❖ UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SALT AIR ❖

  Steamer VIRGINIA V
on her first trip to Seattle 1922.
Photo from the Williamson Collection on a promotional 
postcard published by the Steamer VIRGINIA V Foundation.
From the Clinton Betz Collection,
Saltwater People Historical Society©

"The steamer VIRGINIA V must rank among the more famous Puget Sound steamboats of all time. Her record of dependability, owing to the clock-like regularity she maintained on the Seattle and Tacoma route, seven days a week for 16 years; compares favorably with the records of such steamers as the FLYER and the TACOMA. Finally, as the last of the Puget Sound steamboats, she is in a class with the BEAVER, which was the first.
      Capt. N. G. Christensen, president of the West Pass Transportation Co, had named all of his vessels VIRGINIA simply because it was the name of the craft with which he founded the business. In discussing these steamers, he usually referred to them by their numbers, such as the THREE, the FOUR, or the FIVE. Thus, the "V" was a Roman numeral, not an initial.
      While planning construction of the FIVE, Capt Christensen was influenced by the design of Capt John Manson's VASHON II. Many features of that steamer appealed to him, but he could not forget an earlier vessel constructed for his company. A bit nostalgically, perhaps, he decided to have the hull patterned after that of the VIRGINIA II, a much smaller, but well-designed craft. The upper structure would be a slightly larger version of the VASHON II. 
      The builder he chose was Matt Anderson, who lived at Maplewood, just across the West Pass from Christensen's home at Lisabeula. Now in his seventies, Matt Anderson had completed a career in shipbuilding and seafaring before he moved out on the West Pass. He obtained the plans for the VASHON II and VIRGINIA II hulls, and from these began lofting the VIRGINIA V hull in his small yard at Maplewood. The timbers, meanwhile, were delivered to Maplewood by the VIRGINIA III.
      As Matt Anderson studied the VASHON II frames, however, he often remarked, 'I think I'll use a bigger timber here."
      In fact, he ordered bigger timbers so often a deckhand on the THREE, Henry Larson, began calling him "Big Timber" Anderson. The durability of the VIRGINIA V hull, though, has proven the soundness of his judgment.
      Henry Larson, incidentally, figures in some of the better VIRGINIA III livestock stories. Freight on the West Pass consisted of everything from household furnishing to hay, grain, poultry, and farm annals. Henry, having grown up on a ranch at Lisabeula, was considered one of the more knowledgeable members of the crew, where livestock was concerned. To be sure, he was well informed in all matters pertaining to cargo, but he was especially handy to have aboard when a cow needed to be milked.
      As might be expected, Puget Sound steamers were occasionally called on to transport bulls, as well as other farm animals; and the annals of that era are filled with references to these encounters. Invariably, the bulls came aboard with good references. All were described as extremely gentle bulls, but all, it seemed, became ungentlemanly under the influence of salt air.
           

S. S. VIRGINIA III
(launched as TYPHOON in 1910)
Here she is at Joseph Floyd's Landing.
In 1914 she was taken over by West Pass Transportation, 
completely remodeled, emerging as VIRGINIA III. 
One of her masters was Capt. J.J. Macmillan (d. 1935.)
Original photo from the archives of Saltwater People Historical Society©

      In one instance, a rancher on the West Pass maneuvered a young bull onto a wooden base, then managed to build a crate around him. This unorthodox contrivance was wheeled to the steamer landing, and at low tide was slid onto the top deck of the VIRGINIA III. All would have gone well enough, perhaps, if the bull hadn't considered it a personal affront every time the gangplank was dragged by his cage. At last, Henry Larson, to show his disdain, no doubt, for a bull in a packing case, hauled off and kicked the crate. The response was instantaneous. The crate literally exploded, and out of the spray of kindling charged the bull. Henry headed aft at full speed, with the bull only a step behind. When he reached the stern, Henry made a U-turn and started up the starboard side. The bull, unable to manage the sharp turn on a wet deck, lost his footing, plunged off the stern, and did a high dive into the Sound.
       Retrieving a chastened bull, and delivering him, sans crate, but still intact, made for a normal day on the West Pass.
      Those awaiting the launching of the VIRGINIA V, on 9 March 1922, were greeted by a typical March dawn. The sky was grey, and a light drizzle of rain was falling. The shipways were adjacent to the Maplewood wharf, and the launching was scheduled for 7 A.M., to coincide with the arrival of the VIRGINIA III on her regular morning trip from Tacoma. Some observers looked upon the rain as a bad omen and predicted that the launching would be postponed. At the moment the bow of the VIRGINIA III touched the wharf, however, there was a groaning of timbers, and the hull of the VIRGINIA V slipped, stern first, down the ways.

S. S. VIRGINIA V
undated photo by James A. Turner.
Click to enlarge.
from the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society©

       The whistle of the THREE sounded in a long, piercing salute that echoed and re-echoed along the high bluffs of the West Pass; as the VIRGINIA V dipped lightly into Puget Sound, and backed easily over the calm water. She came to anchor a short distance north of the Maplewood dock, and the echoes of the familiar whistle died away. It was appropriate that it should have been heard at that moment, for it was the whistle that the VIRGINIA V would carry during all her years on the West Pass."
The Sound and the Mountain. Carey, Roland. Alderbrook Publishing. 1970
Mr. Carey has written more for another day.

