Ship Name Tonnage Island

Frederick Q 24 SMI
Maryland 24 SCI
Magic 24.3 SRI
Kate and Anna 24.65 SMI-C
Ella G 25 SRI
Ruth E 25 SCI
Blazenka B 26 SCI
Natoma 26 SBI
Adore 27 SRI
Josie Lena 27 SMI
Santa Rosa 30.99 SMI-C
Chelan 34 SCI
Broadbill 34 SRI
Chinese Junk 35 (approx) ANI?
Seaborn 36 _
Cape Argo 38 SBI
Blue Sea 40 SBI
Unity 40 SCI
Adriatic 42 SBI
Labor 42 ANI
Yukon 43 SCI
Milmar 44 OUT
Santa Cruz 45 SCI

215


wreck. Kelp surrounding the vesscl hindered
access by rescuers. Quantities of the varied
cargo were jettisoned in order to lighten the
vessel. The cargo included 4,000 tons of
barley, tallow, salmon, syrup, dynamite,
lumber, rice, machinery, and sacks
flour—the latter "thrown over to lighten the
vessel, and this white burden has drifted for
miles around" (Los Angeles Examiner, July
23, 1908). This evidently is the flour that the
rancher on San Miguel salvaged and used for
many years (Roberts 1978:112). Other
inhabitants of the islands used this flour as
well, and some bags were resold on the
mainland (Eaton 1980:53-54, 78).

By July 25, the steamer San Diego had
returned to San Pedro with 600 sacks of flour
from the Anubis (Los Angeles Herald, July 26,
1908). Other vessels, including one under the
command of Captain Ira Eaton, removed about
1,800 tons of cargo by the end of the month.
Apparently the swelling of sacked barley in
the lower hold sealed some of the holes
opened up in the grounding. Anubis was
pulled off the rocks, repaired temporarily in
Cuyler Harbor, and returned to San Francisco
by the tug Goliath by August 17.

The accounts of the stranding of this vessel
are particularly specific about the quantities of
material thrown overboard to refloat the ship.
Much of the jettisoned cargo was maicrial that
would have floated away or not survived.
Heavier material, however, such as the
"machinery," is likely to remain near the
location of the stranding, particularly since the
rough, rocky sea bottom in this area would not
allow movement or subsurface subsidence of
heavy items. Spare ships stores, particularly
heavy items such as anchors, could also be
anticipated in the area. Divers have not yet
examined the area for any wreckage or debris
from this incident, and none is known to be
attributed to this grounding.

of

42

Pectan
1902-(1914)-1942
Oil Tanker

‘Tonnage 7,318 tons
Net Tonnage 4,770 tons
Length 471 feet
Beam 55 feet
Depth 32.9 feet
Decks two
Official Number 212911
Construction steel

Historical Record

When built by Shell Oil Company, the
British vessel the Pectan was one of the larger
tankers of its day, carrying 83,000 barrels. In
photographs, the Pectan (igure 4.8) presents
a typical three-island steamship profile with
forecastle, amidships, and stern cabins
projecting above the main deck. Us amidships
bridge and single funnel indicate an amidships
engine room with the propeller shaft running
beneath the aft hold. A single propeller and
rudder show prominently in three
photographs. One photo shows a catwalk
above tank hatches that connected the
forccastle and bridge. The Pectan carried
both lanker and conventional cargoes and was
so designed by the original owner, Shell Oil.
Previously, the Pectan had gained fame for
towing the British battleship MMS Victorious
from a sandbar in the Suez region (Dunn
1979:40).

Under circumstances that are not too
clear, the Pecran, then owned by Union Oil,
plowed into the sand at Adams Cove, Point
Bennett, San Miguel Island, within a mile of
the J M Colman and the future resting place of
the Cuba, The Pectan was proceeding in
ballast from ‘Taltal, Chile, to Port San Luis
(San Luis Obispo, California) to acquire



29. Wesley R. flurt. The 1939-1940
Excavation Project at Quarai Pueblo and
Mission Buildings, Salinas Pueblo Missions

National Monument, Division of
Anthropology, 1990,
30. Roger FE. Coleman. — Archeological

Investigation for Construction of a Pedestrian
Trail and Identification of Laundress Row.
Division of Anthropology, 1990

31. James I. Ivey. Presidios of the Big Bend
Area. Bilingual publication, English and
Spanish. Division of History, 1990.

32. Neil C. Mangum. /n the Land of Frozen
so AL y of O

Fires: ion of El Malpais
Country. Division of History, 1990,

33. Jack B. Bertram. Archeological
Investigations Along the Proposed Alibutes
Your Road tmprovement Construction Route
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument,
Potter County, Texas. Division of
Anthropology, 1990,

34, Robert Wooster, Ph.D, History of Fort
Davis, Texas. Division of History, 1999

35. Bruce A. Anderson, = The Wapatki
Archeological Inventory Survey Project: Vinal
Report. Division of Anthropology, 1990.

36. Toni L. Carrell, Editor. Submerged
Cultural Resources Assessment of Micronesia.
Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, 1991.

37. James P. Delgado, Daniel J. Lenihan and
Larry Murphy. The Archeology of the Atomic
Bomb: A Submerged Cultural Resources
Assessment of the Sunken Fleet of Operation
Crossroads at Bikini and Kwajalein Atoll

244

Lagoons, Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, 1991.

38, George Sabo If, Randall! L. Guendiing,
W. Fredrick Limp, Margaret J. Guccione,
Susan 1. Scott, Gayle J. Fritz and Pamela A.
Smith. Archeological Investigations at
3MR80-Area D in the Rush Development
Area, Buffalo National River, Arkansas.
Division of Anthropology, 1990.

39. Larry i. Murphy. 8SL/7: Natural Site-
Formation Processes of a Multiple-Component
Underwater Site in Florida. Submerged
Cultural Resources Unit, 1990.

40. Wal K. Rothman. Navajo National
Monument: A Place and Its People. Division
of History, LO9L.

41. Leo KE. Oliva. Fort Union and the
Frontier Army in the Southwest. Vivision of
History, 1993,

National
History.

42. Liping Zhu. Fort Onion
Monument: An — Administrative
Division of [listory, 1992.

43. Laura S. Harrison and James Li, Ivey. Of
a Temporary Character: An Historic Structure
Report and Historical Base Map of First Fort,
Second Fort, and Arsenal, Fort Union, New
Mexico. Division of History, 1992.

44. Vrances Levine, William Westbury and
Lisa Nordstrum. A History Of Archeological
Investigations At Fort Union National
Monument. Division of History, 1992,

45, Larry Murphy, Editor. Dry Tortugas
National Park, Submerged Cultural Resources
Assessment. Submerged Cultural Resources,
1993,


with the outer world is cut off and a
newspaper is but rarely seen. These
men are fiable to have their boats
broken up by wounded seals at any
time. Their lives are constantly in
jeopardy [Ventura Free Press, n.d.J.

The location of the camp mentioned in the
article is clearly Frenchy's Cove, at the
junction of Middle and West Anacapa Islands.
Although boats were employed, this passage
implies that there was nothing very notable or
unusual about them.

Sealing took place regularly on Santa
Barbara Island for elephant seals and
California sea lions (Scammon 1968:116).
Sealers also hunted on San Miguel Island,
particularly around Point Bennett, where sea
otters were prolific (Scammon 1968:169).
The hut in which the survivors of the Cuba
took shelter in 1923 was built for sealing. All
that remains of the camp, its trash deposit, has
been recorded as an archeological site.
Archeological investigations into sealing will
require attention to these shore-based stations
as well as to the vessels that are discussed in
this chapter.

In addition to hunting seals for pelts and
fur, there was a small trade in live animals,
particularly sea lions. Apparently animals
trapped in the northern Channel Islands were
better able to withstand captivity than the same
species taken in other localities. Animals
from the islands were shipped to the East
Coast and on to European cities where they
sold for profitable sums, according to James
Mullett, who specialized in this work. “The
only ones [seals] which will stand captivity are
those from the Santa Barbara Channel Islands,
and the entire stock in the world, in museums,
circuses, menageries and zoological gardens
have been shipped from this point" (SBMP,
May 20, 1891).

109

The thirty animals captured last week
[from San Miguel Island] were
shipped yesterday by freight for New
York, and Captain Mullett left on the
afternoon train to look after his pets.
They are all to be sent to Europe, and
are already ordered in Christiana,
Sweden, Amsterdam, Antwerp,
Liverpool, London and Paris [SBMP,
May 20, 1891].

The relatively diminutive sealing vessels
discussed in this report are some of the
earliest wrecks known for the Channel
Islands, other than the Winfield Scott. None
of them has yet been found or studied.
Because of their small size, it is
understandable that they ran afoul of storms
and bad weather as they worked close to
treacherous, stormy San Miguel Island.

Leader
18622-1876
Two-masted Sealing Schooner

Gross Tonnage 9.96 tons
Net Tonnage ~
Length 36.0 feet
Beam 13.5 feet
Depth 3.8 feet
Decks one
Official Number 15216
Construction wood

Historical Record

Documentation for this rather small vessel
is sparse. Its date of construction is unclear,
although the Leader's wreck report states that
it was 10 years old when wrecked on June 17,
1876. The circumstances and location of its
construction are also undocumented.


Pi. Conception

ae Santa Barbara

Sean Veniuna
mee Barbara Chauney ‘
Hucneme
sau Miguel island
Santa Cruz tsland _
DN Santa Rosa Island p~ ae
ae a CO eat SY
Co SS" Anacapa Island
0 10 a0 30 kilometers
Sines |e ee)
gel 20 50 miles
Pg feed bee sewed

Figure 2.1. Santa Barbara Channel.

features of this region have influenced the the island projects to the west beyond the
wrecking of these vessels, a short discussion protection of Point Conception, its weather

of these important factors is in order. is remarkably windy and foggy.
Santa Rosa Istand (Figure 2.3) features
Geography a relatively flat terrace on its northern part,

flanked by a relatively steep mountain ridge

Considering that the four northern that reaches a height of 1,589 feet. In
islands are separated by passages only a few addition to chaparral and grasses, stands of
miles across, the differences among them are oak trees and two species of pines grow in
startling. These differences are expressed in sheltered locations on the island. Weather
terms of topography, weather, and both on Santa Rosa Island is calmer than that of

marine and terrestrial plants and animals. San Miguel but is still notably windy and
San Miguel Island (Figure 2.2) consists foggy.

of rolling hills reaching a maximum Both San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands

elevation of 831 feet above sca level. contain sedimentary formations, typically of

Greatly overgrazed by shecp during most of Oligocene and Miocene age, interlaced with
the past 150 years, bare sand dunes and a intrusive Miocene volcanics. Exploiting
low chaparral plant community, now their weakness, the ocean has eroded into
flourishing again, cover the island. Because the softer sedimentary formations to form

6


Josie Lena
1940-1962
Fishing Boat

27 tons
18 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 47.5 feet
Beam 14.5 feet
Depth 6.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 239867
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Josie Lena dragged anchor in the
predawn hours of August 5, 1962 and carried
its crew of four and their catch of rock cod up
onto the beach at Cuyler Harbor, San Miguel
Island. Heavy swells demolished the vessel
(SBMP, April 5, 1962 and April 6, 1987).
The Josie Lena was requisitioned for military
service two days after Pearl Harbor.

Georgia
?-1964
Lobster Boat

The Los Angeles Herald Examiner
reported the loss of the 40 foot Georgia on
November 17, 1964, and the rescue of ils
owner, Tony J. Souza and his dog Billy. The
vessel sank at anchor “in a cove of Santa
Cruz" after being accidentally rammed by a
skiff. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted Souza
and his dog to safety and flew them to Point
Mugu. Was this vessel the same Georgia
which rescued the crew of the Adriatic?

140

Dolphin IV
1934-1962
Mac. [sic] (Mackerel Fishery?)

Gross ‘Tonnage 6 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 5 tons
Length 26.5 feet
Beam 9.0 feet
Depth 4.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 233428
Consiruction wood

Historical Record
Registered in San Francisco and built in
Seattle, the Dolphin LV burned “ai Santa Cruz
Island, off the coast of California" on
December 4, 1962 (MVUS 1963). From the
casually report:

We had anchored in 45 feet of water,
inland side of Santa Cruz Island. We
started the primus burner to cook
dinner. While both men were
momentarily on deck, the primus
burner apparently spewed burning
kerosene around the main cabin. Fire
burned out of control despite foam
type extinguisher used immediately.
A CO2 type extinguisher inside boat
could not be reached. Fear of fuel
injection (gasoline 50-60 gallons)
forced us to jump and swim to island.

The coordinates listed on the report
suggest that the vessel sank between Prisoners
and Chinese Ilarbors. Both the casually
report and a newspaper article state that the
vessel was a sailboat.



courtesy of Budd Gonder.

Figure 7.7. Pacific underway February 22, 1932. Photo
courtesy of Sherman Library and Archives.

135



CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK

and

CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL MARINE

SANCTUARY

a product of the
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE'S

SYSTEMWIDE ARCHEOLOGICAL INVENTORY PROGRAM



suggests that a great deal of material is
concealed beneath the beach sands. Study of
this material should add to the knowledge of
construction techniques employed by Hans
Bendixsen, one of the most prominent Pacific
coast builders. In November 1990, volunteers
from the San Augustin Institute began a study
of the fragments of the Jane L Stanford and
uncovered additional wreckage. The section
of hull side uncovered is more than 30 inches
thick at the level of the main deck knees. A
metal detector suggests that a piece of hull 50
feet long remains buried. The keelson
assembly consists of nine timbers, each 16
inches square. The material described here is
but the tip of the iceberg. Additional work is
necessary in order to fully document the
fragments of the Jane L Stanford.

