❖ HARD ASHORE AT BUCK BAY, ORCAS ISLAND, WA. ❖

Waiting out the tide before
sailing away,
but enjoying a nice view of Buck Bay,
Eastsound, San Juan Archipelago, WA.
Courtesy of L.A. Douglas, Blakely Island.
This day of 8 June 2019.
Click image to enlarge.

❖ S S CITY OF SEATTLE with fireworks and whistles ❖ 1890

SS CITY OF SEATTLE
126635
1,957 G. tons / 246.6'
Launched in May 1890 in Phil; 
arrived in Seattle in Dec. 1890.
Photo inscribed as dated "c. 1907."
Click image to enlarge.
Original photo inscribed verso, the Williamson Collection,
from the Saltwater People Historical Society©

"The outstanding event of 1890 on Puget Sound was the arrival of the new steamer  CITY OF SEATTLE from Philadelphia. When the vessel steamed into Seattle Harbor on 26 Dec 1890, she provided a fitting climax to a year marked by tremendous growth in Puget Sound shipping.
     Twenty-four steamboats were launched on the Sound that year, while more than a million dollars was being added to the value of the inland fleet. No single event, however, impressed the people of Seattle as much as did the arrival of the steamer named for their city. A Seattle newspaper reported that some 27,000 persons boarded the ship in a single day, 28 Dec 1890, when she was opened for visitors. More were turned away, disappointed when visiting hours ended at 4:00 PM. Over in Tacoma, meanwhile, a reporter for the Tacoma Morning Globe wrote that "a stranger in the vicinity would have gained the impression that the CITY OF SEATTLE was the only steamer on Puget Sound.
      Capt D. B. Jackson, of the Puget Sound and Alaska Steamship Co, had ordered the construction of the vessel; she was built at a cost of $225,000. Designed for the Seattle, Tacoma, and Whatcom route, she was built in Philadelphia and completed in May 1890.
      The same company had earlier purchased the CITY OF KINGSTON in Philadelphia. Capt Melville Nichols had brought that craft safely to Seattle in Feb 1890. He then returned to the East Coast to take charge of the CITY OF SEATTLE. With Capt Nichols on the CITY OF SEATTLE were Chief Engineer Robert Turner, First Officer Charles E. Ames, and Second Officer F. A. Woodman.
      Since the Panama Canal had not yet been built, it was necessary to make the long voyage around South America. On 9 Nov 1890, a cablegram from Valparaiso, Chile reported that the CITY OF SEATTLE had arrived there safely, but two days late. After taking on a new supply of coal at Valparaiso, she again put to sea.
      On the morning of 26 Dec, the CITY OF SEATTLE came to anchor in the bay of Port Townsend. The same morning, at 10:30, the CITY OF KINGSTON pulled away from Yesler's Wharf, in Seattle, bound for PortTownsend with a welcoming committee. On board were 250 excursionists. A military band occupied the bow of the steamer, and a large crowd gathered on the dock to see the vessel off. Cheers and music were mingled, as the KINGSTON backed from the pier.
      In Port Townsend harbor, the CITY OF KINGSTON circled the CITY OF SEATTLE, giving the guests an overall view, then landed at the wharf. The passengers then spent two hours in the town, as guests of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce. Later the group reassembled and boarded the CITY OF SEATTLE at the wharf. The 110 staterooms were then thrown open for inspection, and the entire accommodations of the vessel were placed at eh disposal of the guests. A banquet was served on board, while the steamer sped toward the city for which she was named.
      Her arrival was eagerly awaited, by hundreds of people on the Seattle waterfront. Presently, the brightly lighted outline appeared in bold relief against the dark background of the Olympic Mountains. As she came clearly into view, escorted by the CITY OF KINGSTON, she was saluted by whistles of all the craft in the harbor. The sawmills along the waterfront added their whistles to the din, and even the steam locomotives switching cars on Railroad Ave joined in, with their whistles.

The CITY OF SEATTLE
and FLEETWOOD (R)
pre-1905.
Unknown photographer.
Photo from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©

