During the early winter months of 1960, the St. Mary’s of-the-Harbor Church in Provincetown planned a Smorgasbord supper for Saturday night, Feb. 20.
Little did the Episcopal congregation — or anyone else on the Cape tip — realize just how big of a Swedish and supper event that winter weekend would turn out to be.
It was on this night the 258-foot Swedish freighter Monica Smith ran aground at Hatches Harbor, just south of Race Point, during a “clear-skied gale,” according to The Cape Codder.
It would take several attempts and six days before the vessel was able to resume its run from New Bedford to Nova Scotia.
“When the tide went out, she was completely out of water and made a perfect attraction for Cape residents on the holiday weekend,” the Codder reported.