1914, February 25. Schooner WILLIS A. HOLDEN, Disabled.

 

Schooner Willis A. Holden
Disabled at sea
February 1914.

Original photo from the archives of the 
Saltwater People Historical Society©

Wireless from the US Revenue Cutter Snohomish reported her arrival at Neah Bay with the disabled schooner Willis A. Holden in tow. The Snohomish passed out to sea in search of the schooner which the steamship Messina reported in distress off the Washington coast at 11:30 a.m. and at 9:00 p.m. was reported passing in at the Cape with the Holden in tow.
       The message from the Snohomish further stated that the tug Arctic was standing by, and this is interpreted by officials of the Globe Navigation Co, owners of the sailing vessel, to mean that the Holden was transferred to the tow of the tug. Orders have been issued for the Holden to be brought to Seattle immediately after being fumigated at Port Townsend.
      No mention of the condition of the schooner was made in the revenue cutter's report to Capt. F.M. Dunwoody, head of the Northwestern division of the cutter service with headquarters at Seattle, and it is assumed that all was well aboard when the disabled craft was found. Any repairs which may be necessary to the vessel will be made in Seattle.
      To date, the Holden is 85 days out from Manila en route to Puget Sound, which is almost a long-time record for this voyage. She was sighted last Thursday night about 650 miles off the coast by the British steamship Messina, bound for the Columbia River. The Messina stood by and put ten days provisions aboard the schooner. The Holden's master reported his vessel leaking badly and short of food. He requested the Messina to take her in tow, but heavy weather prevented it. The Holden's men refusing to abandon their ship, the Messina continued on to Astoria, where she reported the plight of the sailing vessel.

1917: The Willis A. Holden was preparing to load 1,300,000 ft of lumber in Bellingham before a stop in Pt. Townsend; then sail her cargo to Callao, Peru then head to Panama Canal to enter the Atlantic trade. She was sold by Port Blakely Mill Co. to Capt. L.A. Scott, a shipowner of Mobile, Alabama. 

Past officers and crew:

Capt. August W. Svenson