❖ MOSQUITO FLEET MONDAY ❖ the VIRGINIA V, Our Sole Surviving Steam Mosquito

VIRGINIA V
Built by Matt Anderson at Maplewood,
Kitsap Peninsula, WA.
Seen here on her first trip
to Seattle, summer 1922.
Click image to enlarge.
From a litho postcard from
the Clinton H. Betz ship collection
Archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society©

"1922 was a year of global turmoil and transition. The 'war of all wars' was over and the Jazz Age kicked up its heels. The roaring 20s were building up steam. Winds of change swept waves of speak-easies, flappers, rumrunners, bootleggers, and gangsters across the land.
      The waters were quiet on Puget Sound for Campfire Girls' Postmistress, Ellen Bringloe, as she rowed from Camp Sealth to Maplewood wharf with a bottle of Lisabuela Creek water. 
      At six AM sharp, Ellen smacked her be-ribboned bottle of 'Prohibition champagne' against the prow of the newest 'Mosquito Fleet' steamer, christening her VIRGINIA V. The first VIRGINIA was the S.S. VIRGINIA MERRILL (1908), named after the daughter of a local logging baron.
      Captain Nels G. Christensen, of the West Pass Transportation Co, first saw VIRGINIA V in his mind's eye. He described her to Mathew Anderson, master shipwright, and with a handshake, and roughly $30,000 the project was begun. In nine months, Anderson carved VIRGINIA V out of first- growth Douglas fir––without the aid of a blueprint. She unfolded upon his dry dock, gaining her unique shape day by day. With her traditional nautical lines and raked funnel, VIRGINIA V is a classic wooden-hulled steamship. 
      116-ft x 24-ft  with a 7-ft draft, she can carry a couple of hundred passengers and haul 100 tons of freight at a steady and comfortable 13-knots. Her 400-HP, triple-expansion, oil-fired steam engine formerly powered the VIRGINIA IV.
      On 11 June, VIRGINIA V went to work. She joined scores of needle-nosed steamers that darted about the islands, harbors, and bays of Puget Sound providing transportation between town and country, farm and city. The steamer serviced 13 landings along both sides of Vashon Island's Colvos passage, connecting those communities with Seattle and Tacoma.
      Whenever VIRGINIA V arrived at a landing, it was a social event. Mail was picked up and delivered. Gossip was exchanged. Young ladies kept an averted eye open for any young men looking their way. Groceries were unloaded. Livestock and produce were boarded. Then the lines were cast off, the whistle would ring out and the engine would begin slowly and rhythmically building up to a crescendo of syncopated patter. The sonorous sounds of VIRGINIA's steam whistle echoing down Colvos Passage would punctuate her comings and goings.
      Business was so brisk that eventually two round trips daily were established. On Sundays, she escorted Campfire Girls back and forth between Seattle and Camp Sealth on Vashon Island. The girls adopted the vessel and affectionately called her "VIRGINIA VEE." She traveled 126 miles a day, six days a week, 445,900 miles a year. Everything flowed smoothly until the vicious and brutal storm of 1934 nearly destroyed her.
      What in the world VIRGINIA 's lee side was doing facing the Olallala wharf that Sunday in October is anyone's guess. Hurricane-force winds were racing down the Sound. 70-mile-an-hour winds whipped up 10-ft swells. The full force of the freak storm struck the vessel broadside, hurled her over, crashing her through pilings. Pinned to the dock by broken timbers, wind and wave beat the helpless vessel mercilessly. The 30 passengers and crew miraculously escaped injury by leaping to the dock and safety. 
      VIRGINIA V's stout hull withstood the onslaught, but her upperworks were stove-in. The damage estimate was $11,000 and $11,000 in 1934, at the depth of the Great Depression was a small fortune. Her owners decided to rebuild. The investment didn't pay off. Auto-passenger ferries were making serious inroads in Puget Sound maritime traffic. Trucks carried the freight, cars the passengers, and both were transported across the Sound on ferries. The Coast Guard was demanding more and more of a vessel to pass inspection and workers were demanding more and more in wages. After 16 years and eight million passengers, VIRGINIA V was retired from regular service in 1938, her fate uncertain.
      In 1940, the Japanese were island hopping across the Pacific and there was considerable fear that they would island-hop across the Aleutians, down the Inside Passage, and into Puget Sound. Japanese subs were sinking unarmed merchant vessels along Washington's coast. They attacked a lighthouse on Vancouver Island and shelled the Harbor Defenses at the mouth of the Columbia River. There were rumors that a Japanese battle fleet was sighted off the California Coast, and was heading toward the naval shipyard at Bremerton. The government enlisted every boat that would float into the war effort. The US Army enlisted VIRGINIA V in their harbor defense. She transported troops and supplies between Seattle and seacoast forts.
      In 1942, although Japanese subs were prowling the sealanes off the WA coast, Capt V.G. Christensen, son of the original owner, brought the VIRGINIA V from Puget Sound to the Columbia River. He hoped to find permanent employment for the craft as a passenger vessel between Portland and Astoria. His last-ditch effort was an era too late. A ribbon of highway stretched across the land and sleek, fast autos raced down them. The red ink flowed. The crew 'plastered the boat' (sued for wages,) and a deputy Marshall seized the vessel in lieu of unpaid bills. VIRGINIA V was to be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction. 
      VIRGINIA presented a forlorn and lonely picture as she waited to be hauled up on the auction block. Nearly every other 'Mosquito Fleet' steamer had met the scrapper's torch. Her wooden hull was worthless, but her brass fittings and steel boiler were worth their weight in gold during the wartime metal scarcity."
Above excerpt from The Washington Fleet. An O/P publication in memory of Capt. H. Ward Henshaw (1883-1958) by Ron and Kristine Henshaw for the Washington Centennial in 1989. Thank you Henshaws.