George E Billings
1903-1941

Five-masted Lumber Schooner-fishing Barge
Gross Tonnage 1260 tons
Net Tons 1103 tons
Length 224 feet
Beam 42.4 feet
Depth 18.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 86665
Construction wood

Historical Record

This was the last vessel built by Hall
Brothers, and the largest lumber schooner
lost in the park (Table 5.1). By 1930, the
vessel was used as a fishing barge at Santa
Monica. Changes in safety regulations,
actually aimed at eliminating gambling ships,
forced the owners to tow the Billings to "a
lonely island reef north of here (Santa

105

Monica)" where the vessel was burned in
early February 1941.

A photograph of the burning vessel should
allow pinpointing the location and discovery
of any wreckage that might remain. The
wreck has not yet been found, although it is
probably near Anacapa Island.

Except for the Jane L Stanford and the
George E Billings, all these vessels wrecked
while sailing during long periods of fog and
storm. The G W Prescott, the J M Colman,
and the Watson A West all wrecked at Point
Bennett, while the Comer struck on Wilson
Rock and drifted onto the beach at Simonton
Cove—all on San Miguel Island. Only the
Dora Bluhm sailed as far east as the south
coast of Santa Rosa Island before wrecking.
An article in the Los Angeles Times, written at
the time of the demise of the J M Colman,
vividly illustrates the hazards these ships faced
in running the islands' obstacle course as they
voyaged to deliver cargo in San Pedro.

The schooner Comer, the sister craft
of the Coleman, which left this port
the middle of the week, got into a
heavy fog on Friday, and with no
wind to fill her sails, drifted in
between Santa Cruz Island and Santa
Rosa Island. For several hours she
was at the mercy of the waves, and
when the fog lifted, she was nearly on
the shore of Santa Cruz. A light
breeze sprung up just in time to
enable the schooner to run in between
some dangerous rocks between the
islands to the deep waters outside.

When the fog lifted on Friday from
the west coast of San Miguel a large
square masted vessel, heavily loaded
with lumber, was drifting into the


Historical Record

The Liebre began its career inauspiciously,
as the following newspaper article (LAT,
March 2, 1921) attests:

BOAT ON ROCKS ON FIRST VOYAGE

Big Oil Tanker Goes into Dry Dock at
Harbor for Repairs

Los Angeles Harbor, March 1—The
10,200-ton oil tanker Liebre, which
went on the rocks on Anacapa Island
in the Santa Barbara group at 11
o'clock last night, will go into dry
dock at the plant of the Los Angeles
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
tomorrow for a survey and repairs.
Before going into dry dock, the cargo
of 75,000 barrels of oil will be
pumped from the vessel at the Standard
Oil dock.

The Liebre, which was on her maiden
voyage from San Pedro to Seattle, ran
aground six hours after leaving the
local harbor. Capt. Cameron said his
vessel grounded in a dense fog. After
being held in a perilous position on the
rocky shore of the island, the Liebre
was floated four hours later at high
tide. S.O.S. calls for assistance had
been sent out, but the vessel pulled off
under its own power before other
vessels had reached the scene.

Had the vessel gone on the rocks a few
hours later, at high tide, it would have
been necessary to discharge its entire
cargo of oil, valued at several hundred
thousand dollars, into the sea in order
to lighten the vessel. The vessel raised

S1

itself sufficiently with the incoming
tide to free itself, however,
when the high water mark was
reached at 3 a.m.

Proceeding back to the local harbor
under slow speed, the tanker dropped
anchor in the outer harbor at 12:50
p.m. It was impossible at that time to
determine the extent of damage done,
and no survey will be made until the
ship is placed in dry dock. The entire
six sections of the 12,000-ton dry
dock at the shipyard will be used in
lifting the giant tanker. Had not the
dry dock been completed a few weeks
ago, the Liebre would have had to
proceed to San Francisco for the
repairs which will be made here.

The Liebre was launched at San
Francisco. in December, was
completed in February and arrived at
the harbor on her first trip Sunday
morning. She is a sister ship of the
tanker Yorba Linda, which sailed
from here on her maiden voyage to
Tampico two weeks ago.

The exact location of this grounding is
unknown. The report of casualty filed by the
captain of the Liebre contradicts the
newspaper article in stating: “After vessel
stranded, jetson [sic] cargo in forward deep
tanks and work engines to back off, which
was accomplished."

The attitude expressed in this article about
dumping oil at sea is a fascinating contract
with present day concerns. The newspaper is
contradicted by the wreck report which states
that 40 percent, by value of the cargo in the
forward tanks, was jettisoned when the vessel
grounded on the southeast shore of Anacapa,





119° 51‘ W, which is about 6 nautical miles
south of Santa Cruz Island (MVUS 1956:745).
A speeding navy crash boat, alerted by the
radar station on the island, rescued two
crewmen from their dory (SBMP, January 10,
1955). ‘The Ruth E sank very close to the
southern boundary of the sanctuary in water
over 500 fathoms deep.

Gypsy Q
1925-1955
Commercial Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 48 tons
Net Tonnage 19 tons
Length 71.4 feet
Beam 13.6 feet
Depth 6.9 feet
De _
Official Number 254596
Construction wood
Historical Record

sy O began life as a Coast Guard
vessel, CG-276, built in Seattle, Wa
by the Seattle Dry Dock and Co
Company as part of a large increase in the
Coast Guard fleet in 1924 and 1925. MVUS
(1930) provides the statistics listed above,
The Gypsy Q was one of an extensive class of
patrol boats that were brought into service at
this time. Originally gasoline powered, it was
later converted to diesel. By 1955, the Gypsy
Q was a commercial fishing boat (Wamba
1989). Coast Guard casualty reports state that
the vessel sank 10 miles south of Anacapa
light at 1:05 A.M. on August 24, 1955. On
this trip, the Gypsy Q was carrying a cargo of
lumber, gas drums, and building materials to
South Point, Santa Rosa Island, for the
Petroleum Construction Company — of
Compton, California. The history of this

138

vessel indicates an interesting study if the
vessel is located.

Louise D
1947-1955
Fishing Vessel

Gross ‘Tonnage 22 tons
Net Tonnage 10 tons
Length 41.5 feet
Beam 13.8 feet
Depth 5.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 252516
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Louise D burned and sank between
Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands on the
afternoon of September 2, 1955. The two
man crew was rescued by a nearby fishing
boat (MVUS 1956; SBNP, September 2,
1955).

Dorothy M
1945-1958
Fishing Boat

Gross Tonnage 18 tons
Net Tonnage 9 tons
Length 38.6 feet
Beam 12.7 feet
Depth 6.2 feet
Decks one
Official Number 248634
Construction wood

al Record

The Dorothy M is reported to have
stranded "at Anacapa Island, Calif. lat 34° 04'
00" N, 119° 6' 23" W on 5 February 1958"


Figure 4.24. One of the Cuba's detachable propeller blades is visible at the left of the photo.
NPS photo by Mark Norder.

within less than 10 feet of the surface at low
tide. Nearby are fragments of copper wire
and paired pump assemblies. T win propeller
shafts (Figure 4.24), still on bearings, flank
the condenser and lead aft to the stern area.
There, sections of surfaces tiled in a
distinctive, octagonal, two-color ceramic tile,
as well as individual tiles, suggest the
furnishings of the passenger accommodations.
On the starboard side near a piece of hull side,
are a smaller single-ended Scotch boiler, two
separate bronze propeller blades, rudder
fragments, and sections of the steering gear.

61

Throughout the wreckage, bare circular
holes in hull side fragments proclaim the
former locations of portholes. Despite
obvious pillage by brass thieves, much
material remains on this turn-of-the-century
steamer. Its wild and remote setting in the
breakers at Point Bennett, the proliferation of
pinnipeds around the wreck, and the beautiful
kelp canopy make the Cuba a tremendously
impressive dive. Its historical and
archeological potential is far greater than the
brass artifacts that have lured vandals here in
the past.




Ship Name
Emil

Gypsy Q
Louise Kay
Shoshoni
Emperor
Jana Dawn
Billcona
{nternational |
Mary

Warrior
Pacific

Blue Fin
Dante Alighieri
San Giuseppe
Del Rio

G W Prescott
Lotus

Golden Gate
Aurora
Balbou

San Francisco
City of Sausalito

Liberty

48
48
52

55

94.5
o7
109
110

112.97
1S
120
122

128

ANI

SRI

SBI

SCI

SCI

scl

SMI

our

SRI

SBI

ANI

ANI

SMI

ANI?

SCL

scl


CHAPTER IX

Conclusion

All together, 150 vessels are now known
to have wrecked in the general area of
Channel Islands National Park and National
Marine Sanctuary before the establishment of
those preserves in 1980. Records indicate that
94 of these vessels wrecked within Channel
Islands National Park; 21 of them have been
located and identified. Twenty-seven vessels
sank within the sanctuary but probably outside
the park. Three vessels sank well outside both
sanctuary and park. Eight vessels, all of
which grounded within the park, were
refloated and removed or were reconstructed.
The records for eight vessels are vague and
unclear, but the vessels lie somewhere in the
area of the park and sanctuary. Another eight
vessels turned out not to lie within the
immediate study area for a variety of reasons,
and additional data are needed on at least eight
more vessels in order to determine their
situation. In addition to these documented
vessels, an undetermined number of generally
smaller, undocumented vessels remain
unrecorded,

It is useful to consider these shipwrecks in
terms of two major categories—transient
vessels and local vessels. In this report, we
define transient vessels as those engaged in

183

commerce and the lumber trade, carrying
cargoes to or from West Coast ports. Fishing,
sealing, government, and "other" vessels
make up the local category—vessels whose
work related to the islands of the park and
their resources.

For transient vessels, the islands were
little more than obstacles on the way from one
port to another. These ships exemplify the
growth of international trade during the
nineteenth century and the beginnings of a
global culture and a world economy. For
local vessels, the islands and their offshore
resources offered economic rewards and
incentives sufficient to induce people to
undertake significant risks. Studies of these
vessels are intimately bound up with the
natural resources of the islands and their
depletion over time, the needs of the
developing California society, and the
isolation of the islands and their suitability for
covert activities, mostly smuggling.

On the social level, too, important
differences separated transient and local
vessels. The deepwater sailors aboard the
Goldenhorn, the Cuba, and the Aggi worked
on a cosmopolitan scale and would have had
no particular ties to southern California and



5.7 feet. Gross tonnage was now 30.70 tons.
T.utgens was still master and part owner.
Certificates of enrollment issucd during the
1880s give a net tonnage of 16.49.

The Kate and Anna U's certificate of

enrollment of October 16, 1889, states that the
previous certificate of enrollment — was
surrendered and “vessel changed from steam
to sail" as the vessel achieved its final
dimensions, with a sharp head and an elliptic
stern. Lutgens remained as master.

Throughout this period, the ship was
licensed for fishing and the "coasting trade,“
in which enterprises it seems (0 have acquired
an unsavory reputation for smuggling Chinese
immigrants and opium, Although the ship was
watched, no evidence was ever obtained
(Maller 1986). The Kafe and Anna was on a
sealing trip to San Miguel Island when the end
came.

The sealing schooner Kate and Annie
was wrecked in Cuyler's Harbor on
San Miguet island, the 9th instant.
‘The schooner had put into the harbor
to get out of a bad northwest blow.
The anchor chain parted, the vessel
was driven onto the beach. Captain
Lutjens and the crew, six men all told,
reached shore in safety by swimming
through the breakers, but — lost
everything. The Kate and Annie filled
with sand and was going to pieces
when the schooner Restless sailed
yesterday. She was a 30 ton boat,
home port San Francisco, Lutjens
owner. Her loss is over $3000. ‘The
Kate and Annie was one of the best
known boats in southern waters and
had an interesting history [LAT, April
17, 1902].

114

The date and location of the wreck are
confirmed by a notation on the final certificate
of enrollment.

It is not absolutely clear whether Charles
Lutgens, captain of the Kate and Anna, is the
same person who wrecked the Leader in 1876,
If so, he would be the only person known to
have wrecked two vessels in park waters.

Ella G
1899-1908
Sealing Schooner

25 tons
16.17 tons

Gross ‘Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 49.4 fect
Beam 13.6 feet
Depth 7.4 feet
D one
Official Number 316928
Construction wood

orical Record

A wreck report from the National
Archives notes that the ila G wrecked in
Becher's Bay, Santa Rosa Island, at 5:45 A.M.
on February 2, 1908. The Klla G was an
American-built, wooden schooner of British
registry, engaged in sealing. Its home port
was Victoria, British Columbia, where the
vessel departed in November 1907, on a
sealing voyage. After obtaining 42 seal skins
al the Faratlon Islands, the crew encountered
storms that severely damaged the ship's
rudder. The Lila G ran before the wind for
the lee of Santa Rosa Island, arriving there on
January 31,

There the vessel encountered a severe
southeaster that turncd a normally secure
anchorage into a threatening lec shore. The



Chinese Junk
71884
lishing, Sealing Vessel
Gross Tounage
Net Tonnage
Length -

35 (approx)

Bean

Depth oo
Decks

Official Number

Construction wood

Histo

In an article On Chinese fishing and junk

Operations, we learn “Tt has not been quite a

year that a junk tn the vicinity of Anacapa

(sland was allowed to run a reef and sunk, the

party being rescued by the stoop Ocear
King..." (SBDI, June 5, 1885)

This event was more fully reported in the
same paper ou July 31, 1884

Miraculous Escape

A Chinese Junk Founders on a Reel
Near Sa

1 Nicholas

We learn froas Capt
arrived in the harbor this morning with
his King,

tons of abalone. shells,
miraculous escape of the crew of a
Chinese junk that left San Diego a few
days ago for the purpose of seeuriny é

Libby, who

sloop, the Ocean with

several the

cargo of abalone shells for the San
Francisco market While lying al
anchor on the evening of the 25th

Wish, ad westerly gale sprang up, and
nokwithstanding the fet that the vessel
had (wo anchors out she drifted upon a

120

reel that at high Gide is not noticcable.
On board all was still up to the time

she struck the rocks, and her
pounding of — course woke — the
oecupants. ‘Phat the vessel was a total

loss was fully realized by the men
when they saw the water rushing into
hee with fearful velocity. ‘Phey had
drified five miles from where they had
originally anchored and their chances
ol reaching the shore alive had about
ol Portunately,
however, for the crew, Capt. Libby,

been despaired
Who had been aroused by the poise of
the boat in going over the cvef, being
lifted and lowered by the action of the
swells of the ocean, hove in sight and
rescued the men from their perilous
position and fanded them: sately in
Santa Barbara. “Phe crew consisted of
eight men, and the only thing that was

saved was a bay of rice and a coil of
rope. The boat was of about 35-tons
register and unimsured. From the

description of the boat, it is supposed
to be the one that was launched in this
years by the
Chinamen, as she was constructed for

eily some lwo apo
the purpose of fishing, hunting and
hering. shells un and around the
different isiands that

channel, “The Master ol
King deserves credit for his heroic

bravery in rescuing the party, as they

fic in the

the Ocean

had abandoned all hopes of ever being
rescued

On the basis of the present information, i
difficult to say this incident
occurred at Anacapa or San Nicholas tsland

is whether
No wreckage attribuied to a Chinese junk is
reported trom either island, Chinese builders
of juaks im Calforma primarily coiployed


Yorster, Stephen G.
1989 The Saga of the Dora Bluhm. Ms. on
file, Channel Islands National Park.

Youts, William R.

1989 The Aggi, A California Shipwreck.
Ms. on file, Channel Islands National

Park.
Greenhill, Basil

1980 The Ship: The Life and Death of the
Merchant Sailing Ship, 1815-1965.
Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
if n

1988 The Evolution of the Wooden Ship.
Facts on File, New York and Oxford.

Gourcke, Karl

1987 Bricks and Brickmaking: A Handbook

for Historical Archaeology.
University of Idaho Press, Moscow,
Idaho.

Haller, Stephen A,

1986 Schooners, Scalers, & Steamers: The
Shipwrecks of San Miguel and Santa
Rosa Islands. Ms. on file, Channel
Islands National Park.

Haller, Stephen A. and Roger Kelly

1987 Schooners, Sealers and Steamers:
Shipwrecks of San Miguel and Santa
Rosa Islands, Channel Islands National
Park, California. Draft ms. on file,
Channel Islands National Park.

nN

Harrington, John P.

1978 Tomol: Chumash Watercraft as
Described in the Ethnographic Notes
of John P. Harrington, Fdited by T.
Hudson, J. Timbrook, and M. Rempe.
Ballena Press Anthropological Papers
No. 9, Socorro, New Mexico.

Heizer, R. F. (editor)

1985 California Indian Linguistic Records:
The Mission Indian Vocabularies of H.
W. Henshaw. Anthropological
Records (5:2, University of California
Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Hopkins, Caspar T.

1874 Ship Building on the Pacific Coast.
Board of Marine Underwriters, San
Francisco.

Tfoworth, Peter and D. Travis Fludson

1985 Submerged Archacological and

Historical Sites in Channel Islands

National Park and Marine Sanctuary.

Ms. on file, Channel Islands National
Park.

Johnson, Don

1972 Landscape Evolution on San Miguel
sland, California. PhD Dissertation,
Department of Geography, University

of Kansas.


anchor chain parted, and the Santa Cruz was
driven onto the western shore of Prisoner's
Harbor, Santa Cruz Island on December 6,
1960.

Archeological Record

Material submerged in shallow water near
the western edge of Prisoner's Harbor has
been tentatively identified as pertaining to the
Santa Cruz (Figure 8.9). The readily
available wreckage apparently is a pile driver
carried by the vessel during its last days.
Much of the wreck scatter remains unlocated.
The flat sandy bottom at this locality holds the
promise of reasonably good preservation of

]

Figure 8.9. Wreckage attributed to the Santa
Cruz. Drawing by Mark Norder.

175

Elaine
1961
Sloop

This twenty-six foot sloop dragged anchor
and grounded between West Point and Frazier
Point of Santa Cruz Island, the area of the

infamous Potato Patch (SBNP, July 10,
1961).

Trilogy

1963-1966

Yacht
Gross Tonnage 7 tons
Net Tonnage 6 tons
Length 26.6 feet
Beam 9.1 feet
Depth 6.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 292480
Construction fiberglass

Historical Record

The Trilogy went on the rocks in Forney's
Cove, Santa Cruz Island, during the early
morning hours of January 16, 1966, as a Santa
Ana struck with winds in the 60-knot range.
The five persons aboard climbed onto a 20-
foot-high rock as the boat drifted away. The
Coast Guard used a helicopter to rescue the
group and return them to Santa Barbara.


the rest of the crew had plenty of time
to abandon ship and take some
provisions. They spent a weck with
sheepherders (who lived on hill in
picture) before flagging down a fishing
boat for a ride back fo the mainland.

Existing photographs show a graceful two
masted schooner, about 65 fect in length, with

an overhanging stern, and a round bow

W. T. Co. No. 3

1922-1935
Barge

Gross Tonnage 264 tons
Net Tonnage 264 tons
Length 95.6 feet
Beam 34.4 feet
Depth 9.7 feet
Decks one

ial Number 171619
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel, the property of Wilmington
Transportation Company, sank somewhere
“between Long Beach . . . and San Miguel
Island" (MVUS 1936). The date of the loss is
July 25, 1935. This is evidently the incident
reported as the loss of the Wrigley barge no.
3 as while filming scenes for Mutiny on the
Bounty off of Point Bennett, San Miguel
Island.

"The flat-bottomed vessel was being towed
back to anchorage |Adams Cove} after the
day's work when it heal over before a sudden
blast’ of wind." The barge foundered,
throwing about seventy-five members of the
crew into the water. Glenn Strong, an
assistant cameraman, drowned — while

164

altempting to retrieve a camera mounted on
the vessel's superstructure (Long Beach Press
Telegram, 26 and 27 July 1935). The Coast
Guard Cutter Hermes found only floating
debris, some of which washed up on the
island.

The sinking of this barge offt

rs
explanation for the sighting of a “Spanish
cannon” on the beach by William B. Harper in

an

1954. The movie set was the deck of the
HMS Pandora, which features several muzzle
loading cannon. While authentic camon do
not float very well, and are unlikely to wash
up on the beach, the same is not true of their
movie counterparts, which are often made of
wood. The cannon, or prop, has not yet been
located.
City of Sausalito
1936-1941
Miscellaneous Trades

3ross ‘Tonnage 133.58 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 72 tons
Length 78.7 feet
Beam 22.6 feet
Depth 10.9 feet
Decks one
Official Number 235380
Construction wood

This vessel was licensed for the coastal
trade and mackerel fishery. Information about
it is difficult to find. Shipwreck events
evidently were not reported after the
beginning of World War IT in Merchant
Vessels of the United States. ‘Vhe final license
for the vessel states “vessel burned and
exploded Dec. 11, 1941 at San Pedro Point,


STEAMSHIP CUBA

PT. BENNETT, SAN MIGUEL ISLAND
CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK

'SHIPWAECK SURVEYED ON OCTORER 17-19, 1989

TWIN SCREW STEAMER

|BULT BY: Blob & Voss 1897
‘Hamburg. Germany

WRECKED: Suptomter 8, 1923

LENGTH 907.7Foet

wom: 422 Feet

Figure 4.19. Cuba wreckage. Drawing by Don Morris, Mark Senning, Dave Stoltz, Kim
Slinninger, and Michael Eng. Final Rendition by Carol Vesely.

ST


Submerged Cultural Resources Special

These may be in published or photocopy
format. Included are special commentaries,
papers on methodological or technical issues
pertinent to underwater archcology, or any
miscellaneous report = that docs not
appropriately fit into one of the other
categories,

Published Reports of the Southwest Cultural
Resources Center and Intermountain
Cultural Resource Centers

Southwest Cultural Resources Center
Published Reports

1. Larry E. Murphy, Editor. Submerged
Cultural Resources Survey: Portions of Point
Reyes National Seashore and Point
Reyes-Farallon Islands National Marine
Sanctuary. Submerged Cultural Resources
Unit, 1984.

2. Toni Carrell. Submerged Cultural
Resources Inventory: Portions of Point Reyes
National Seashore and Point Reyes-Farallon
Islands National = Marine — Sanctuary.
Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, 1984

3. Edwin C. Bearss. Resource Study:
Lyndon B. Johnson and the Hill Country,
1937-1963. Division of Conservation, 1984.

4, Edwin C, Bearss. Historic Structures
Report: Texas White House. Division of
Conservation, 1986.

5. Barbara Holmes. Historic Resource Study
of the Barataria Unit of Jean Lafitte National
Historical Park, Division of History, 1986.

6. Steven M. Burke and Marlys
Bush-Thurber. Southwest Region
Headquarters Building, — Santa le, — New
Mexico: An Historic Structure Report.

Division of Conservation, 1985.

7, ‘Yoni Carrell. Submerged Cultural
Resources Site Report: NOQUEBAY, Apostle

Istands National Lakeshore. — Submerged
Cultural Resources Unit, 1985.

8. Daniel J. Lenihan, Lditor. Submerged
Cultural Resources Study: — Isle Royale
National — Park. Submerged — Cultural
Resources Unit, 1987.

9. J. Richard Ambler. Archeological
Assessment: Navajo National: Monument.

Division of Anthropology, 1985.

10. John S. Speaker, Joanna Chase, Carol
Poplin, Herschel Franks and R Christopher

Goodwin. Archeological — Assessment:
Barataria Unit, Jean Lafitte National
Historical Park. Division of Anthropology,
1986.

Ll. James E. Ivey, Marlys Bush-Thurber,
James T. Escobedo, Jr. and ‘Tom Ireland. The
Missions of San Antonio: — An Historic
Structures Report and Administrative History.
Divisions of Conservation and History, 1987.

12. Roger E. Coleman. The Arkansas Post
Story. Division of Ilistory, 1987.

13. ‘Toni Carrell, Editor. Submerged
Cultural Resources Site Report: Charles H.
Spencer Mining Operation and Paddle Wheel
Steamboat, Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area. Submerged Cultural Resources Unit,
1987.


exist. The best can be found at Johnson's
Lee and Becher's Bay.

At Sandy Point, the western promontory
of Santa Rosa Island, rocks lie within 0.2
miles of shore; heavy currents sweep
through here during northwesterlies. Bee
Rock, 0.8 miles off the southwest shore, is
quite low. It is one of several dangers along
this shore, most of which lie well within the
extensive kelp beds found here. A rock lies
northeast from East Point. Rocks are also
found north of Skunk Point

Beacon Reef renders close approaches to
Carrington Point, the northeast corner of
Santa Rosa Island, hazardous. Rodes Reef
is found to the west. As on the south coast,
several rocks occur inside the kelp beds
along the northern shore. One and one-half
miles northeast of Sandy Point, Talcott
Shoal rises to within less than 15 feet of the
surface.

Davidson (1889:85) noted only Gull
Island as a notable hazard associated with
Santa Cruz Island, devoting instead many
paragraphs to discussing the numerous
anchorages near the island. An area near
West Point, the notorious "Potato Patch,"
produces chaotic seas when currents and
wind oppose one another, creating real
hazards for smaller boats. "Stay away!" is
one park captain's advice (Dwight Willey,
personal communication).

Anacapa Island marks the eastern,
narrow end of the Santa Barbara Channel
and thus is an intrinsic hazard in foggy
weather. Several wrecks lie close to the
island. Anacapa's shores are rocky and
high. Cat Rock, off the south shore of West
Anacapa, is the most significant outlying
hazard. Strong currents can run at either
end of the island, with resulting chaotic
Seas.

13

Near Santa Barbara Island, outlying
Sutil Island and Shag Rock have rocks close
by that pose problems for approaching
boats. The area around Webster Point also
contains numerous rocks. The most
dangerous hazard is "Seven-tenths Rock,” an
isolated rock due west of Webster Point.
Water does not always break around it in
calmer conditions and hence it is difficult to
detect.

Anchorages: Problems and Shortcomings

Locating a safe, sheltered anchorage in
the Channel Islands is not a straightforward
process. There is no all-weather harbor in
the islands. The unwary ship captain who
does not respond to changes in the weather
will find his vessel on a lee shore. This is
particularly true of the more popular
anchorages, such as Cuyler Harbor on San
Miguel Island and Smuggler's Cove on
Santa Cruz Island, which present hazards
when the prevailing northwesterlies yield to
southeasters or Santa Anas.

