GREEN Island Reef is the spine of the ledge between Outer and Inner Green Island. In total, it presents almost a mile of merciless rock broadside to the prevailing winds. However, the most-remembered tragedy here was not swept onto it from the sea but fell from the sky.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
Soon after World War II, Cliff Island lobstermen began to find pieces of aircraft wreckage in gear they set off the reef, and in 1960, a large fragment was recovered and brought ashore. A Frenchman visiting Cliff at the time felt sure he knew what they had found.
COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING
Shortly before Charles Lindbergh flew the Atlantic, two Frenchmen had attempted the same feat, but in the reverse direction. The fliers, Nungesser and Colie, and their plane, L’Oiseau Blanc or “White Bird,” had disappeared without a trace, though some believe that it was last heard from as it passed over Seguin. Now, here was wreckage of what might be their plane, proof positive that the French had conquered the Atlantic before Lindbergh.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED
The speculation, despite its hopeful press coverage in the Paris Match, was just that—speculation. At the request of historian and flying enthusiast Edward Rowe Snow, the fragment was analyzed and found to be from the World War II era.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
Years later, the mystery of the wreckage was thought to be solved. When the United States finally committed itself to an involvement in the war, nineteen squadrons of Royal Navy pilots came to the Brunswick Naval Air Station between 1943 and 1945 to train in Corsair fighters. In the middle of a snowstorm, one of the pilots radioed the Portland Airport that his plane was out of control and that he was bailing out. A Coast Guardsman stationed at Halfway Rock heard a stuttering engine, and then nothing. The plane was thought to have gone down a mile and a half southeast of Jewell. At the time, neither it nor the pilot was found, but the recovered fragment suggests that the crash might have occured farther to the west. No trace has ever been found of L’Oiseau Blanc.
PLEASE RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE WORK THAT HAS
By sea. This is no place to be in any size boat in foul weather or when a sea is up. Green Island Passage is a narrow but deep cut through the reef. It is well marked, but strong tidal currents through the passage can set boats to either side, toward the breaking foam.
BROUGHT YOU THIS INFORMATION. BUY THE GUIDE!
The same currents make the rocks and ledges of Green Island Reef, along with the shores of Outer Green Island, excellent fishing grounds for stripers and bluefish.