      Fireworks were displayed from the CITY OF SEATTLE, and her two signal cannons were fired. There was an answering salute from Yesler's Wharf, where the vessel was to land.
      On 6 Jan 1891, the CITY OF KINGSTON had to be laid up for repairs, after her propeller struck a submerged log, off Yesler's Wharf. The CITY OF SEATTLE then took over the Victoria run. On 10 Jan 1891, she made the trip from Port Townsend to Seattle in two hours and four minutes. The same day she made the run from Seattle to Tacoma in one hour and 29 minutes. These were not the fastest times ever recorded, but they rate high on the list.
      On the Victoria route, the CITY OF SEATTLE left Tacoma daily except Sunday at 8:00 a. m. On 17 Jan 1891, the Union Pacific steamer OLYMPIAN pulled out of Tacoma at the same time. It was evident to observers along the waterfront that there was going to be a test of speed. As the two vessels headed into the bay, the capt of the OLYMPIAN sounded his whistle, as a challenge. Capt Nichols responded, and at the same time rang the engine room bells for full speed. The CITY OF SEATTLE immediately shot ahead, in a burst of power that surprised everyone. By the time she passed Brown's Point, she was already more than a hundred yards ahead. This was a great surprise to waterfront observers, for the OLYMPIAN was thought to be capable of something like 18 knots an hour. No one had expected the CITY OF SEATTLE to make such a show of her.
      The CITY OF SEATTLE, both ship, and municipality, became part of the exciting new era in 1897, the era of gold discovery in Alaska. On 17 July, of that year, the steamship PORTLAND pulled into Elliott Bay, on a routine trip from the Northland. When she reached her pier, at 7:15 AM, it was revealed that boxes around her safe contained more than a ton of gold; and the value of this yellow dust was $700,000.
       Of the 68 passengers on board, not one carried less than $5,000 in gold dust. Dressed in ragged wool or canvas work clothes, these men came down the gangplank, carrying blanket rolls, brown grips, and black chests. Two men struggled off the ship, bearing between them, a sagging weight in a blanket. Richard Blake, of Dungeness, had a buckskin bag of nuggets. So did Jack Horn, a prizefighter from Tacoma, Harry Anderson, of Seattle, had sold a half interest in his claim on El Dorado Creek for $45,000, and the cash was in the safe on board.
      In twos and threes, the worn and weather-beaten men walked up the dock, into the streets of Seattle, streets soon to be packed with people and mountains of freight; as ship after the ship sailed for Alaska, in one of the greatest gold stampedes of all time.
      At the beginning of the Klondyke rush, in August 1897, the CITY OF SEATTLE was taken over by the newly formed Washington and Alaska Steamship Co. She was advertised as the fastest, finest, and most comfortable ship running to Alaska, and the only one able to make the trip to Dyea and Skagway in 70 hours.
      Capable of carrying 500 passengers, the CITY OF SEATTLE was a steel hulled vessel 246.6' x 40' x 15'. Her cabins were finished in cherry; the dining room was in the upper deck, over the stern, enabling passengers to enjoy the scenery while dining. Her engine was the double cylinder type, the low-pressure cylinder 64 inches in diameter, and the high pressure 32 inches in diameter. Her two boilers were 13' in diameter and 14' long.

CITY OF SEATTLE
126635
She was called the 
"Alaska Lightning Express Steamer."
Two views of her grounding on  15 Aug. 1912.
Near Ketchikan, AK.
Original photos from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©

      After long service on the Alaska run, the CITY OF SEATTLE was returned to the Atlantic Coast in 1921. There she was placed in service between Jacksonville, Florida, and Havanna, Cuba by C. L. Dimmmon and Co.
      In 1937, the CITY OF SEATTLE returned to Philadelphia, back to her birthing place to be scrapped."
Roland Carey. The Steamboat Landing on Elliott Bay. Seattle, WA. 1962.
1904: The CITY OF SEATTLE struck a rock near Eagle Harbor, sustaining damage of $9,000. 

1906: 

CITY OF SEATTLE
Aground on Trial Island, BC.
Sept. 1906.
Click image to enlarge.
Photo from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©

1914: Completely remodeled and refurnished this year at Seattle Construction & Drydock Co. The cost was more than $100,000. New boilers, new cargo-handling equipment & replacement of wooden upperworks from main to upper decks with steel.

Some of her known officers and crew:
Capt. Melville Nichols brought the CITY OF SEATTLE around the horn to Seattle.
Capt. T. H. Cann, his first command was in 1903 on the CITY OF SEATTLE
Capt. Thomas Johnson. Served the steamer in 1914.
Capt. W. J. Rickards (d. April 1931)
Capt. Charles H. White (d. 1953.)
Chief Engineer Frank Tovey (1865-1942) in command for the gold rush service to AK.
Chief Engineer E. B. Stone
Chief Engineer Robert Turner
Chief Engineer C. B. Harlan
First Officer H. J. Allen 
First Officer Charles E. Ames
Second Officer F. A. Woodman
Purser H. D. Johnson

❖ ON THE ROCKS ❖

Click to enlarge.
Accessed from
https://marinalife.com/marinas/blakely-island-general-store-marina/#photos

Friday the 13th was in the past by one day but Saturday night caught this mariner who missed the entrance to Blakely Island Marina.