Cuyler Harbor holds more than its
proportionate share of wrecks. The Kate
and Anna went aground in April 1902 as its
anchor chain failed, overstrained in a hard
northwesterly blow (Haller 1986). Other,
recent fishing vessels in Cuyler Harbor
include the Deano and the Gold Coast. The
Gold Coast stranded in July 1985, just
before the fieldwork for this project began,
and another boat, the Susie, stranded in
February 1994.

Cuyler Harbor is a reasonably good
anchorage; one reason there are several
wrecks there is simply its popularity. It
does not offer complete protection in all
weather, and a strong northwest swell can
wrap around Harris Point, invading the



Ship Name
Patria*
Patrick
Peacock
Pearl

Pectan*
Pinocchio
Rosemond R
Ruth E

Ruth K

San Buenaventura
San Francisco
San Giuseppe
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Sania Rosa
Sea Foam (fragment)
Sea Lion

Sea Lion

Sea Wanderer
Seaborn
Seahoph

Shamrock

Official
Number

73062

268135

MSC 198

212911

500951

260203

250964

261271

243764

234348

116559

115660

259656

571693

SBI

SCI

ANI

SMI

ANI

SRI

SCL

SMI

SCI

ANI

ANI

SCI

SCI

SMI-C

SMI

SCI

SCI

scl

210

Nature of

Year Casualty Ship ‘Type
19S4 stranded freighter
1980 stranded fishing
1980 salvaged government
[891 stranded sealer
1914 stranded oil tanker
1969 stranded yacht

1969 stranded fishing
1955 burned fishing
1960 stranded fishing
1858 sank other

1949 burned fishing
1950 burned fishing
1949 — fishing
1960 stranded isl sup boat
1899 stranded is] sup boat
1907 fragment other

1906 stranded fishing
1956 sank other

1979 sank fishing
1951 collision tug

1977 burned yacht


Figure 5.15. Comer at Santa Barbara, 1905. ‘The bow of the steamship Santa Rosa
appears at the extreme right. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

88


more than 300 persons, left the vessel that
evening for a small pinnacle 200 yards
offshore from Anacapa Island (Delgado
1982:14). The following morning, the ship's
boats transferred the group to the island
proper. There a temporary camp sheltered
most of the group for the next week. The
majority of the passengers left on December
10, when the California plucked them from
the beach and took them on their way to
Panama.

The ship's company remained on the
island for two more days, concentrating on
recovery of the mail and baggage carried
aboard. They also recovered some furniture
and "small pc i
1982:16). Other salvors removed foodstuffs
and other items. Captain Horatio Gates
Trussell of Santa Barbara salvaged wood that
became incorporated into the home now
preserved as the Tru sell-Winchester Adobe,
Which also contains two brass thresholds from
the ship.

Major salvage took place in 1894 from the
San Pedro, operated by Captain Maginn and
Colonel Baker. The operation removed
several hundred large copper bolts and much
of the iron machinery, blasting it into
manageable pieces. Additional iron and brass
were salvaged during World War If (Delgado
1982:19). ‘The wreck scatter today is a
popular dive site, often favored for beginning
recreational divers, and sport divers in recent
years have been altracted to the wreck by the
recovery of gold coins. Park officials have
focused their efforts, with some success, on
prosecuting violations of antiquity laws that
now protect the wreck scatter.

Jo

hinery" (Delg

20

olopical Record

Reviewing the coast where the Winfield
Scott wrecked, it scems clear that the
passengers and crew camped at Frenchy's
Cove, the only reasonable landing on the
entire north coast of Anacapa Island. Which
rock sheltered them on the first night is more
problematical. A steep pinnacle near the site is
often indicated as being this shelter; landing
the entire company there docs not scem
possible—not only are its sides vertical, but
there hardly seems room. A more likely rock
650 yards west of the wreck scatter offers far
more room and = much landing
opportunities.

The visible remains of the Winfield Scon
(Figure 3.1) bunch behind a large rock just off
Middle Anacapa. ‘The wreck scatter is quite
small for that of a 225-foot vessel. Indeed,
most of the material is propulsion machinery
(Figure 3.2), located about amidships on the
vessel. Items relating to the bow and stern are
absent.

While the first impression the wreck gives
to many is that of an aimless scatter, there is,
in fact, considerable organization to the visible
remains of the vessel. ‘The Jargest and most
obvious piece of wreckage is the shaft for
what is usually interpreted as the port paddle
wheel. This is the only piece that stands up
above the bottom to any extent at all. Around
the shaft are the remains of the paddle wheel,

easicr

including fixtures for several floats, or
paddies. Immediately to the south is a

massive piece that would have supported this
shaft in a huge saddle.




CAULKING:
Six threads of oakum in garboards and hawsed, from thence to plank sheer four threads and
hawsed, deck and housetop two threads. Center case six threads and hawsed. Seams on bottom

cemented to water line, from thence to plank sheer white leaded. Deck pitched. Center case, two

lower scams, cemented, the balance white leaded.

PORTS:

Vessel to have bow and stern ports.

FORECASTLE & CABIN:

Korecastle and cabin to be on deck, with water-closet and stationary wash-bowl complete.
Forward house to be adapted for donkey engine.

PAINTING:

Bottom two coats of Tar & Monsons copper paint, topsides and deck work two coats of paint.
Spats oiled.
STEERING GEAR, ETC:

Vessel to have composition rudder braces, diamond cut screw steering gear, 24" windlass
purchase. #3 capstan and patent traveler for spanker, spars to be in proportion to hull and all iron

of the best quality and workmanship.

SAILS, RIGGING, |

Standing rigging of wire, 4 shrouds each side for fore and mainmasts and 3 each side for
mizzen mast 4" wire. Main jib stays double 444" wire. ‘lopmast backstays 3'4", middle and
flying jib stays of wire. Halliards, (hroat and peak for foresail and mainsail to be 3/4", the

balance of running rigging to be in proportion to ils use.

232


She
command of Vizenzo Panaliert, alias

PAaSsenLers., was under the

John Brown, alias Capt. Paisoco. an
Wher near the Island of Santa

Cruz, at about 4 o'clock

Italian
AM. she
sprang a teak and soon filled and sank
All who were on board succeeded in
reaching the shore, which at that point
is very high and precipitous. Pasatieri
climbed up the steep bluff and alter
wandering about the island tor avo
days and nights, naked. huagry and
(hirsty, reached one of the houses on
ihe island. “The others, less fortunate,
have not since been heard of. Diligent
search as been made upon and around
the island, but no traces have been
discovered of them. [tis supposed that
they must have perished
the bluff) where they landed.
escape of Panatieri is little less than
The blult
height of about ovo hundred feet and ts
almost perpendicular the first

an

al the foot of
The
miraculous rises to the
tor

hundred feet Hammond was
industrious and respected citizen of
Santa Barbara, and leaves a wife and
five children of tender age. Miguel
Cota was a native Calitoraian, and a
citizen of this place [Suata Barbere

Gazette |

This account supgests that the vessel sank
relatively close to Santa Cruz Island, probably
within the park. since all three individuals
were able fo swan ashore. Remains of the

vessel are hkely to he in relatively deep water

150

Undine
1890-1892
‘Trade Not Known

Gross Tonnage 15.56 tons:

Net Tonnage 14.80 tons
Length 42.0 feet
Beam 15.0
Depth 5.5
Decks one
Official Number 28277
Construaciion wood

{Ustorical Record

Phe first license lor dais vessel was issued
on November 5, 1890
the steamer Sana Cruz

I:xactly 4 month later,
spotted the floating
wreckage of the Undine

with one man clinging thereto
Phrew a line which he was unable to
Backed off and lowered a boat.
When they pulled to wreck, no man

caich

Santa Cras then sicamed to
Next
day wreck was towed by me into 120

there
Ventura, leaving wreck at sea
where she

fathoms of water sank

[Geo. F. Enis, sole owner}
Phe Undine tid not yet received an
N
Loyd [ae], Pred Bowler, und C. Vasques, are
listed as lost on the wreek report which also
alributed — the “supposed
collision-colliding unknown vessel." “This

vessel is presumably the one menuoned in the

official number. “The crew of three, J

wreck 100 a


film was exposed, due to stormy conditions
(Fouts 1989:8). Fouts states that the company,
which included silent stars Grace Cunard and
Francis Ford, camped out on Santa Rosa
Island at a spot 6 miles distant from the Aggi.
Although it seems more reasonable that the
company would have stayed in Cuyler Harbor
on San Miguel Island, which is also 6 miles
from the Aggi, newspaper articles are specific
that Universal executives went over to the
"camp on Santa Rosa Island" that was "distant
about six miles from the wreck . . . in one of
the few good spots for camping that this part
of the island supplies" (SBMP, May 18,

1915). The camp might have been located at
the mouth of Arlington Canyon, Cafiada
Verde, on the north coast, or possibly at
China Camp on the south side of the island.

Smuggler's Island, starring Cunard and
Ford and produced by Universal, may contain
footage from the location of the Aggi. A 1915
Universal newsreel may also have the Aggi
footage. Attempts to locate film exposed on
the wreck have been unsuccessful.

Glenn Miller, a dive boat operator,
discovered the wreck for scuba divers during
the 1960s. He removed one of the anchors,
donating it to the Santa Barbara Historical

Figure 4.11.
Norder.

An incomplete map of the wreck scatter of the Aggi.

47

NPS drawing by Mark


people who used them and illuminate the role
of maritime activities in the diversifying
society of the nineteenth-century
United States. The detailed vessel histories
and archeological findings that will result from

such research will illuminate important
cultural developments and increase our
appreciation for the historical value of the
Channel Islands and their place in the history
of California and the United States.

189


Milmar
1921-1950
Fishing Boat

44 tons
30 tons
61.3 feet

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage
Length

Beam 17.0 feet
Depth 8.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 256076
Construction wood

Ilistorical Record

The Los Angeles Times of August 23,1950

reports:

Three men were rescued yesterday
afler the 65' fishing boat Milmar
caught fire from an overheated engine
and sank ten miles cast of Santa
Barbara Island, the U.S. Coast Guard
reported.

The crew of the Milmar, working out
of Bureka, was taken aboard the San
Diego fishing boat Sequoia and
transferred to the Los Angeles fishing
boat Barbara which brought them to
San Pedro last night

If the Les Angeles Times is correct in the
location of the vessel, it is definitely outside
the sanctuary and the park, at a depth of at
least 172 fathoms.

134

San Giuseppe
1935-1950
Purse Seiner

109 tons
59 tons
79.3 feet

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage
Length

Beam 22.5 feet

Depth 9.0 feet

Decks one

Official Number 234348

Construction wood, sieel reinforced

Listorical Reeord

The San Gitseppe originated in San
Francisco as a trawler. tts General Motors
260-horsepower diesel engine, — with
hydraulic reverse clutch, powered a single
propeller 3.5 feet in diameter. ‘The French
Sardine Company, later known as Star-Kist
Tuna, purchased the vessel, moved it to
southern California, and converted the vessel
into @ purse seiner for sardine fishing.

On the evening of December 18, 1950, the
hydraulic line to the clutch burst, spraying
fluid all over the hot engine exhaust manifold.
A fire quickly erupted and spread throughout
the vessel (Figure 7.6). A Coast Guard cutter
from Santa Barbara assisted the 12-man crew
in fighting the blaze, which proved fruitless.
The San Giuseppe sank south of Anacapa
Island in the early afternoon of December 19
‘The crew escaped injury and rode home on the
purse sciner Marcia Anne. Barksdale (1989)
reports that gear and engine were salvaged

a


thin wooden planks sewn to each other and to
a flat "keel board," resembles in many
characteristics a dory, the work boat
developed by fishermen of European
background. Both types of craft possess
straight bottoms from which rise gently
rounded strakes, culminating in a pronounced
rocker sheer. Although at a casual glance the
tomol appears to be double ended, this is not
so; the bow is distinctive, basically being
thinner in cross section than the stern
(Harrington 1978:64). Similar subtle, albeit
significant, differences are characteristic of
most types of dories.

One major difference is that a dory crew
typically rowed, whereas the tomol crew
paddled. The Chumash developed two
varieties of paddle, one short and single
ended, the other double bladed and between 6
and 10 feet in length. The redwood blades
were grooved and lashed to a_ separate
ironwood shaft.

Although Harrington (1978:118) states the
case for the paddle blades being offset, or
feathered—that is, attached to the shaft so that
the blades are at right angles—there are no
existing ethnographic examples or
observations to support this interpretation.
Throughout North America, groups using
double-bladed paddles to propel kayaks
employ unfeathered paddles. One reason may
be that the wrist action required to manipulate
a feathered paddle tends to cause severe and
disabling tendinitis; the unfeathered paddle is
much kinder, particularly when one is
paddling for long periods. Modern
recreational sea kayakers debate endlessly the
contrasting merits of feathered and
unfeathered paddles; there is no obvious
choice.

Because large trees for production of
dugout canoes are scarce in the Chumash area,
the use of the abundant redwood, pine, and

16

Douglas fir driftwood to produce an edge-
sewn plank canoe seems to have been an
environmentally conditioned pattern. Most
conjectures about the tomol speculate that the
vessel developed from a dugout form.
Archeological evidence with which to test this
idea is rare.

Archeologists have recovered fragments of
tomols from sites on San Nicholas Island, 41
miles south of the park, and on Santa Cruz
Island, Santa Rosa Island, and Catalina Island,
all from late contexts. Nothing like a
complete example has been reported. Such a
find would be extremely important and useful,
even if from a relatively small boat.

