❖ WRECKS ❖ SHIPS E-F (5) ❖

Wrecks Log E-F (5)
Work in progress.

EDITH

ON 136858
Owned by Alaska Steamship Co.
276.4' x 37.3' x 27.4'.
2,369 G.t./1,495 N.t.
Blt. 1882, England.
Capt. C. B. McMullen 
Wrecked 29 Aug 1915
Crew saved.

EDITH
Photographs by John E. Thwaites.
From the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

FANTOME

Capt. Guyan March
Lost: All hands (31)
27 October 1998
Off the coast of Honduras

FANTOME
Leaving Seattle, 1953.

"On October 27, 1998, the luxury sailing vessel FANTOME was caught off the coast of Honduras by Hurricane Mitch and perished with her crew of 31, having previously disembarked her passengers. Originally a British yacht, the FANTOME was stranded in Seattle by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and spent the next 14 years at anchor in Lake Union and Portage Bay.

      The SV FANTOME was a steel-hulled sailing yacht built for Great Britain’s Duke of Westminster in 1927, and later acquired by beer baron Ernest Guinness. She sailed into Seattle in 1939 and became stranded by the outbreak of World War II. After the war, King County blocked her departure in an effort to recover property taxes from Guiness. The vessel ended up resting at anchor in Portage Bay for a total of nearly 14 years.

GUINESS YACHT
FANTOME
Seattle, WA.
Original photo from the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

      Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis finally bought her and offered her as a wedding present to Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956, but the royal couple declined the gift. Briefly renamed FLYING CLOUD, the FANTOME was ultimately acquired by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises in 1969 and converted into a luxury sailing vessel for up to 128 adventurous tourists".
Text only by Walt Crowley, History Link. Seattle, WA., 2003.

FARALLON

ON 120724

158.5' x 33.8' x 18.5'; Blt 1888.
Owned by Northwestern Steamship Co.
Capt. J.C. Hunter
Wrecked 5 Jan. 1910.

FARALLON
By the man that was there,
John E. Thwaites, photographer, mail clerk.
From the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

Coated with ice, like a floating ghost ship, the wreck of the Alaska cargo vessel FARALLON was driven ashore in a heavy snowstorm at Iliamna Bay. She was en route to Dutch Harbor from Valdez when she stranded; the passengers and crew narrowly escaping with their lives, were forced to set up camp on the inhospitable shores to await rescue. The ship was insured for only $70,000.

FEARLESS

ON 210192

Built by Wm. H.F. Reed on Decatur Island for Henry Cayou, of Deer Harbor, WA, 1912.
Source: Master Carpenter's Certificate from Bureau of Navigation, NARA.
Wrecked: Near Kodiak, AK. 1960
Loss of Life: Four.

FEARLESS
ON 210192
Built on Decatur Island, WA. 1912
Lost 1960
Photo courtesy of Cliff Thompson,
Long time Deer Harborite.

Four fishermen were lost near Kodiak, AK, when the 90-ft fishing boat FEARLESS loaded with king crab sank in mountainous waves and a 65-mile gale.
The four bodies were recovered by the USCG. Debris from the FEARLESS and the dory in which the men tried to escape later washed up on the shore at Cape Chiniak.
One of the men lost was Clyde Welcome, who held the Island mail contract between 1940 and 1948, and captained the WATER BABY.

FRANK W. HOWE

O.N. 120830

Blt. 1891, Boston

Capt. A. Keegan

Wrecked 1904, Seaview, WA.

Loss of life: two.

FRANK W. HOWE
1891-1904
Seaview, WA.

"The wrath of a southwest gale was responsible for the loss of the schooner FRANK W. HOWE, en route to San Pedro from Ballard with a cargo of railroad ties in 1904.

      The first news of the HOWE in distress was received at 10 am at the North Head Lighthouse when flares were sighted directly west of the station. Word was relayed to the lifesaving stations, and both the Fort Canby and Klipsan crews were directed to the beach.

      Out beyond the surf a waterlogged schooner moved toward the shore. The surf was too high to launch a boat, and the lifesaving crews patiently waited for the vessel to strike the sands before attempting a rescue. Finally she struck, and immediately two line-throwing guns were set up on the sands. After several futile attempts, three lines hit their mark and a few hours later Captain A. Keegan and six crew members came ashore by breeches buoy.

