Community Corner
KQED-TV, PBS to Air Marin County Shipwreck Documentary
MARIN COUNTY, CA - A
historical documentary titled The San
Agustin: California Shipwreck, will air on PBS affiliate KQED-TV San
Francisco in late January 2014. The half-hour documentary is produced by Marin
County resident George Thelen of Thelen Creative, and highlights the journey of
the legendary Spanish galleon San Agustin,
which sank off Point Reyes in 1595. Thelen is a freelance content producer who
recently led the creation of the Marin History Museum’s award-winning mobile
Application and audio documentary series. The
program will air on Wednesday, January 22, at 11:00pm and again on Sunday,
January 26, at 3:00pm on KQED-TV.
The San Agustin is the oldest known
shipwreck on the U.S. west coast. More than 70 survivors were stranded in an
unfamiliar land when the ship sank during a storm off the Northern California
coast in 1595. Captain Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeño would pilot the surviving
crew more than 1500 miles back to New Spain (Mexico) using only a small craft
the galleon had carried with her for exploration. The shipwreck has never been
excavated and lies within the Drake’s Bay Historic and Archaeological District.
The District was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S Department
of Interior in October 2012.
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The public can view
clips, follow updates and support the project via Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The
establishment of a National Historic Landmark (NHL) recognizes that the site is
“nationally significant in American history and culture.” Nation-wide, less
than 2,600 sites are recognized by the Department of the Interior and the
National Park Service. The Drakes Bay Historic and Archaeological District
National Historic Landmark gives formal recognition to Sir Francis Drake’s
landing site at Drake’s Cove in 1579, the Spanish shipwreck, San Agustin, &
encampment of Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeño in 1595, and fifteen Native-American
villages associated with sixteenth-century Native encounters with European
explorers.