A recent terrestrial survey of Santa Rosa
Island does suggest some likely offshore areas
where the potential exists for recovering
submerged prehistoric sites. In 1991, survey
crews located archeological site SRI-91-15, an
early Holocene site with a date of 7,350 + 70
RCYBP (Beta 47626). ‘This site is very close
to the beach just south of Skunk Point, on the
eastern coast of Santa Rosa Island. The
imposing sea cliffs that indicate vigorous
erosion elsewhere on the island are completely
absent at this locality. Reconnaissance dives
immediately offshore from the site show
plentiful vegetal debris, including Torrey pine
cones that come only from groves to the
northwest along the island's coast. If there
were a site along the coastline here 8,000
years ago, it would lie roughly 60 feet below
sea level. The present environment suggests
that a hypothetical site here might be covered
with recent sediments, unlike other sites
elsewhere on the island where erosion has
probably scattered and dispersed the cultural
material, with the exception of the stone bowls
and mortars that have been recovered in recent
years.

Searches for submerged prehistoric sites
might examine those rare areas around the


Figure 4.15. Detail of the Aggi donkey
engine. NPS drawing by Mark Norder

chewed to bits. The keelson must have laid
over as the hull broke up, and the masts,
pushed by the prevailing winds, fell to the
cast. This pivoting motion would have also
torn the stern loose.

On a prominent headland near Talcott
Shoal, archeological survey crews found a
massive hearth filled with ferrous metal scrap,
indicating that the fire was fueled with historic
period driftwood. {mmediately adjacent to
this headland is a beach that is very
conspicuous [rom the location of the Aggi on
‘Talcott Shoal. This hearth may represent the
remains of a large signal fire, perhaps ignited
by the crew of the Aggi after making the

arest landfall on Santa Rosa sland, ‘This
distinctive hearth is unlike any feature noted at
Chinese-American abalone camps on the
island, the closest of which is only about a
mile away on the south side of the island.
Archacomagnetic dating of this hearth
might help to determine whether this feature is
associated with the wreck of the Aggi.

50

Figure 4.16.

Capstan on the Aggi sile.
photo by Steve Barsky.

Liebre
1921-(1921)-1953
Oil Tanker

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

7,057 tons
4,327 tons

Length 435 feet
Beam 56.2 feet
Depth 33.4 feet
Decks two
Official Number 221073
Construction steel


Eros
1951-1966
Yawl-rigged Yacht

Gross Tonnage 7 tons
Net Tonnage 5 tons
Length 32.6 feet
Beam 10.1 feet
Depth S.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 277869
Construction wood

Historical Record

Also on January 16, 1966, the Eros
foundered at "33-57' N Lat, 119-24’ W Long"
(MVUS 1968:1167), a point slightly over 3
nautical miles due south of Middle Anacapa
Island. The vessel was unmasted in the
“worst storm in ten years." As the vessel was
under tow to Marina del Rey, it "split at the
seams and sank" (VSFP, January 17, 1966).
The remains of the Hros would lie in about
340 fathoms of water. A letter from the
owner reveals that the vessel had been stolen
and was found abandoned at Port Hueneme on
January 2. The Coast Guard was towing the
vessel to Wilmington when it sank. ‘The
reported position, which is consistent in all the
documents on this incident, seems far off
course for a route from Port Hueneme to Los
Angeles.

White Cap
1966
Sailboat

Historical Record

‘This twenty-four foot sailboat grounded at
Smuggler's Cove August 22, 1966, and was a

176

total loss. The Coast Guard evacuated the two
men aboard to Point Mugu.

Legend
1951-1967
Racing Yacht

Gross Tonnage 15.88 tons
Net Tonnage 14.0 tons
Length 43.0 feet
Beam 10.3 feet
Depth 6 feet
Decks oa
Official Number 281997
(until 1964)

Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel raced rather successfully for
several years, doing particularly well in the
TransPac, from the West Coast to Hawaii.
The Legend was the overall and class winner
in 1957, and won its class in 1959, While
returning to the mainland under a charter crew
after the 1967 race, the vessel stranded on San
Miguel Island after running for several days
without being able to secure a good position
due to persistent fog.

The vessel carried a six cylinder Chris-
Craft engine, with a bore of 3 7/16 inches.
The vessel's hollow stainless steel keel carried
water ballast which was the source of the
crew's drinking water. No organized salvage
occurred (Phil Campbell, former owner,
personal communication) although Peter
Howorth noted “extensive pilferage" at the
site.

Nimbus 3
1968
Weather Satellite




Figure 5.16. Comet aground at Simonton Cove, San Miguel Island. Photo courtesy
of Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Figure 5.17. Anchor and background at Simonton Cove, 1980s, Compare
with Figures 5.21 and 5.23. NPS photo by Don Morris.

89



\
Headvwall “

0 500M
(oo oor ee)

) 2060 Ft
re oe

Figure 8.2. 1895 landslide debris.

< Landslide Area c. 1990
° 500 Mt
Ce

° 2000 PL
[ar or oo

Figure 8.3. 1895 landslide area, ca. 1990.

go in the 1940s, generating a landslide slump
scar that is vividly evident today (Figure 8.3).
A submerged boulder field supporting a
beautiful kelp bed represents the residue of the
1895 landslide.

153

The landslide story may have been
concocted to cover a bad job of anchoring, but
the Liberty is the first vessel known definitely
to have wrecked in Cuyler Harbor. Although
destroyed by a most unusual natural
occurrence, the vessel evidently came to rest
in a location along the southeast shore of the
anchorage that it would share with many other
vessels over the years.

Chappo
1897-1897
Trade Not Known
Gross Tonnage 5.67 tons
Net Tonnage —_
Length 20.3 feet
Beam 10.2 feet
Depth 3.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 127191
Construction wood.

Historical Record

The sloop Chappo went ashore at China
Harbor, Santa Cruz Island, when the vessel's
anchor chain broke during northwest winds
and seas on August 15, 1897. The crew of
four reached shore with no loss of life.
William Bates built the vessel in Santa
Barbara.

Helene
1895-1898
Sloop; Guano Carrier
Gross Tonnage 15.31 tons
Net Tonnage 15.31 tons
Length 34.2 feet
Beam 12.3 feet
Depth 4.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 96325
Construction wood


Convoy
2-1884
Sealing and Otter Boat

15.26 tons
14.7 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 43.5 {vet
Beam 14.6 feet
Depth 4.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 5161
Construction wood
Histor
The Santa Barbara papers reported

extensively on a strong storm that hit the
region at the end of January 1884. Finally,
this story appeared:

‘the schooner Convey, Capvain Ellis,
was lost in the recent storm. On
Sunday, Jan 27th, she broke her
rudder and became unmanageable.
The Captain and crew came home in
an otter boat, from the island of San
Miguel, arriving here this morning.
The schooner was of sixteen tons
burden, of the value of two thousand
dollars, belonged to Rogers Bros. of
this city, and was not insured.

She had been engaged in otter hunting
off the Santa Barbara chain of islands.

In pitching from crest to trough
she became disabled and the schooner
was at the mercy of the sca.

‘The wreck report states that the vi
came ashore on the "N.W. point of Santa Rosa
Island" as a consequence of a broken rudder
and cables during a southeast gale. Captain

Higgins of the Svar of freedom returned the
crew to Santa Barbara. ‘The Convoy is
considered a sealer, although the newspaper
labeled it an “otter hunter"; presumably the
crew would have taken any fur bearer they
encounicred. Note that Rogers Brothers
suffered yet another vessel loss.

Isabella
21885
Sealing and Fishin,

8

Gross Tonnage 12.80 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 12.16 tons
Length 35.4 feet
Beam 15.0 feet
Depth 4.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 100181
Construction wood

Historical Record

Word comes to the mainland that the
sealing sloop Llsie Wencher, of San
Dicgo, has been wrecked upon the
rocky shore of San Miguel Island.
The accident happened about two
wecks ago, and the vessel is said to be
a total loss, but other than this no
particulars are known. The wrecked
boat is said by some to be the
Tsabella, but this report is not
believed by sca-faring men [SBDP,
December 9, 1885].

In fact, the vessel wrecked was the
Isabella, according vo the official wreck report
filed in July 1886. The /sabella wrecked in
Cuyler Harbor, San Migucl Island, in a strong
east-southeast. wind accompanied by rain,
darkness, and heavy seas. ‘The vessel struck



REFERENCES

Allen, Oliver E.

1978 The Windjammers. Time-Life Books.
Alexandria.

American Bureau of Shipping

1907 Record of American and Foreign
1922 Shipping, New York.
1954

Angelucci, Enzo

1981 The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of

Military Aircraft, 1914-1980. The
Military Press, New York.

Barksdale, George M.

1989 Some Recent Shipwrecks (since 1950)
of the Channel Islands of the
California Central Coast. Ms. on file,
Channel Islands National Park.

Dana, Richard H.

1965 Two Years Before the Mast. Airmont
Publishing, New York.

Davidson, George

1889 Pacific Coast: Coast Pilot of
California, Oregon, and Washington.
Government Printing Office,

Washington, D. C.

237

Delgado, James

1982 Water Soaked and Covered with
Barnacles, The Wreck of the S.S.
Winfield Scott, The Pacific Historian,
27(2):5-21

Desmond, Charles

1984 Wooden Ship-Building. Reprinted.
Vestal Press Ltd., Vestal, New York.
Originally published 1919, Rudder
Publishing Co., New York.

Dictionary of American Fighting Ships

1959 U.S. Navy, Naval History Division,
1981 Washington, D.C.

Dunn, Laurence

1979 The World's Tankers. Adlard Coles

Ltd., London.

Eaton, Margaret H.

1980 Diary of a Sea Captain's Wife. Edited
by Janice Timbrook. McNally and
Loftin, Santa Barbara.

Fagan, Brian

1983 Cruising Guide to California's

Channel Islands. Western Marine
Enterprises, Ventura.


CHAPTER IV

Wrecked and Grounded

Commercial Vessels

The nineteenth century saw a huge
expansion of maritime trade and an
unprecedented number of _ increasingly
seaworthy vessels traveling the seas. Ocean
travel was still hazardous, however, and many
vessels came to grief. San Francisco, which
had overnight become a major seaport during
the gold rush, continued its prominence,
especially in the shipping of grain to foreign
ports. Coastwise shipping developed as well,
moving both freight and passengers to
southern California ports. The northern
Channel Islands present an obstacle course to

commercial shipping that has claimed
numerous vessels.

Between 1892 and 1962, five large vessels
wrecked within what are now the park
boundaries, and between 1908 and 1954, six
others grounded and eventually worked free.
In this chapter, we discuss these 11 disasters
in chronological order. Two of the wrecked
ships, the Goldenhorn and the Aggi, were
sailing vessels, while all the others were
steamships. No wooden vessels are
represented in this group. Table 4.1 is a

summary list of the vessels.

Table 4.1. Wrecked and Grounded Commercial Vessels

Vessel Date Wrecked
Goldenhorn September 12, 1892
Crown of England November 6, 1894
Aggi May 3, 1915

Cuba September 8, 1923
Chickasaw February 7, 1962

27

Cargo Tonnage
coal 1,915
ballast 2,574
grain 1,898
general 3,169
general 6,131



CHAPTER V

Vessels of the Lumber Trade

The development of the California coastal
lumber trade is important to understanding the
shipwrecks of Channel Islands National Park.
The growing population of southern California
during the nineteenth century required
additional housing and other facilities,
boosting the demand for lumber. This
demand increased sharply as railroads reached
the Los Angeles area in the late 1870s. The
lumber trade increased steadily from 1880
onward. During the 1880s, Los Angeles grew
from 15,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, generating
a demand for construction material (Queenan
1983:27). Railroad construction alone
required significant cargoes, while the
expansion of the railroads itself expanded the
market for lumber products.

The best source for lumber was the forests
of northern California and the Pacific
Northwest. These vast forests also provided
the raw material for the vessels that would
carry sawn boards and other forest products to
market. As a contemporary author saw it:

These firs . . . have become celebrated
throughout the world for their
magnificent proportions, and the size
and strength of the spars and lumber

69

they supply. They frequently furnish
sticks 100 to 150 feet long, 18x18,
and even 24 inches square, without a
particle of sap, without a rent or
check, perfectly sound, straight and
free from knots. Planks of this timber
60 and 90 feet long, and of any
required width and thickness, are
readily obtainable, thus avoiding the
necessity for more than one-third as
many butts or scarphs in a ship's
sides, decks, or fore and aft timbers,
as are required in Eastern or European
built vessels [Hopkins 1874:21].

The lumber trade developed in schooners,
typically three-masted vessels, whose builders
made the holds as open as possible to
accommodate the lumber cargo and provided
the necessary strength by building unusually
stout keelsons and fastening unusually thick
ceiling (interior) planking. The schooners
carried more lumber on deck than within their
holds. This practice improved the cargo as
salt spray hardened the wood.

By the turn of the century, power vessels,
the so-called "steam schooners," were
beginning to supplant the sail schooners.


2.1
2.2
2.3
24
2.5
2.6
3.1
3.2

3.3
4]
4.2
43
44
4.5
4.6
47
48
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20
4.21
4.22
4.23
4.24
4.25
4.26
4.27
4.28
5.1
5.2

LIST OF FIGURES

Santa Barbara Channel 200.0... ce eee eececetneeeeees 6
San Miguel Island
Santa Rosa Island
Santa Cruz Island .

Anacapa Island .....

Santa Barbara Island ........ : a
Wreckage of the Winfield Scott... 0.606 c ccc cece cece .. 21
Crosshead from Winfield Scott 20.00.0006 cece cece eee vee 23
Brass drift projecting from hull fragment near keel on Winfield Scott ........... 23
Rodger's anchor. ............ 0.000 c0 ese aes

Goldenhorn at anchor, unknown location . . .
Wreck scatter of Goldenhorn wreckage map
Floor frames on Goldenhorn oo. 00.0.0. ccc ccc cece cece eee veees 3
Jiggermast step of Goldenhorn .........
Goldenhorn's mast, truss and lower yard
Donkey engine from Crown of England
POOMAA Coe cece

Aggi at the dock ...

Aggi in a different color scheme, presumably under an earlier owner . .. 46
Incomplete map of the wreck scatter of Aggi ........00....0004. . 47
Aggi anchor... 0.6. ccc cence eee e evens .. 48
Detail of Aggi mast rigging ©... cece cece eee cevevees 49
Mast on Aggi site ..0 cece cc cee cere een eceeees 49
Detail of Aggi donkey engine ..... .. 50
Capstan on Aggi site 20. e eee ete vee eeeeesneeeeeens 50
View aboard Cuba, looking sternward ....... 000.000. c cece cece eee veeeeee 52

Cuba as Sachem
Cuba Wreckage
One of the three corner sinks present today on San Miguel Island... .
Cuba's triple expansion engines reach to within ten feet of the surface .......... 59
Documenting Cuba, San Miguel Island .
Another view of Cuba's engines ..........
One of Cuba's detachable propeller blades

Chickasaw aground just west of South Point on Santa Rosa Island beeen 64
Chickasaw, December 1982 0.00.0... cece ccc cece cece

Amicships island and stern of Chickasaw

Only the amidships portion of Chickasaw remains above sea level in 1992 ...... 67

J M Colman about 1900-1905

xi



Submerged Cultural Resources Unit
Intermountain Cultural Resource Centers
Intermountain Field Arca
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior


before the end of the month by Channel [stand
Salvage Corporation.

Pacific
1928-1951
Purse Seiner

Gross Tonnage 89 tons
Net Tonnage 45 tons
Length 73.0 feet
Beam 18.7 feet
Depth 8.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 227246
Construction wood

On October 27, 1951. this vessel sank 15
miles northeast of San Nicholas Island, which
places its remains about 4 miles outside the
Santa Barbara Island portion of the marine
sanctuary im water 400 to 900 fathoms decp.
The crew of 11 was rescued by a Coast Guard
PBM plane. ‘The Pacific was formerly YN7-
2/ (Kigure 7.7).

Golden Gate
1944-1952
Fishing Boat

Gross ‘Tonnage 120 tons

Net Tonnage 57 tons
Length 73.4 feet
Beam 22.0 feet
Depth 10.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 246308
Construction wood

136

[listorical Record

The Los Angeles
January 30, 1952

Times veported on

The San Pedro fishing boat Golden
Gate was afire late last night 10 miles
east of Santa Cruz fsland and the
captain and crew of 10 were foreed to
abandon the ship. ‘They were taken
aboard the fishing boat Sea Pride.

‘The vessel formerly had been registered as
the Sunlight (MVUS 1952). The 1953-54
MVUS gives the location of the sinking of the
Golden Gate as “about | mile southeast of
re Point, Santa f."
Considering the relatively imprecise locations
just quoted and the vagaries of a drifting boat,
the location of the Golden Gate is not known
with any precision. It may not even be within
the park.

Del Rio
1935-1952
Purse Seiner

Gross ‘Tonnage 110 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 57 tons
Length 78.1 feet
Bean 21,5 fect
Depth 9.8 feet
Decks one
Official Number 234477
Construction wood

Historical Record

Originally a purse seiner, the Del Rio
became the auxiliary minesweeper Grosbeak


To the west can be found a circular
structure, the base of one of the vessel's
boilers. Between the paddle wheel and its
support lie a line of massive bronze drifts and
a section of the outer hull, complete with
copper sheathing. Slightly to the south cluster
the fragments of yet another paddle wheel, this
one lacking its shaft. Clustered nearby are
several pieces of relatively undamaged copper
sheathing plates, typically protruding from
beneath pieces of wreckage or concretion on
the seabed. The arrangement of these
sheathing plates suggests that a piece of hull
about 100 feet in length lies on the seabed,
weighed down by the midships machinery
(Figure 3.3).

The boiler base, paddle wheels, hull
fragment, and paddle-wheel support lie ina
structurally correct relationship to one
another, except for the boiler's lying astern of
the paddle shell machinery. All major pieces
are correctly related to one another if the hull
fragment twisted around about 180 degrees as
the vessel came to rest on the seabed, perhaps
pivoting about the large rock that lies north of
the wreck scatter. Shifts of this type also
occurred in the wrecks of the Cuba and the
Aggi, as will be seen later.

Yankee Blade
1851-1854
Side-wheel Passenger Steamer

Gross Tonnage 1,767 tons

Net Tonnage ---

Length 274 feet, 5 inches
Beam 34 feet

Depth 21 feet, 7 inches
Decks --

Official Number

Construction wood

Historical Record

On October 1, 1854, the Yankee Blade
wrecked in the fog at Honda, near Point
Arguello, foreshadowing the wreck of many
more vessels in the years to come. Why is
this wreck discussed in an account of Channel
Islands shipwrecks? As will be amply
demonstrated in several other wreck accounts,
the northwest currents evidently carried
several pieces of the Yankee Blade to island
beaches.

At the time of the wreck of the Yankee
Blade, < was living on the island of
Santa Rosa, in the employ of my
A. B. Thompson. One day
while riding on the northwest end of
the island, I found a number of pieces
of cabin furniture, also cases of lard,
and saw many pieces far out in the
kelp. The next day, very early, I took
a whale boat from the west harbor and
a man with me, and went up to the
head of the island. On the way up to
the kelp, we picked up a chest of
medical books, and a trunk or two
with nothing in them of value. This
was, I think, in 1854. Supposing a
steamer to be wrecked somewhere
near, the next day we went up to the
head of San Miguel to see if we could
make any discoveries of a wreck, but
of course found nothing... . The
most valuable wood work of the
Yankee Blade that we picked up was a
carved eagle which came off of the
paddle-box. This relic is now an
ornament in the theater here {letter to
editor from D. W. Thompson, SBDP,
March 17, 1881].



rescued them within 45 minutes (VSFP,
August 23, 1979). The vessel was at least 3
years old.

Patrick
1942-1980
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 18 tons
Net Tonnage 11 tons
Length 38.7 feet
Beam 10.5 feet
Depth 4.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 268135
Construction steel

Historical Record

This vessel stranded "near Santa Barbara
Island CA" on January 11, 1980 (MVUS
1981). It was a former Coast Guard vessel.

Sumn ary

The remains of numerous fishing boats
from San Pedro and Santa Barbara, which
might be reasonably identifiable to different
ethnic groups, are available for study in the
Channel Islands. Only a portion of these
remains have been recorded and reported in
the literature, including the present study.
Many fishing vessels were not formally
documented and hence do not appear in
sources such as Merchant Vessels of the
United States. Moreover, fishing vessels do
not possess the romantic appeal of the larger
vessels, nor are their wreck scatters as
conspicuous.

Interesting trends, however, appear in the
still-imperfect data. From 1930 on, fishing
vessels were lost with regularity to engine-
room fires at sea, particularly around Anacapa
and Santa Barbara islands. Santa Ana winds

147

also claimed the boats of unaware skippers
who unwisely chose anchorages at the eastern
end of the park. Fatalities occurred all too
often in these incidents.

At the western end of the islands, Cuyler
Harbor on San Miguel Island has seen fishing
vessels wreck with regularity. The sloop
Liberty, discussed in Chapter 8, was only the
first of many to lose its anchor and fetch up
on the southern lee shore of this tricky
anchorage. It is worth remembering that
while Cuyler Harbor offers shelter from open
seas, it gives no protection from the prevailing
northwest winds. Therefore, any vessel not
securely anchored will end up on the beach
very quickly. Our records for wrecks in this

area are incomplete. Peter Howorth has

f the wooden hull side

hhotographed a piece of the wooden hull side

photograpned a p
of a vessel in Cuyler Harbor much larger than
any of those noted in this report. Perhaps it
drifted down from a mainland wreck.

Many shipwreck-related activities involve
both shore camps on the islands and vessels
plying the offshore waters. Chinese-American
abalone fishing, "crawfishing," and much
general fishing in the early twentieth century
originated from informal fishing camps
situated on the islands. Vessels supplied the
camps and transported the catch to markets in
Santa Barbara and San Pedro. These camps
diminished as island access became restricted
in the 1930s, and fishing vessels became
larger as the range of the fishing fleet
expanded. Smaller, faster boats have recently
come into favor in the abalone and sea-urchin
fisheries. Now catch boats service the smaller
Radins and Wilsons that congregate overnight
at popular island anchorages, in a system
curiously reminiscent of the earlier island-
based operations. Today's vessels emphasize
low maintenance costs, trailerability, small
crews, minimum accommodations, and high
speed in order to pop out of harbor and work
during spells of good weather in the offshore
islands.




Sicily, and convoy duties in the Atlantic
theater. In 1944, the Thurston landed troops
at Omaha Beach in the invasion of Normandy
and later in the invasion of southern France.

Near the end of 1944, the Thurston
returned to New York for an overhaul, then
departed just before Christmas for the Pacific.
In early 1945, the Thurston joined in the
attacks on Iwo Jima and Okinawa before
returning to San Francisco. After more
transport duties, the vessel was again in San
Francisco when the war concluded. ‘The
Thurston ended its military service by
returning servicemen stateside until June 1946,
During this period, the vessel survived an
ambush by erenade- carrying Japanese soldiers

tine dory
i ne dory.

The Thurston was decommissioned in
August 1946, being renamed Del Santos, a
name briefly held earlier when the vessel was
under construction. In 1948, Waterman
Steamship Company bought the vessel, which
had been struck from the navy’s list in late
August 1946. In 1949, Waterman renamed
the vessel Chickasaw and placed the ship in
service (Dictionary of American Naval
Fighting Ships 1981 7:179-180).

The Chickasaw began its last voyage from
Japan bound for San Pedro with a cargo of
general merchandise that included plywood,
shoes, toys, dishes, and at least one 1950s
vintage Buick (Peter Howorth, personal
communication), With visibility reduced by a
that had hammered
southern California for several days, the
Chickasaw went hard aground just west of

Figure 4.25. Chickasaw aground just west of South Point on Santa Rosa Island, “February
7, 1962. Photo courtesy of the Schwemmer Collection.

64


Channel Islands National Park

forris and James Lima

CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK .
SUBMERGED CULTURAL RESOURCES UNIT
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 4



Figure 5.24. Hulda and Otto Lembke aboard the Comer at Santa Barbara, 1905. Photo
courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

foredeck of the Comet shown in Figure 5.23. Watson A West

A great deal of material, especially wooden Four-masted Conn Loenber Schooner
timbers, probably lies in the vicinity,
concealed by sand and ice plants. Only Gross Tonnage 818 tons
: - . Net Tonnage 747 tons
cursory probing of the sands at the wreck site Length 192.5 feet
of the Comet had occurred until Matthew Beam 40.0 feet
Russell began work there in 1993 in an Depth 14.2 feet
attempt to locate the capstan and other major Decks one
pieces of wreckage shown in the 1977 and Official Number 81782
1984 photographs (Figure 5.24). Construction wood

93



Aurora
1940-1952
Miscellaneous Trades

Gross Tonnage 122 tons
Net Tonnage 59 tons
Length 79.3 feet
Beam 22.4 feet
Depth 10.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 239980
Consiruction wood

Historical Record

A short notice (LAT, November 8, 1952)
reports two men injured while the Aurora
burned at anchor at Santa Cruz Island. ‘The
1953-54 MVUS staies that the Aurora burned
" anta Cruz Island, near coast of Southern
Calif." Despite these official records, enough
of the vessel survived that it was rebuilt in
1954 and continued under the same official
number with the new name Jo Ann. This
vessel in all likelihood, did not leave a
significant wreck scatter within the study area.

Corsair
1911-1953

Yacht
Gross Tonnage 18 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 12 tons
Length 43.8 feet
Beam 11.0 feet
Depth 5.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 208712
Construction wood

168

Historical Record

‘Phis yacht, powered by a gasoline engine,
wrecked "on north end of Santa Cruz Island,
Calif." on February 8, 1953 (MVUS
1954:748). All that was saved was the vessel
documentation and “a small ship's bell."

Grumman AF-2W Guardian
1950?-1954
Propeller-driven Antisubmarine Plane,
U.S. Navy

60-8
43-4
Pratt and Whitney
R-2899-48,
Hamilton Standard
propeller, 4-beaded

Length
Wing tip Dimensions
Propulsion

Archeological Record

In this

ount, the archeological record is
presented first, because the plane had been
known for some time before it was identified.
Peter Howorth led the park archeologist to
ikingly well-preserved plane, which lics
about 50 feet deep near Gull Island (Figure
8.5). Howorth had located the wreck while
searching for abalone some years earlier. A
total of six individual dives were made on the
craft during the afternoon of August 10, 1985,
obtaining video footage, photographs, and
enough direct measurements to develop a
rather crude sketch and allow identification.
Visibility during the dives ranged from 10 to
15 teet.

