Winter Lecture: The Winter Visitors: From Scapa Flow to Annapolis to Bletchley Park

Speaker: Dave Gendell, Author, Historian, and AMM Board Member  

In January 1941, a state-of-the-art British battleship quietly steamed up the Chesapeake Bay on a secret wartime mission. President Roosevelt traveled to Annapolis for a clandestine meeting, even as a team of American codebreakers embarked on a covert journey of their own that began right here on the Severn River. 

Annapolis sailor and historian Dave Gendell brings this extraordinary chapter of World War II to life. Gendell is the author of three maritime history books, including The Last Days of the Schooner America, winner of the 2025 Brewington Book Prize. He also serves on the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park’s Board of Directors.