On May 19, 2025, Klein Marine Systems proudly donated a massive 6,500-pound bow anchor to the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, Massachusetts—a striking artifact from the shipwrecked schooner Sagamore.
Originally salvaged in the early1980s by John Fish, a former Klein employee and passionate shipwreck hunter, the anchor was recovered off East Chop, Martha’s Vineyard—where Sagamore met her fate in May of 1907. John Fish gifted the anchor to Klein at our Salem, NH headquarters where it sat for over 40 years until today.
As the story goes, Sagamore was sailing north from Virginia to Portland, Maine on a calm, clear night when she collided with the Norwegian steamer Edda, which had misjudged a tug’s barge formation. The impact tore the anchor loose and sent Sagamore spinning. In a bizarre twist, her 50-foot bowsprit tangled with Edda, yanking Edda’s captain off his bridge and onto the sinking Sagamore’s deck.
Not knowing who the stranger was, Sagamore’s captain ushered the stunned visitor into a lifeboat—and together, they rowed to safety.
We’re honored to preserve this incredible piece of maritime history and anchor it in our new home port of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Image by 617images.com