A chart presented with a ticket to the 
50th celebration of S.S. VIRGINIA V 
in 1972.
Click to enlarge.

1922-1938: The VIRGINIA V made a round trip a day through the Passage, carrying freight and passengers between Tacoma and Seattle. 
1939-1940: She ran during the summer months only. Her working days are honored 

 Roland Carey, Isle of the Sea Breezers. Alderbrook Publishing Co., Seattle. 1976.

The below excerpt from Workboats by Archie Satterfield and Walt Crowley. 
Sasquatch Books. 1992.
      "New owners brought her back to Puget Sound and began the West Pass run again. But after the war, business declined, and like the entire Mosquito Fleet, the VIRGINIA V was relegated to the transportation backwaters when the State of Washington decided in 1950 to invest in its own ferry fleet as an extension of the State highway system. She was used almost exclusively for excursions during the next three decades.
      

VIRGINIA V
Dated 6 May 1976
Just before the 
Steamer Virginia V Foundation 
was formed by a group of 
dedicated and determined steam buffs.
Photo by Roy Scully 
from the archives of the 
Saltwater People Historical Society©

During this time, she went through a succession of owners until the VIRGINIA V Foundation, formed in 1976, bought her in 1979 with state and federal grants and matching funds from supporters.

      Today the boat continues to be chartered to private parties, carrying up to 328 passengers. She is operated in much the same manner as she was during her heyday on the Sound because grandfather clauses waive many Coast Guard regulations that apply to new boats––provided the VIRGINIA V is in good working condition."

❖ Waterfront Pageantry ❖

VIRGINIA V, 

steaming into Elliott Bay, Seattle, WA.

Date between 1934-1939.
Original photograph from the James A. Turner Collection,

Saltwater People Historical Society©

 

"We were young and full of vinegar in those early years of Seattle's Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society [PSMHS]. Steamboat races, tugboat races, and pyrotechnics were frequently on our minds. Action we wanted and action we got--action mixed with history--a novel combination. Our first big endeavor was to race on Elliott Bay the last of the inland passenger steamers in an epic contest for the crown.

SIGHTSEER on Lake Washington, Seattle.
Dated 1936
Click image to enlarge.
Original gelatin-silver photo from the 
Saltwater People Historical Society.

SIGHTSEER (ex-VASHONA)
Original photo from the
James A. Turner Collection,
Saltwater People Historical Society archives© 

Pitted against each other were the venerable steamers VIRGINIA V and the SIGHTSEER, skippered by Captain 'Howling' Parker and Captain Harry Wilson, respectively. This led to the annual Elliott Bay tugboat races, sponsored by the PSMHS for many years and involving scores of tugs of all sizes and horsepower, coming here from as far as Alaska to the north and the Columbia River to the south, with a generous sprinkling of Canadian challengers as well. We started a nationwide show, one that was copied in several large American ports.

      Then came that featured race between the last of the sternwheelers--the SKAGIT CHIEF, SKAGIT BELLE, and W. T. PRESTON.

SKAGIT CHIEF,  SKAGIT BELLE, and W. T. PRESTON 
Churning up Elliott Bay 

20 August 1950.
The course of the Seafair event ran from 

Magnolia Bluff to the foot of Lenore Street.

Click image to enlarge.
Race sponsored by the 

Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society.
Photo by Larry Dion for the Seattle Times©.
Original gelatin-silver photograph from the archives of the 

Saltwater People Historical Society©

The black horse PRESTON took the honors. And when the annual Seafair rolled around, the destruction of Neptune's ship fell in our hands, and Elliott Bay was the scene of the fiery end of many worn-out hulls including the historic BELLINGHAM, the first ship of the Alaska Steamship Co., Black Ball Line, and Northland Transportation Co.

Photo by James A. Turner, Seattle, WA.
Date and event unknown.
Original photo from the archives of 
the Saltwater People Historical Society©

Those were rip-snorting days of fun and frolic, and we salty dogs and dock wallopers really lived it up.
Text by Jim Gibbs
The Sea Chest
Quarterly membership journal of the Puget Sound Maritime Society
June 1969