SMITH POINT LIGHT—Smith Point Sea Rescue (SPSR) on October 20 commemorated the accidental sinking of the USCGC Cuyahoga near Smith Point Light in the central Chesapeake Bay.
The single blast of a ship’s horn broke the silence of a warm moonless October 1978 night as the USCGC Cuyahoga (WX-157), a 51-year-old, 125-foot, 320-ton wooden cutter headed north in the calm waters of the Chesapeake Bay near Smith Point Light, recounted SPSR secretary Bill Turville. Moments later, M/V Santa Cruz II, a 521-foot, 19,000-ton Argentine collier heading south from Baltimore sounded a second blast followed by five short blasts signaling immediate danger.
At 9:07 p.m. October 20, 1978, the starboard bow of Santa Cruz II tore into the starboard quarter of Cuyahoga….
