A lifeboat drill is summoning an infamous moment in maritime history.
It is no surprise the passengers boarding this particular excursion on Long Island Sound are listening very closely to safety instructions. Sixty years ago, their lives or that of a family member depended on it.
“The captain gave orders that children should go first, then ladies, then men,” says Corrado Sigona, survivor of SS Andrea Doria sinking, which collided with the MS Stolkhom off Nantucket.
"My dad was on board as a tourist class passenger and he was coming to America for a better life,” says Rosa Napoletano.
Napoletano’s late father survived by hanging onto the guidelines of a lifeboat much like this one. Or perhaps, this one exactly.
"It was used during the rescue and was brought in after the rescue, so this boat did not sink with the Andrea Doria,” says Mark Koch, owner of SS Andrea Doria Lifeboat #1.
Launching from the waterfront at SUNY Maritime College, Lifeboat #1 has been exactingly restored in Albany in time to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the disaster that claimed 46 lives.
"Take a minute out to remember the ones who weren’t as lucky as us," survior Pat Mastrincola says.
"We're very blessed," survivor Arlene Meisner says.