In August of 2024, D/V Tenacious announced the discovery of the 1856 transatlantic passenger steamship Le Lyonnais. The liner collided with the American sailing vessel Adriatic off the Coast of Nantucket on November 2, 1856. Adriatic’s captain, Jonathan Durham, rendered no aid and left the steamship to fend for herself. 114 people died in the collision and in the days that followed. 

Durham did not count on a hero, French sailor Jean-Marie-Louis Choupault, who helped 18 Le Lyonnais passengers and crew adrift on a small lifeboat in the brutal North Atlantic. Durham continued with business as usual, including delivering a load of timber to France. French authorities seized his ship and put him on trial, but his adventures did not end there. News of his daring escapades made him a celebrity in America. The outbreak of the Civil War ended further inquiry into what became known in diplomatic circles as “the Adriatic affair,” and the victims of the disaster never received justice.

In 2024, after a search that spanned decades, a team of explorers from D/V Tenacious discovered, dived, and identified the wreckage of Le Lyonnais of the coast of Nantucket on the eastern edge of Georges Bank.

Discovery team member Jennifer Sellitti has written a new book entitled, "The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run Off the Coast of Nantucket," (Schiffer Publishing, March 2025). It details the fascinating true story of the collision and its aftermath. An epilogue she wrote following the team’s discovery chronicles the search for Le Lyonnais and describes what it takes to chase shipwrecks far from shore and in dangerous waters.