the nearby Stephano each thought the men were safely aboard the other man's vessel. Newfoundlands owners had removed the ship's wireless telegraph equipment because it was an expense that did not contribute to profits. Newfoundlands captain, believing the men were aboard Stephano, did not blow the ship's whistle to signal his location, which would have allowed his men to find the ship in the darkness and rain. The sealers endured two nights without shelter, in first a freezing rain storm and then a snowstorm. The dead and survivors alike were rescued about 54 hours later by another ship in the fleet, Bellaventure, under Captain Isaac Randell. Of the 132 men aboard Newfoundland, 78 died, and many more were seriously injured. This disaster occurred in the same storm in which sank with all hands. The total loss from all three sealing ships totaled more than 250 lives, and the combined tragedy became known as the 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster. 1916 loss In 1916 Samuel Blandford left New York with a cargo of coal bound for St John's. On August 3 she struck the Keys, near St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador and was wrecked. Heritage Cassie Brown and Harold Horwood wrote their 1972 book Death on the Ice about the 1914 disaster. The National Film Board of Canada has made three documentaries about the disaster: The Icehunters in 1976, "I Just Didn't Want to Die": The 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster in 1991, and the multimedia short 54 Hours in 2014. References Bibliography External links Brigantines Disasters in Newfoundland and Labrador Maritime incidents in 1914 Maritime incidents in 1916 Maritime incidents in Canada Sealing ships Steamships of Canada Steamships of the United Kingdom Water transport in Newfoundland and Labrador