John Fish, director of the Historical Maritime Group of New England traces his group's decade-long effort to find the Portland's final resting place and to divulge the clues that led them there. The loss of the passenger steamer Portland in November, 1898 represents one of the worst maritime disasters in coastal New England. With over 190 lives lost in the sinking, significant changes were subsequently made in ocean transportation regulations, as well as in the design criteria for new coastal passenger vessels.