Near the approach to the Blakely Island Marina

A hard landing.
Two photos by Blakely Islander,
Lance Douglas.
14 July 2018.
For Saltwater People Historical Society.

❖ MAIL ON THE BEACH ❖

S.S. ISLAND MAIL (474-ft)
Adjacent to the Anacortes ferry landing.
No injuries. 
Standing by in this photo, 
the USCG, an unknown tug, 
and the beautiful Seattle yacht THEA FOSS.
Wire photo from the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

"The C-2 motorship ISLAND MAIL of American Mail Line, commanded by Capt. H.D. Smith and in charge of Capt. Dewey Soriano, Puget Sound pilot, struck a submerged object off Smith Island between Port Townsend and Anacortes, 29 May 1961. 
      A 134-ft gash, ten feet in width, was torn in the vessel's hull on the starboard side although the inner hull was only slightly penetrated. Even so, it was necessary to beach her in 25-ft of water off Fidalgo Island to prevent her sinking in deep water. Following temporary repairs, she was towed to the Todd Seattle Yard for dry docking and major repairs. The litigation was lengthy."
Above text from the H.W. McCurdy's Marine History of the PNW. Newell, Gordon. Superior.(1966)
San Juan County mariner, Skip Bold, has memories of viewing this scene on one of his early trips to the family summer house in the islands. Skip and his dad had driven up to park in the car lanes to await a westbound ferry, looked over the hood, and saw this big girl within 200-ft of the shore.

Coffee First.

S. S. LURLINE "Lost" on Puget Sound
By Captain James Crooks

Bush Point, Westside of Whidbey Island, WA.
Click to enlarge.

I joined the S. S. LURLINE at San Francisco, CA, early in February 1923. The LURLINE was a combination cargo and passenger vessel plying between Pacific Coast ports and the Hawaiian Islands and was operated by the Matson Navigation Co of San Fran. I shipped as quartermaster and we left for Puget Sound.

S. S. LURLINE, Matson Line, mid 1930s, arriving Hawaii.
 Yes, this is the gal that played on the shore of Whidbey Island, WA.
Courtesy of Wikipedia.

      We picked up cargo and passengers at various Sound ports and were on our way to Hawaii when we ran into a dense fog in the vicinity of Whidbey Island; while maneuvering at different speeds and even being completely stopped at intervals, the current evidently carried us off our course and suddenly while traveling at full seed ahead––we ran ashore.
      The engine room was located in the after end of this vessel and most of the weight, of course, being in that end, we ran well up on the beach when we grounded. The passengers felt the impact and soon they were all out on deck. The fog was so dense that we could not even see the land where we had beached.
      There did not appear to be any particular damage done and soundings disclosed that the vessel was dry and no water was entering the hull. 
      About an hour after we grounded, the fog cleared away and passengers and crew alike, gathered on the fore part of the vessel to look around and, if possible, to ascertain where we were. As we looked at the beach we observed a very old, gray-haired man approach the bow of our vessel. He carried a small stool with him; in a slow-motion manner, carefully set it down on the shingle beach right alongside our bow which was high and dry. Questions were fired at this old man from those assembled on the bow asking him where we were but he ignored them and asked to see the captain. The captain was immediately notified and appeared on the bow high above the old man calmly sitting on his stool on the beach. It was obvious that while we were all interested, the captain was the one who was most interested in solving that question. He leaned over the bow with his scrambled-egg hat and four gold rings on his coat sleeves prominently displayed to the old man. Apparently not wishing to have both passengers and crew know that he did not know where we were, he asked the old man how far we were from Bush Point. 
      This old man, who apparently had at one time been a seaman, was not eager to answer questions. He said, "Well, you are the captain, I see. I have lived here for many years (in an isolated cabin which was close by) and I have had many things drift on to the beach but never before have I had an ocean liner come pretty near right into my house!" Then he asked if we had any coffee on board and when told we had plenty he said, "when you give me some coffee I will tell you just where you are".      
      The master stood by waiting and obviously worried while a white coated flunkey was dispatched for a pitcher of coffee which the boatswain lowered down with a heaving line and a bucket. It was not until he had a swig of coffee that the old man resumed his conversation and then he said, addressing the captain, "so you want to know how far you are from Bush Point. Well, you could not be any closer for you are right on it".
      As soon as the captain definitely knew where we were, the Coast Guard was notified and a Coast Guard cutter and several towboats soon arrived and at high water attempted to pull us off the beach without success.
      These vessels did not leave the vicinity after they failed to haul us off but anchored close by with the intention of making another attempt on the next high tide. That same night shortly before high water and without any warning we slipped down the beach into deep water; so suddenly did this occur that we almost drifted on top of the vessels anchored close by. The heavy current carried us free of the coast. A survey showed that there had been no damage done to the ship and we proceeded on the voyage to the Hawaiian Islands.

E. C. Kropp postcard
From the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

Text courtesy of Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society,
Seattle, WA.
By Capt. James Crooks, 
Quarterly journal ,The Sea Chest. March 1974.
Bush Point ❖ ❖ Named in 1855 by the US Coast Survey because of "one or two clumps of trees and bushes."  
Washington State Place Names. James W. Phillips. U of WA, 1971.

❖ WASHINGTON STATE FERRY AGROUND AT ANACORTES❖

WSF ferry HYAK, 

14 April 1986,

Captain Terry Lee

Location: reef near the ferry landing,

Anacortes, Fidalgo Island, Skagit County, WA.

Photo by Richard S. Heyza for the Seattle Times©

Original photo from the archives of the S. P. H. S.

Like its sister ships the ELWHA, the HYAK will go down in San Juan folklore for running aground. Unlike the ELWHA, the HYAK's tale of woe is not romantic.
      The HYAK ran aground not because of a lady in the wheelhouse but because of paint in the wind and a captain's concern for the working conditions of his crew.
      Skipper Terry Lee was trying to keep the wind off workers while they were painting the outside of the deck. So after stopping at Lopez, he headed to Anacortes without turning around, as usual, to keep the wind to their backs.
      When he arrived at Anacortes on schedule at 10:40 AM he swung the boat in toward shore before heading away from the landing so he could "back" in.
      The boat got too close to shore and went aground on a reef a few hundred feet from the dock, ferry spokeswoman Pat Patterson explained.
      Chairs slid to one side, a video machine that was not secured wobbled, and riders were caught off balance. Some vehicles slid into each other on the car deck and were damaged.
      There was a minus 0.6-foot low tide at 1:37 pm at Anacortes, so the water beneath the big boat continued to drop. The vessel tilted until it had more than a 15-degree list. A tug secured a line and pulled to help keep it upright.
      The boat sat there, helicopters and planes buzzing around all day. Finally, at 6:30 pm when rising tides and two tugs worked in tandem, the HYAK came free. 
      "It was like a fair ride––when we first hit, the deck started going up and up. It felt like an earthquake. The whole boat shook," said Tim Thomsen of Friday Harbor, who returned to San Juan on the 7 PM ferry.
      "They announced for everyone to put on life jackets. That was scary. Then they said not to abandon ship until we were told to. That was really scary," said Marty Robinson of San Juan.
      Response to the crisis was excellent, riders said. The Red Cross showed up. The ferry system paid for some inconvenienced customers to stay overnight in motels. The system paid for meals and long-distance phone calls.
      Ferry officials also took photos of every vehicle so the damage could be recorded.
      Patterson said she expects claims to come in soon. Several vehicles were damaged slightly. No one was injured. Two persons were taken to Island Hospital to meet their doctors' appointments.
      Patterson said the ferry system is investigating the mishap. The HYAK will be put up on blocks in Seattle. A rudder and propeller appear to be damaged.

WSF M.V.  HYAK, 

at Todd Shipyards 

18 April 1986.

According to Don Schwartzman,

 ferry system marine superintendent, 

new plating may be needed for 

a 40-50-ft gash in the hull.

Photo by Vic Condiotty for the Seattle Times©

Original from the archives of the S. P. H. S.

The superclass ferry could be back in service next week if the damage is limited, Patterson said.
      The ELWHA (that ran aground off Orcas in 1983), was called in to replace the HYAK temporarily.
      From the air, the mammoth ferry looked uncomfortable leaning on one side with a line extending to a tugboat that was keeping the ferry from listing any further on the reef, about 200-ft from shore.
      "It's really listing," said pilot Si Stephens, who flew circles over the boat with county commissioner Doug Corliss. 
      There were 250 passengers and 127 vehicles on the ferry when the mishap occurred. Passengers were evacuated by a Coast Guard ship, a fishing vessel, a tugboat, as well as by lifeboats [from] the ferry.
Above text by Allison Arthur, Friday Harbor Journal, 16 April 1986.

Washington State Ferry HYAK:
1967: One of four superclass ferries built this year at National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.,  San Diego, CA.
382'2" L x 73'2" B x 18'6" D. Four diesel-electric engines. 
2,704 G.t./ 1,214 N.t. (admeasurement)

      A reporter from the Seattle Times wrote that there were only four 15-passenger life rafts on the HYAK at the time of the stranding.
If anyone was a passenger this day and would like to leave a comment, it is easy to do in the space below this post.