      'Thank God, it's all over,' choked the ship's master bundling up in a warm blanket and addressing the chief of the lifesaving crew,

      We left Ballard on 12 February, and all went well till the afternoon of Thursday last-- We were off Yaquina Bay, when the vessel suddenly filled. A strong southwest gale was blowing at the time and the seas were mountain high. Since then the schooner had been waterlogged and all that kept it afloat was the cargo in her hold. We had lived in the rigging and on the deck since that time without a wink of sleep and almost nothing to eat. Realizing our desperate condition, I determined to reach the Columbia River or Cape Flattery. Sail was set and we sailed and drifted before the gale until we were off the Columbia River. About 10 am of 22 Feb, the schooner's back broke clear across under the hatch. I could not enter the Columbia, and finding the schooner would weather Cape Disappointment, I headed her for a sandy beach in order to save the lives of the balance of the crew. During the terrible ordeal a Norwegian seaman was swept from the rigging and drowned in the seas, and the cook while taking his trick at the wheel was crushed to death by a massive wall of water that  cleaned the deck. Thank God, 'tis over.'

      The FRANK W. HOWE floated free on the next high tide but drove hard aground again with two bewildered men aboard who had come to look over salvage prospects. It didn't occur to them that they could have made sail and brought the ship into Willapa Harbor for a fat salvage claim. Owned at Boston, the HOWE was valued at $35,000."

Above text from the Pacific Graveyard. James A. Gibbs, Jr. Binfords & Mort, 1950.

In the 1901 US List of Merchant Vessels, the F. W. HOWE was listed with home port of Port Townsend, WA.

     

❖ Castaways from the FARALLON Wreck in the ice January 1910 ❖

 FARALLON Wreck, 5 January 1910,  Passengers rescued; Five of Crew Missing!

Passengers and crew from the wreck of the FARALLON. 
"There was no hardship experienced by anyone at the time 
the ship was wrecked. She glided onto the reef. 
We were thrown a step or two forward, our eyes stuck out, 
our hair stood on end, and that was all there was to it.
But the following thirty days on that barren, icy, beach 
was an experience that tried men's souls and showed 
the mettle, good or bad, of which each one was composed." 
Quote and photo by photographer, J. E. Thwaites.
Original print from the archives of the S. P. H. S.©

"Although the outside world did not know it, passengers and crew of the wrecked steamship FARALLON were camped on an Alaska beach, with the temperature far below zero.
      They had been on the beach almost a month.
      The FARALLON, that had sailed from Seattle the previous 17 December, had been wrecked 5 January. But in those days of slow communications the news did not get to Seattle until 5 February.
      A copy of The Seattle Times for that day was found recently by Capt. Philip H. Luther, a Puget Sound pilot, when he was going through some old papers.
      The story, under a Seward dateline, said:
      "Steamship FARALLON is a total wreck on a reef near Iliamna Bay; five members of her crew are believed to have perished in a desperate attempt to obtain relief for the passengers.
      The passengers and the other members of the crew arrived here this morning aboard the steamship VICTORIA, by which they were rescued 3 February, after spending nearly a month encamped in weather frequently 40 degrees below zero.
      The FARALLON ran to her doom during a blinding snow storm. She struck solidly and it was soon realized that there was no hope for her.
      The tide was rising and soon the vessel was listing badly. There was no sea, however, and the passengers and crew managed to take to the boats without great difficulty.
      It also was possible to get supplies and some heavy clothing and bedding ashore, and the castaways went into camp under fairly comfortable circumstances.
      On 7 January the second mate and four sailors started in a small boat for Kodiak, where they expected to connect with one of the other vessels of the Alaska Steamship Co, which owns the FARALLON. Since then these men have not been heard from, and there is practically no hope that they are alive.
      The weather in the locality of the wreck has been unusually cold and there have been several storms since the men started out. The VICTORIA spent as much time as possible searching for the boat and its little crew, but was obliged to continue to this city because of the condition of the rescued.
      Despite the fact that they were fairly well supplied with clothing and easily obtained wood for fuel, the castaways suffered greatly from the severe cold. None, however, is seriously the worse for the experience."
The Seattle Times, 5 February 1910.

      The dispatch from Seward the next day gave additional details.
      The second mate trying to reach Kodiak 150-miles from the wreck was Gus Swanson. Volunteers with him were Charles Peterson, Otto Nelson, Capt. Weeding A. Bailey, and Charles Born.
      The master of the FARALLON was Capt. J. C. Hunter.
      Contradicting the initial report, the later story said that for the men on shore "the chief difficulty was the lack of fuel, the nearest timber being more than a mile away."
      There had been joy when the VICTORIA was sighted, but despair when it became evident she had not seen the group on shore and was sailing on by. Men then jumped into life boats and tried to head off the VICTORIA. Fortunately, the boats were seen by the ship.

       An earlier log entry, with vessel images, may be seen here