The Ship, the Priest, and the Captain: The Long Search for the Legendary Kad'yak

The true story about a shipwreck discovery, exciting explorations, broken alliances, and returning a lost piece of Alaskan history.

Since its sinking in 1860 from crashing into a rock while transporting a cargo of ice, the Kad’yak ship remained submerged and faded in Alaska’s memory, covered by legends and rumors around an experienced but perhaps rusty sea captain, a broken promise to a priest, and an ominous sign of the cross. It wasn’t until 143 years later that the Kad’yak was found.

In this memoir, scientist Bradley Stevens tells all about the incredible discovery and recovery of the ship—deciphering the sea captain’s muddled notes, digging through libraries and other scientists’ notes, boating over and around the wreck site in circles—as well as the tumultuous aftermath of bringing the Kad’yak ’s story to the public—from the formed collaborations to torn partnerships to the legal battles. An important part of Alaska’s history told from Stevens’s modern-day sea expedition, In Search of the Kad’yak reveals Alaska’s oldest shipwreck discovered and its continuing story today.