwreck site. Credit: NOAA/McFall

In the middle of the night on February 11, 1823, the seafaring career of Captain George Pollard, Jr. came to an untimely end in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Having survived the tragic events of the whaleship Essex – one of the world’s most notorious seafaring disasters and the true life inspiration for Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick – Pollard optimistically set sail for the Pacific once again in the whaleship Two Brothers, believing the old adage that “lightning never strikes in the same place twice.” Unfortunately, in his case it did, when the Two Brothers struck a remote reef and came to rest in what is now Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

In 2008, a team of NOAA maritime archaeologists discovered the first clues of the Two Brothers on the seafloor at French Frigate Shoals and began to unlock the mystery of the only Nantucket whaleship discovered in an archaeological context. This film tells the story of a twice unlucky captain, a Nantucket whaleship lost on a remote reef in the Pacific, and a team of archaeologists with the discovery of a lifetime underneath the waves of the most remote archipelago on earth.

Program

6:00 - 6:45 pm

Introduction and Speakers

Kelly Gleason, PMNM Maritime Heritage Coordinator
Stephani Gordon, Filmmaker, “Lightning Strikes Twice”

6:45 - 7:30 pm

Screening of film "Lightning Strikes Twice" (30 minutes) followed by brief Q&A

7:30 - 9:00 pm

Reception in courtyard featuring –

Entertainment by Kanani Music
Beer donated by Kona Brewing Co.
Food donated by Whole Foods Kahala
Food for purchase by Da Spot catering
An opportunity to chat with the speakers

Tickets

Tickets cost $15 ($12 for museum members) and include one free drink courtesy of Kona Brewing Co. and free appetizers courtesy of Whole Foods. Theatre seats 280.
Purchase tickets

For more information about the Two Brothers, visit www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/maritime/twobrothers.html.

Special thanks to: