SS Valencia
SS Valencia in 1904
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Valencia |
Namesake | Valencia, Venezuela |
Owner |
|
Operator |
|
Port of registry | United States[1] |
Route |
|
Builder | William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia |
Yard number | 228[7] |
Launched | 11 March 1882 |
Maiden voyage | May 1882[8] |
In service | 1882–1906 |
Out of service | 22 January 1906 |
Fate | Wrecked on 22 January 1906 |
Notes | Ran aground near Pachena Point on Vancouver Island |
General characteristics | |
Type | Ocean liner/coastal passenger liner |
Tonnage | 1,598 Tons (originally 1,200 Tons)[8] |
Length | 252 ft (77 m)[6] |
Beam | 34 ft (10 m)[6] |
Notes | Carried six |
SS Valencia was an iron-hulled passenger
History
East coast
The Red D Line had been operating a well-established sailing ship service to Venezuela since 1839.[11] This service continued uninterrupted for almost 40 years.[8] By the summer of 1879 however, the company decided to modernize its service with steamships. Three German vessels were leased to begin this service, but it soon became clear that a permanent fleet would need to be provided.[11] Resulting from this decision, two steamships were ordered from William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia. Both ships were to carry a combination of passengers, cargo and mail, sail under American Registration and be manned by American crews. In 1881, the first of this duo, the 1,200-ton Caracas, was completed and began service in July 1881 between New York City and Caracas via Laguayra and Puerto Cabello.[2][8]
In 1882, the sister ship of Caracas was completed. The new steamer, Valencia, was shorter in length than her older sister by 5 ft (2 m)
In 1897, the liner Niagara of the Ward Line was laid up to undergo repairs. The Valencia was subsequently chartered from the Red D Line to temporarily take Niagara's place. Despite the charter, Valencia was still manned by her Red D Line crew.[14] On 29 May 1897, the Valencia was purposely attacked by the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes. The cruiser fired two shots at the Valencia off Guantánamo Bay. One of the shots missed Valencia's stern by 240 ft (73 m) Immediately, the American flag was raised on Valencia's stern, preventing Reina Mercedes from firing any further shots.[15] It was later revealed that the shots were fired by Reina Mercedes in order to intimidate Valencia into raising her colors. The crew of Reina Mercedes was otherwise well aware of Valencia's identity. Despite not being able to see the cruiser's flag, Valencia's captain was able to identify Reina Mercedes, as both ships were together in Santiago de Cuba only days before. A Spanish official claimed Reina Mercedes had every right to fire upon Valencia for not displaying her American flag, which violated maritime courtesy. In response an American official stated Reina Mercedes did not display her colors while attacking Valencia, making the attack unjustified.[14]
West coast
In 1898, Valencia was sold to the
Performance
After returning to civil service, Valencia did not adapt well to her new surroundings. Valencia was not a well-liked ship among Pacific Coast passengers.[6] She was regarded as being too small and too open to the elements, causing her to be classified as a second class vessel. Furthermore, her average speed was only 11 knots.
Her design made her difficult to handle during winter months. Valencia's lengthy 100 ft (30 m) bow reduced visibility from her bridge. The very audible noise of the waves crashing along her bow often interfered with communication between her crew members.
The Valencia was not equipped with a double bottom and, like other early iron steamers, her hull compartmentalization was primitive.[16]
Incidents
In 1901, Valencia's purser was arrested for overpricing tickets and embezzling the additional money. The purser claimed the rest of Valencia's crew was involved in this scam. In the same event, the Valencia was discovered to have been carrying more passengers than her permits allowed, causing her owners to be fined $9,000 (equivalent to $330,000 in 2023).[6]
Following these scandals, Valencia was sold to the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.
While returning from
Carrying a crew of 62, three passengers, and 500 tons of general cargo on a voyage from
During the winter season, Valencia spent most of her time sitting at her dock in San Francisco, only seeing use as a backup vessel.[6]
Final voyage
In January 1906, the Valencia was temporarily diverted to the San Francisco–Seattle route to take over from the SS City of Puebla, which was undergoing repairs in San Francisco. The weather in San Francisco was clear, and Valencia set off on 20 January at 11:20 a.m. with nine officers, 56 crew members and at least 108 passengers aboard.[18] As she passed by Cape Mendocino in the early morning hours of 21 January, the weather took a turn for the worse. Visibility was low and a strong wind started to blow from the southeast.