The aircraft is a propeller-driven planc
with a single rotary engine. ‘The propeller is



CHAPTER VII

Vessels of the Fishing Industry

Fishing has a long history in the islands,
beginning in prehistory with the Chumash,

v

ra ns oy

V ns offer rly
abundant evidence for diverse and
sophisticated practices that brought pelagic as
well as near-shore species to the table. In
historic times, commercial fishing fleets
harbored in Santa Barbara and San Pedro
dominated island operations. The
development of a commercial fishing industry
in Los Angeles accelerated with the
establishment of sardine canneries just before
1900 and the development of canning
techniques and marketing of albacore tuna
beginning in 1903 (Queenan 1983:59).
Canneries were illegal in Santa Barbara after
1924, so the smaller fleet based there sold its
catch to Monterey concerns. {t is clear that
vessels from other ports along the Pacific
coast also operated around the islands from
time to time.

The first sardine cannery in San Pedro
opened in 1894. The Alpha, a 22-ton sloop
with an auxiliary gas engine, caught sardines
using purse seines—a larger size for mackerel
and a smaller one for sardines. In later years,
the vessel also netted whitefish: barracuda,
white sea bass, and yellowtail tuna. Through

later

117

the turn of the century, the fishing fleet
consisted of only three to four vessels.

in 1914 (Scofield 1951;27).

The Van Camp Sea Food Company opted
for high-volume tuna production, developing
its first tuna fleet of 15 40-foot boats in 1915.
By 1916, purse seining for yellowfin and blue
fin tuna appeared in Los Angeles, and it had
become common by 1920. Los Angeles
became the premier center for commercial
fishing because of the abundant sardine,
mackerel, and albacore in its waters and
because of dependable transportation links,
primarily railroads, with markets elsewhere in
the country (Queenan 1983:59). San Pedro
was home port to about 125 purse seiners
(Figure 7.1 and 7.2) in 1920, although the
economic recession after the war cut the size
of the fleet in half (Scofield 1951:28).

In 1921, according to Scofield (1951:35),
about one-quarter of the sardine fleet consisted
of fishing boats about 35 feet long, each with
a crew of seven to eight. These boats were
primarily manned by Italian-Americans. The
remainder of the fleet were newer Japanese-
American boats 45 to 50 feet long. The net in
use was a lampara, a simpler and lighter


Historical Record

The Joan foundered on the rocks at
Forney's Cove, Santa Cruz Island, on
February 15, 1974 (MVUS 1976; SBNP,
February 15, 1974). There were no fatalities
among the three-person crew.

Frederick Q
1936-1974
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 24 tons
Net Tonnage 11 tons
Length 46.1 feet
Beam 12.8 feet
Depth 5.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 260183
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Frederick Q, built at Portsmouth,
Virginia, had previously been known as the
Nampa and as No. 13014 USN. Home-ported
in San Francisco and owned by Fred Tandez
Quilantang, the vessel "foundered off San
Miguel Island CA" on November 29, 1974
(MVUS 1976:1426).

145

Glady I
1944-1975
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 11 tons
Net Tonnage 8 tons
Length 38.3 feet
Beam 10.1 feet
Depth 4.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 262071
Construction wood

Historical Recor:

The Glady f sank about 3 miles off Yellow
Banks, Santa Cruz Island, on June 2, 1975,
while after sea urchins. The vessel was
formerly LCSS C 60593 USN. It sank
suddenly, in less than a minute, leaving the
three crew members in the water. The
skipper, Larry Greenley, apparently became
confused and did not reach the shore of Santa
Cruz Island (SBNP, June 3, 1975). The
vessel was described by the Coast Guard as
"having seen better days." The wreckage
would lie in approximately 50 fathoms of
water.


CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK

and

CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL MARINE
SANCTUARY

Submerged Cultural Resources Assessment

Don P. Morris
Archeologist
Channel Islands National Park

James Lima
Troy State University

{ntermountain Cultural Resource Centers Professional Papers
Number 56

Submerged Cultural Resources Unit
Intermountain Field Area
National Park Service

Santa Fe, New Mexico
1996

iti



Historical Record

Now for something a little different. In
May 1968, a fleet of five vessels searched the
Santa Barbara Channel from Gaviota Beach to
San Miguel Island for the Nimbus 3 weather
satellite, sunk when the malfunctioning
booster was destroyed on purpose. Searchers
were hopeful the $50 million satellite would
be found in one piece, "because otherwise
some of the searchers would have noticed
increased radioactivity in the channel" (VSFP,
May 22, 1968:A-2). While this particular
satellite is hardly the only piece of space
debris submerged in the study area, others
may be expected in the future due to the

proximity of launch facilities at Vandenburg
Air Force Base.

Black Dolphin
1963-1968
Passenger Vessel
Gross Tonnage 21 tons
Net Tonnage 20 tons
Length 42.5 feet
Beam 15.0 feet
Depth 6.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 290301
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Black Dolphin stranded at Chinese
Harbor, Santa Cruz Island, on Christmas Day,
1968 (MVUS_ 1970). An_ unattributed
newspaper article (January 29, 1969) states
that the vessel was towed from the island to
the Santa Barbara Harbor where it sank in 36
feet of water. The intent was to salvage and
repair the vessel. Coast Guard records state
that the vessel grounded and broke up on the
beach at Chinese Harbor, Santa Rosa Island.

177

The vessel was then intentionally burned. An
unattributed newspaper article (Wanuary 29,
1969) states that the vessel was towed from
the island to the Santa Barbara Harbor where
the vessel sank in 36 feet of water. Perhaps
salvors were attempting to rebuild the vessel
from the burned remnants.

Marimari
1965-1969
Yacht

Gross Tonnage 8 tons
Net Tonnage 7 tons
Length 30.2 feet
Beam 10.0 feet
Depth 5.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 501503
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Marimari stranded off Santa Cruz
Island on January 20, 1969 (MVUS 1970).

Pinocchio
1965-1969
Yacht

Gross Tonnage 11 tons
Net Tonnage 8 tons
Length 30.9 feet
Beam 10.9 feet
Depth 4.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 500951
Construction wood

Historical Record

This boat stranded on West Anacapa
Island on August 16, 1969. The skipper,


WRECKS LISTED BY ISLAND

APPENDIX A

Wrecks Within the Park Which Have Been Located and Identified

Ship Name

Del Rio

Equator

Winfield Scott

Grumman Avenger (plane)
Dante Alighieri I
Billcona

Englyn

Grumman Guardian
(plane)

Peacock
Santa Cruz
Comet
Cuba

JM Colman
Aggi
Broadbill
Chickasaw

Crown of England

Official
Number

234477

257143

236704

251907

MSC198
116559
126379
215771
76717
102136
215227
241993

99115

SCI

SCI

SCI

SCI

SMI

SMI-PB

SMI-PB

SRI

SRI

SRI

SRI

197

1980.

1960

1911

1923

1905

1915

1966

1962

1894

Gross
Tonnage

110
238

1291

370 (dspl)
45
429

3168.8

1898
34
6131

2574



NHP.

Historical Record

W. H. McWhinney built the Watson A
West at Aberdeen, Washington, launching it in
1901 (Figures 5.25 and 5.26). Despite the
relatively late construction date, the certificate
of enrollment does not list a donkey engine as
present on the boat when launched, nor does
one appear on any of later certificates. There
have been twenty owners of record, including
John H. Petersen. Originally registered in
Port Townsend, it was briefly registered in
Honolulu (1903, 1905), San Francisco (1905,
1911, 1922), Seattle (1913, 1921), and Port
Angeles, Washington, where in 1913 it was

wee

Figure 5.25. Warson A West, location unidentified. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Maritime

o4

owned by Pacific Freighters Company, Inc.
The ship was licensed at various times for
ocean freight or the coasting trade and was
last licensed in Honolulu in December 1922.

During its career, the Waison A West not
only delivered lumber to the usual southern
California ports several times but also made
many international voyages—to Australia,
Peru, Chili, South Africa, Singapore, the
Philippines, and Japan, as well as Guaymas,
Mexico.

The Watson A West was carrying 800,000
board feet of lumber from Gray's Harbor to
San Pedro when it struck the west end of San
Miguel Island at 11:30 P.M. on February 23,


quickly and become quite dense under these
conditions.

In addition, the persistent northwesterly
winds bring warm air to the channel, where
it picks up moisture. Fog forms as the air
cools during the evening, persisting until the
warming sun heats and dissipates the fog in
midday. This moist layer, the marine layer,
is often capped by warm, dry air that
contains the heavier, foggy air below it.
Fog can also occur as landward air heats and
rises, drawing moist air in from the ocean.
When this air cools during the evening, fog
may form.

Fog is common throughout the year in
the channel; it is most common in the early
summer and on the windward, or northwest,
sides of the islands, particularly San Miguel
and Santa Rosa. From Point Conception to
Gaviota, the mainland coast is often fog
free.

Southeasters, or cyclonic lows, affect the
area during the winter, occurring as early as
October and lasting into May. These storms
generally peak in frequency and intensity
from December through February. They
bring rain and snow to the area, and their
strong winds and heavy seas pose great
hazards to rnariners—especially because
after the front passes, winds shift from the
initial southeast direction to the southwest
and then to the northwest, and velocities
increase to 20-30 knots or more. The worst
sea conditions often occur when skies clear
after the front has passed (Fagan 1983:43).
Wind gusts of up to 100 knots have been
recorded at Point Conception in connection
with these storms. Dana (1965) provides a
vivid account of the labor sailing crews
performed to avoid being caught in harbors
turned suddenly into lee shores by
southeasters.

11

Santa Ana winds blow from the
mainland out to sea from the northeast when
high pressure systems occupy the interior of
the mainland. They bring ferocious winds
to the eastern portion of the channel,
although conditions often remain mild and
pleasant on the outer islands of San Miguel
and Santa Rosa. Anacapa Island receives
strong Santa Anas from the Santa Clara
River valley, which can blow 30 knots with
gusts to 80 knots and higher.

Weather and sea conditions frequently
vary from one end of the channel to the
other. Heavy weather and seas are more
common to the west in the islands, an
important point to remember when one is
experiencing balmy

tions around

Anacapa and contemplating a voyage to San
Miguel. These variable environmental
conditions enhance the diversity that
characterizes the biological resources of the
islands.

While storms and fog obviously create
problems for mariners, the absence of wind
also can be hazardous for sailing vessels that
lose way and steerage and are then moved
only by currents, at random, often into
danger. Lack of wind played a part in the
wrecking of the Goldenhorn.

con

Surface Currents

Surface currents in the Santa Barbara
Channel and around the islands are complex,
being influenced by a variety of factors.
Very important is the California Current,
which flows south offshore from the coast as
part of the general circulation pattern of the
Pacific Ocean. At Point Conception, the
configuration of the coastline generates a
northward flowing eddy, the Southern


Ship N
Chappo
Cinnamon Bear
City of Sausalito
Corsair

Englyn
Dolphin IV
Elaine

Eagle

Georgia

Helene
Imperial
International I
Irene

Jana Dawn
Joan

Kinkajou

Lion

Marimari
Nellie

OK

San Buenaventura

Official
Number

127191
260737
235380

208712

233428

96325
212356

167316

277143

278028

215807
501503

130865

Island
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
Scl
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SCI
No
SCI
scl
SCI
SCI

SCI

199

1897

1966

1941

1953

1974

1962

1961

1923

1964

1898

1936

1918

1908

1978

1974

1930s

1924

1969

1912

1923

1858

Gross
Tonnage

5.67

15.31
22

72


By 1878 Hanson had sold half his interest
to the Prescott's then current master, William
Fox.

Carrying a cargo of railroad ties destined
for San Pedro, the G W Prescott stranded on
the west end of San Miguel Island on August
15, 1879, at 2:00 A.M. The precise location is
not known. The G W Prescott is the earliest
and smallest lumber schooner to have wrecked
in the Point Bennett area. The cargo is
appropriate; this was a time when the
Southern Pacific Railroad was actively
building toward Los Angeles and San Pedro.

JM Colman
1888-1905
Three-masted Coastal Lumber Schooner
Gross Tonnage 463 tons
Net Tonnage 389 tons
Length 157 feet
Beam 37.1 feet
Depth 11.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 76717
Construction wood

Historical Record

Henry K. Hall built the J M Colman in
Port Blakely, Washington, shortly after
finishing the Comet. J. J. McKinnon was the
principal, original owner. Until 1897, Preston
& McKinnon, Inc., was the principal owner
and, together with other individual owners,
engaged in the coastal lumber trade.
Thereafter, the J M Colman was the property
of Puget Sound Commercial Company, Inc.,
along with variety of individual owners, one
of whom remained J. J. McKinnon. In the J
M Colman's certificate of registry, dated
September 26, 1899, one "James M. Colman
of Seattle" appears as a "4/16" owner. In

71

June 1901, Pacific Shipping Company became
the sole owner of the vessel (Figure 5.1).

The J M = Colman's measurements
remained unchanged throughout its life.
Haller (1986) points out that the vessel was
one of the largest terns, or three-masted
schooners, built, being only 13 gross tons
smaller than the largest such vessel, the WF
Jewett. Among net tonnage deductions were
8.04 for “donkey engine and boiler.” A
photograph showing the stern settles the
question of the proper spelling of the last
name, which is also spelled this way
consistently on official documents (Figure
5.2). Most newspaper accounts spell the
name as "Coleman." A partial list of the J M
Colman's voyages shows steady _ traffic
between various northwestern ports and San
Pedro, with occasional stops in San Francisco.

