Finding the 1856 Le Lyonnais wreck | The Adriatic Affair
- Le Lyonnais collided with Adriatic off the coast of Nantucket and sank.
- Just 18 people survived, enduring horrendous conditions before being rescued.
- The collision sparked a trial of Adriatic’s captain Jonathan Durham, who left the scene.
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"There is a huge focus on the characters. What they went through. About 19th-Century life and experiences and some education about what it was like to travel the oceans during that time. It's my hope that there's something for everyone." - Jennifer Sellitti
© 2025 – Fascinated by Shipwrecks
Jennifer Sellitti
Lawyer and Shipwreck Hunter
Jennifer N. Sellitti is a lawyer and a shipwreck hunter. A criminal defense attorney by profession, she and her partner, Joe Mazraani, spend their spare time operating D/V Tenacious, a vessel that locates, dives, and salvages artifacts from shipwrecks in the North Atlantic. Jennifer is a U.S.C.G. licensed captain and a certified diver. She was part of the crew that discovered WW1-casualty West Point, the 1856 steamship Le Lyonnais, and the bow of M/V Stockholm – the vessel that collided with and sank SS Andrea Doria in 1956. She has served as surface support for expeditions to RMS Lusitania, SS Andrea Doria, and Titanic’s sister ship, HMHS Britannic. Jennifer is passionate about educating the public about maritime history. She serves on the board of the New Jersey Maritime Museum, is an associate member of Boston Sea Rovers, and speaks frequently at museums, dive clubs, and conferences about underwater exploration. She is the creator of All Aboard!, an educational program aimed at bringing maritime history into classrooms and communities. Jennifer earned her B.S. in public relations from Boston University and her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. Her first book, “The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-And-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket” (Schiffer Publishing) is available for preorder now and will be released on February 28, 2025. The book tells the story of the collision that sank Le Lyonnais and its aftermath and includes an epilogue that chronicles how she and a team from D/V Tenacious discovered and identified the steamship’s remains in August of 2024.