Unable to make
After the collision
Immediately after the collision, a large wave lifted her off the reef, and crew members reported a large gash in the hull into which water was pouring rapidly. To prevent her from sinking, the captain ordered her run aground, and she was driven into the rocks again. She was left stranded in sight of the shore, separated from it by less than 100 yards (91 m).[18]
In the ensuing confusion, all but one of the ship's seven lifeboats were lowered into the water against the captain's orders, all of them improperly manned. Three flipped while being lowered, spilling their occupants into the ocean; of the three that were successfully launched, two capsized and one disappeared. The scene at the wreck was horrific, as one of the few survivors, Chief Freight Clerk Frank Lehn recounted:
Screams of women and children mingled in an awful chorus with the shrieking of the wind, the dash of rain, and the roar of the breakers. As the passengers rushed on deck they were carried away in bunches by the huge waves that seemed as high as the ship's mastheads. The ship began to break up almost at once and the women and children were lashed to the rigging above the reach of the sea. It was a pitiful sight to see frail women, wearing only night dresses, with bare feet on the freezing ratlines, trying to shield children in their arms from the icy wind and rain.[19]
Only 12 men made it to shore, and of those, three were washed away by the waves after landing. The remaining nine men scaled the cliffs and found a
Meanwhile, the ship's
This last group of survivors was "well-nigh crazed" by their last sight of the remaining passengers stranded on the ship:the brave faces looking at them over the broken rail of a wreck and of the echo of that great hymn sung by the women who, looking death smilingly in the face, were able in the fog and mist and flying spray to remember: Nearer, My God, to Thee.[21]
Rescue efforts
Once word of the disaster reached Victoria, three ships were dispatched to rescue the survivors. The largest was the passenger liner SS Queen: accompanying her were the salvage steamer Salvor and the tug Czar. Another steamship, City of Topeka, was later sent from Seattle with a doctor, nurses, medical supplies, members of the press, and a group of experienced seamen. On the morning of 24 January, Queen arrived at the site of the wreck, but was unable to approach due to the severity of the weather and lack of depth charts. Seeing that it would not be possible to approach the wreck from the sea, Salvor and Czar set off to Bamfield to arrange for an overland rescue party.[18]
Upon seeing Queen, Valencia's crew launched the ship's two remaining life rafts, but the majority of the passengers decided to remain on the ship, presumably believing that a rescue party would soon arrive. Approximately one hour later, City of Topeka arrived and, like Queen, was unable to approach the wreck. Topeka cruised the waters off the coast for several hours searching for survivors, and eventually came upon one of the life rafts carrying 18 men. No other survivors were found and at dark the captain of City of Topeka called off the search. The second life raft eventually drifted ashore on an island in Barkley Sound, where the four survivors were found by the island's First Nations and taken to a village near Ucluelet.[18]
When the overland party arrived at the cliffs above the site of the wreck, they could see dozens of passengers clinging to the rigging and the few unsubmerged parts of Valencia's hull. Not long afterwards, the ship's lone funnel collapsed. With the funnel being the last full means of protection to anyone on board, the waves were now able to completely wash over Valencia's deck, leaving all at the mercy of the waves.[6] Without any remaining lifelines, however, they could do nothing to help the survivors, and within hours a large wave washed the wreckage off the rocks and into the ocean. The remaining passengers drowned, were beaten to death against the rocks, or clung to wreckage as they were swept to sea, dying of hypothermia.[18]
Investigation and aftermath
Within days of the disaster, the US Marine Inspection Service launched an investigation into the incident. A second investigation was launched by President Theodore Roosevelt. Its purpose was twofold: one, to determine the causes of the disaster, and two, to recommend how to avoid such loss of life in the future.
The investigation ran from 14 February to 1 March 1906, and the final report was published on 14 April 1906. The reports agreed on the causes of the disaster — navigational mistakes and poor weather. Safety equipment was, for the most part, in working order, but lifeboat drills had not been carried out. According to the report, the crew of the rescuing vessels did as much to help Valencia as could be expected under the circumstances.[18]
The loss of life was attributed to a series of unfortunate coincidences, aggravated by a lack of lifesaving infrastructure along Vancouver Island's coast. The federal report called for the construction of a lighthouse between
Estimates of how many people died in the sinking vary; some sources list that 117 people were killed, while others claim that the number of fatalities was as high as 181.[10][23] According to the federal report, the official death toll was 136 persons. Only 37 men survived, and every woman and child on Valencia died in the disaster.
In 1933, 27 years after the disaster, Valencia's lifeboat No. 5 was found floating in Barkley Sound. Remarkably, it was in good condition, with much of the original paint remaining.[10][24] The boat's nameplate is now on display in the Maritime Museum of British Columbia.[18]
Coincidentally, Valencia's sister ship Caracas, was also wrecked. On 9 December 1888, shortly after arriving on the west coast as Yaquina Bay, she broke free from her tugboat, ran aground at the bay of her namesake and was declared a total loss.[5][12]
Myths and legends surrounding Valencia
Valencia's dramatic end has made her the subject of several local rumors and ghost stories. Six months after the sinking, a local Nuu-chah-nulth fisherman, Clanewah Tom, and his wife reported seeing a lifeboat with eight skeletons in a nearby sea cave at the shoreline of Pachena Bay.[25] The mouth of the cave was obstructed by a large boulder and the cave was reported to be around 200 ft (61 m) deep. There was no definite explanation for the lifeboat's presence in the cave, but it was believed that high tide had lifted the boat into the cave's mouth. Lightkeeper Philip Daykin, who managed to get a good look inside the cave, speculated the survivors were alive when the lifeboat entered the cave, but starved to death before it could be found.[25] Due to the dangerous seas outside the cave's mouth, the lifeboat along with its human remains could not be recovered.[26] Local resident Clay Evans, a member of the local Search and Rescue who has studied the Valencia sinking, believes the story to be apocryphal: however, if it is true, the lifeboat in question was likely No. 5, explaining its eventual rediscovery in 1933.[27] Local fisherman similarly reported lifeboats being rowed by skeletons of Valencia's victims.[26]
When transporting the survivors of Valencia to Seattle, City of Topeka stopped in the water to relay the news of Valencia's foundering to a passing vessel. Some observers onboard claimed they could make out the shape of Valencia within the black exhaust emanating from City of Topeka's funnel. In fact, while steaming to port with survivors, a ship approached her and passed close by. To the horror of all on board, it appeared to be the Valencia, and the crew on board skeletons. The phantom steamer was on the same course, heading straight for the rocks. The Valencia signaled the City of Topeka, which added to the terror of the people on board the Topeka. After the chilling experience, the Topeka continued on with no other incidents.
See also
- SS Caracas (1881) – sister ship of Valencia
- Clallam (steamboat)
- SS Columbia (1880)
- Princess Sophia (steamer)
- Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
References
- ^ "Photo# NH 82635 Troops on a transport". Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ^ a b c Colton, Tim (27 May 2010). "Cramp Shipbuilding, Philadelphia". Shipbuilding History: Construction records of U.S. and Canadian shipbuilders and boatbuilders. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d McSherry, Patrick. "The Transport Service". Spanish–American War Centennial Website. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ a b (Steamship), Valencia (1901). John G. Grismore, Et Al, Libelant, Vs. Steamship "Valencia", Respondent, Pacific Steam Whaling Company Claimant. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Gold-Carriers in Demand". San Francisco Call. Vol. 83, no. 25. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 25 December 1897. p. 9. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0-471-38420-8
- ^ "William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilders". Shipbuilding History. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Preble, George H. (1895). A Chronological History of the Origin and Development of Steam Navigation. L.R. Hamersly & Company. pp. 398.
- ^ "Many lives lost... ...Severe Gale Still in Progress", Los Angeles Herald, Volume 33, Number 115, 24 January 1906 (Associated Press), accessed 22 January 2023
- ^ a b c d Paterson, T. W. (1967). British Columbia Shipwrecks. Langley, BC: Stagecoach Publishing. pp. 72–76. Archived from the original on 12 January 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
- ^ a b c United States Congress (1890). Congressional Edition, Volume 2685. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 228. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ a b c Wright, E.W. (1961) [1895]. Yaquina Bay (steamer). Magellan – Ship Biographies. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "Afloat and Ashore – Daily Alta California, Volume 42, Number 14256". California Digital Newspaper Collection. 16 September 1888. p. 1. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ a b Sherman, John; E. Dupuy de Lome (1898). Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. The University of California: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 502 to 507.
- ^ Unknown (13 June 1897). "Valencia Arrives Safely in Port" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ Newell, Gordon R., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, at page 124, Superior Publishing, Seattle, WA 1966
- ^ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (V) Retrieved 12 September 2018
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j McClary, Daryl C. (29 July 2005). "Wreck of the SS Valencia". Retrieved 26 August 2006.
- ^ McCurdy, at 124
- ^ Neitzel, Michael C., The Valencia Tragedy, Heritage house, Surrey, 1995.
- ISBN 0-333-72597-2.
- ^ Sykes, Karen (17 July 1997). "A walk on the wild side". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 26 August 2006.[dead link]
- ^ "New OSU Press Book Looks at Northwest Maritime Disasters" (Press release). Oregon State University. 24 July 2002. Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
- ^ Brodeur, Nicole (10 January 2006). "Maritime safety owes debt to Valencia victims". Seattle Times. Retrieved 26 August 2006.
- ^ a b San Francisco Call August 23, 1906, Page 5. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
- ^ a b c d "13 Days of Halloween: The Ghost Ship Valencia". Consortium for Ocean Leadership. 23 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ^ Banel, Feliks (26 January 2022). "From the KIRO Newsradio archives: The wreck of the Valencia". 93.3FM Kiro NewsRadio. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
External links
- Atlantic and Caribbean Steam Navigation Co. / Red "D" Line – TheShipsList – Web page explaining the fleet details of the Red D Line, as well as some of its background history.
- Atlantic and Caribbean Steam Navigation Co. / Red "D" Line – Historia y Arqueología Marítima (In Spanish) – Webp age explaining a detailed history about the Red D Line and the SS Caracas.
- Valencia, SS, the Wreck of (1906) – HistoryLink.org – A historical essay about the Valencia disaster and the tragedy surrounding her wreck.
- Sinking of the Valencia: Tragedy and Beyond – VirtualMuseum.ca – A Web page explaining and displaying several pieces of Valencia's tragic demise. Her 1882 blueprints are included.
Archives
- The National Archives Casualty files for the Valencia compiled by The Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation.