A Long, Dangerous Coastline: Shipwreck Tales from Alaska to CaliforniaOn September 8, 1923, seven US Navy destroyers rammed into jagged rocks on the California coast. Twenty-three sailors died that night. Five years earlier, the Canadian Pacific passenger ship Princess Sophia steamed into Vanderbilt Reef in Alaska's Lynn Canal. When she sank, she took 353 people to their deaths. From San Francisco's fog-bound Golden Gate to the stormy Inside Passage of British Columbia and Alaska, the magnificent west coast of North America has taken a deadly toll. Here are the dramatic tales of ships that met their end on this treacherous coastline—including Princess Sophia, Benevolence, Queen of the North and others. |
Contents
| 7 | |
| 10 | |
| 12 | |
| 19 | |
Alaskans Last Voyage | 28 |
Aground in Alaska | 35 |
Death at the Golden Gate | 44 |
Islander and the Iceberg | 53 |
Speed Kills | 60 |
Other editions - View all
A Long, Dangerous Coastline: Shipwreck Tales from Alaska to California Anthony Dalton Limited preview - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
Alaska Anacapa Island anchor BC Ferries began Benevolence bridge Brother Jonathan cabin California Captain Locke Captain Ward cargo carried City of Rio Columbia River Coronation Island damage danger deck Delphy drifting Dutch Harbor Eliza Anderson engines Farrell foghorn Francis H Gil Island Golden Gate hauled hull Inside Passage knots later launched Leggett lifeboats lookout Lynn Canal Mary Luckenbach miles minutes navigational night ocean officers Ohioan Olympia Pacific paddlewheels passengers and crew pilot port side Prince Rupert Princess Sophia quartermaster Queen reported rescue boats Rio de Janeiro rocks rolled route run aground safely sailed San Francisco San Pedro Santa Barbara Channel seabed ship ship’s shore sidewheel steamer Skagway speed Star of Bengal starboard steam Steamship Company stern storm survivors thick fog tons took tugs Vanderbilt Reef vessel Victoria voyage waves weather west coast wind Winfield Scott Wrangell Wrangell Island wreck