En route from Everett, Washington, to
San Pedro, the J M Colman went ashore “on
the southwest point of San Miguel Island"
(Point Bennett) on September 4, 1905. Haller
(1986) relates details of the wreck, which
involved 36 hours of dead reckoning in dense
fog before stranding. "After striking, the
Coleman [sic] ground and pounded her way
over the first reef, sinking down into deeper
water between where she first struck and
another reef, further inshore" (LAT). If we
assume normal conditions at Point Bennett,
this description indicates that the vessel struck
on the northwesterly side of Point Bennett,
where the surf would energetically shove the
vessel farther toward the shore. Lines of east-
west trending reefs, which are extensions of
the tilted sedimentary sandstone formations
seen on the island, proliferate off this shore of
the island.

Captain Charles Peterson and five of the
crew remained on the island while the other
five, led by First Mate Frank Patterson, rowed
toward Santa Barbara. The steamer Mandalay


Of the five working lumber schooners we
have described, all except the Dora Bluhm
wrecked in the area between Simonton Cove
and Point Bennett on San Miguel Island after
prolonged fog-bound sailing. The Jane L
Stanford, of course, is clearly aberrant. Not
even a coastwise lumber carrier, it was used
as a fishing barge when fatally
rammed. Deliberately taken to Santa Rosa
Island for disposal, Jane L Stanford is not a
shipwreck in the normal sense.

Table 9.1 lists transient ships classified as
vessels of commerce divided into those
proceeding to or from Los Angeles and those
engaged in coastwise voyages, principally
between San Francisco and other destinations.

Clearly San Miguel Island lives up to its
reputation as a catcher's mitt for coastwise
shipping, especially lumber schooners,
whereas Los Angeles-involved wrecks occur
on Anacapa or Santa Rosa islands. Santa Rosa
Island seems to offer a fatal attraction for coal
carriers: two such ships wrecked and another
two grounded on its shores.

Commercial vessels have wrecked or
grounded on the outer islands of Santa Rosa
and San Miguel with only two exceptions, the
Liebre and the Beulah, both of which
grounded on Anacapa Island while outbound
from Los Angeles.

Vessels of less than 300 gross tons, with
the exception of the G W Prescott, are small
local craft that were drawn into the waters of
the park and sanctuary by the marine and
terrestrial resources of the islands. These
vessels show the rise of a relatively small
fishing fleet based in Santa Barbara and the
later arrival, in the 1920s, of a much larger
flotilla from San Pedro. Sealing is the one
trade represented in the wreck assemblage that
is not related to southern California.
Occurring relatively early, before Los Angeles
really developed as a harbor, and linked to
northern ports, sealing was a very different
activity from the others discussed here.

The remains of all these vessels provide
researchers with the opportunity to look for
archeological correlates of the ethnicity

Table 9.1. Vessels, West Coast Port and Wreck Locations
Vessel Port Year Island
Goldenhorn Los Angeles 1892 SRI
Liebre Los Angeles 1921 ANI
Beulah Los Angeles 1933 ANI
Patria Los Angeles 1954 SRI
Chickasaw Los Angeles 1962 SRI
Aristocratis -- 1949 SRI
Crown of England San Diego 1894 SRI
Anubis San Francisco 1908 SMI
Pectan Port San Luis 1914 SMI
Aggi San Francisco 1915 SRI
Cuba San Francisco 1923 SMI


By 1995,
submerged.

most of the wreckage had

Diving on the vessel is extraordinarily
unsafe because the wreckage, still partially
intact, presents a tangle of rusting, eroded
steel plates and beams. Many of these have
croded to very sharp points and cdges that

resemble giant razor blades. Archeological

Figure 4.27.
northwesterly, from their original locations. NPS photo by Don Morris.

66

survey in the immediate onshore area has
located a cable anchor that may have secured
the shoreward end of the breeches buoy used
to remove the crew, The smokestack, which
broke off the amidships portion of the
wreckage during the winter storms of 1983,
now lies inland in a small drainage known as
Chickasaw Canyon (Vigures 4.26, 4.27 and
4,28).

Amidships island and stern of the Chickasaw have moved to the left, or


LIST OF TABLES

ht Abbreviations used in publication ..... 06.00. c cece cece cece v ee eeeeeeens
4.1 Wrecked and grounded commercial vessels ........0.00.0.0 0.0 e eee

5.1 Summiary of lumber schooner wrecks in Channel Islands National Park .

91 Vessels, West Coast port and wreck locations ..........0. 000000005

10.1 Important unlocated small craft 0.0... ccc cece cee eens

XV



CHAPTER X

Management Recommendations

Over 100 vessels have wrecked in Channel
Islands National Park and National Marine
Sanctuary; 21 of these have been located.
Those located represent the largest, most
conspicuous, easiest to reach, and most at
risk. Only the George W Prescott and the
Watson A West, of the larger commercial
vessels, remain unlocated. Many unlocated
wrecks are protected by covering blankets of
sand and are only intermittently exposed to
either vandals, sport divers or archeologists.

Considerable work has been accomplished
in the archives, providing a substantial basis
for fieldwork designed to identify additional
wreck scatters. Archival work should
continue because basic information on some
ships has not yet been found; insurance
records, for example, have not been examined
and might provide new information.

Several agencies share jurisdiction of the
wrecks in the park and the sanctuary. The
state of California owns wrecks on submerged
lands, those lands lying below mean high tide.
Mean high tide is also the landward boundary
of the sanctuary. Around San Miguel Island,
the U.S. Navy owns the tide lands from the
high-water mark and extending 300 yards
beyond the low-water mark. It is responsible

191

for managing impacts to historic resources
within the Point Mugu Missile Test Range.
The Nature Conservancy owns Santa Cruz
Island above the water line.

As our discussion of the archeological
record shows, most of the wrecks in the
islands sprawl across these boundaries. Even
wrecks such as the Dora Bluhm and the Jane
L Stanford, which are known only from
remains above high tide, probably have
material submerged offshore. Field
investigations by the NPS should proceed in
partnership with the other agencies that share
responsibility for managing these resources.
This report itself demonstrates the benefits of
such cooperation. A great deal of the
information presented here would not have
been possible without the archival work
supported by the Point Mugu Missile Test
Center.

Future historical work should emphasize
oral history and popular history, since
relatively little remains to be done in formal
archives. This effort should recover
photographs and other documentation tucked
away in attics and family albums. The
material available from Carol Jung relative to
the Jane L Stanford shows the substantial



Considerable wire rigging remains snarled
and tangled about the wreck, along with
fragments of masts. Yards occur in the
vicinity of all masts except the jigger. A
boom for this mast was not located, nor has
the fourth mast or its step been found. Given
what we know about salvage activities just
after the wreck, it is likely that the jigger
boom was removed, as it would have been
readily usable on local schooners.

Additional material from the Goldenhorn
has turned up along the nearby shore of Santa
Rosa Island as a result of recent archeological
surveys. A prominent stockpile of coal
perches on a coastal terrace 1 kilometer
southeast of the main wreck scatter. The
individual pieces of coal are rounded by wave
action, which would have occurred as the
cargo spilled out of the vessel and tumbled
onshore. This stockpile lies close to black
abalone shell middens and two other stockpiles
of lumber, all suggestive of Chinese-American
abalone fishing activity. Since Chinese
fishermen used long tongs to obtain abalone,
it would have been a very simple matter to
grab the new fuel source represented by the
Goldenhorn's cargo. The timbers in these two
stockpiles also seem to derive from
Goldenhorn. They are fresh and unworn, still
containing patches of paint. Plugged fastener
holes suggest that most of these pieces are
wooden trim. Two pieces are fragmentary
hatch covers. They match hatch covers laid
down for a platform at another site on the
island about half a mile away.

37

Crown of England
1891-1894
Cargo Steamship (Collier)

Gross Tonnage 2,574 tons
Net Tonnage 1,608 tons
Length 297 feet
Beam 40.1 feet
Depth 19.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 99115

Construction steel and iron

Historical Record

Quite new at the time of its demise, the
Crown of England contained many modern
features, not the ieast of which were its tripie-
expansion engines manufactured by Blair &
Company, which could develop 200
horsepower. Richardson, Duck and
Company, Stockton, England, built the vessel
with web frames designed to hold water
ballast and a partial awning deck 176 feet long
above the main deck. Lloyd's rated it at
"+100A1," the highest possible rating
(Lloyd's Registry 1892-1893).

Registered at Belfast, the Crown of
England was executing a 6-month contract to
haul coal from Nanaimo, British Columbia, to
San Diego, California, in 1894. The vessel
finished discharging cargo on November 5 and
departed the following day in ballast on the
return trip. Thick fog restricted visibility and
no navigational fixes were available after


The vessel was a large one and was
well known at the time of the running
of the Catalina Conserving Company
cannery here. She plied between this
port and the islands in the crawfish
trade for several months. The crew
was saved in the wreck. The 12-horse
gasoline engine was also saved. The
captain, Olsen, and his crew rowed
across the channel from the islands and
landed at Hueneme last Wednesday
evening [SBDP, February 15, 1901].

The wreck report corroborates the details
presented in the newspaper account. The
account suggests that this vessel wrecked at
Frenchy's Cove.

Francine
1895-1901
Two-masted Gasoline Schooner

Gross Tonnage 15.75 tons
Net Tonnage 15 tons
Length 48.0 feet
Beam 12.0 feet
Depth 4.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 120988
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel was built at New Westminster,
British Columbia, as the Lottie in 1884 and
was rebuilt at Astoria, Oregon, in 1895. The
Francine was registered at San Francisco and
engaged in the coastal trade until 1901, when
the vessel moved to San Diego. At this time,
the gross tonnage was given as 14 tons and the
net tonnage as 10. On June 26, 1901, its
certificate of registry was surrendered with the

157

notation "Total Wreck." The Francine carried
196 sacks of guano, about 2 tons, apparenily
obtained at San Miguel Island, on its final
voyage. A local paper recorded the event:

On Saturday afternoon the gasoline
schooner Francine, Capt. Tuerone,
sprung a leak while between Santa
Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands. The
little vessel attempted to reach shoal
water near Gull Island, but could not
in the face of the heavy sea that was
running. The crew took to the boats
and landed on Gull Island, and
afterward rowed to Santa Cruz and
were brought to town by Capt.
Maggiolo yesterday afternoon. The
lost schooner was valued at about
$3,600 [SBMP, June 12, 1901].

Shasta
1906
Steam Schooner

Gross Tonnage 722 tons
Net Tonnage 473 tons
Length 199.6 feet
Beam 37.8 feet
Depth 14.2 feet
Decks ~
Official Number 200714
Construction wood

This vessel wrecked at Point Conception,
but a significant portion of the vessel reached
the park.

The wreckage of the Shasta, which
went to pieces near Point Conception
several weeks ago, is still in evidence,
the greater part of the pilot house of
the ill-fated schooner being now


Library, Dora Bluhm carried lumber cargoes
along the West Coast, the most common ports
being the Eureka and San Pedro. The vessel
also stopped at Ventura, Redondo, San Diego,
and Magdalena Bay along the south coast and
visited the northern ports of Gray's Harbor,
Bear's Harbor, Astoria, Aberdeen, and San
Francisco. In the spring of 1906 and 1907,
the Dora Bluhm was codfishing in Alaska.
These trips were interspersed with voyages in
which lumber was carried to the usual
southern ports.

Having sailed for a number of owners and
captains, the Dora Bluhm in 1910 was owned
by Pacific States Trading Company and was
captained by Oscar Johnson. It was en route
to San Pedro from Coos Bay with 350,000
board feet of lumber for the Golden State
Lumber Company of Los Angeles (San Pedro
Daily Pilot, May 27, 1910).

The Dora Bluhm left Coos Bay for San
Pedro Wednesday, May 18, and had
fair weather until the morning of May
25, when she ran into a heavy gale and
made slow progress until 8 o'clock
p.m. when Captain Johnson was
relieved by the mate. Captain Johnson
states that he gave the mate his course
and bearings at 8 o'clock p.m. at
which time a heavy gale was blowing
and a mist, or near to rain made a
close look out necessary.

Captain Johnson states that at 8:45
p.m. he heard the mate order the
helmsman to keep her off, and
immediately went on deck to see what
the trouble was.

According to his official report, he
found the schooner close to the
breakers and beyond control, as the

79

gale had increased in violence. The
schooner was so close in to the
breaker line, that all that was left to
be done was take to the boats. When
she struck, Captain Johnson let go
both anchors but they could not stand
the strain, and the schooner went on
the reef broadside on, breaking up
immediately. One man was washed
overboard while the small boat was in
the surf, but caught the painter, and
was hauled on board escaping death
by a hairsbreadth.

For sixteen hours, the eight members
of the crew managed to keep the small
boat from swamping, and were finally

picked up by
picked up by

schooner Santa Rosa Island, and
brought to San Pedro arriving here
early this morning [San Pedro Daily
News, May 27, 1910].

Capt. Alec Smith of the

The wreck report filed by Oscar Johnson
the same day gives the locality of the wreck as
the "South point of Santa Rosa Isiand,” while
other newspaper accounts state that the vessel
wrecked on either the southern or western side
of the island. Since Captain Johnson could
not fix his position accurately in the darkness
and rain, there is understandable uncertainty
about the location of the wreck. Howorth and
Hudson (1985) place the Dora Bluhm near Bee
Rock, off Santa Rosa Island.

Archeological Record

Howorth and Hudson's location is
described as "west (264 degrees magnetic)
from Bee Rock about .2 nautical miles” at a
depth of about 50 feet (HToworth and Hudson
1985) (Figure 5.7). The NPS conducted a
closely spaced unpositioned magnetometer


Figure 8.7. A pair of Grumman Guardians in flight. Photo courtesy of Grumman Aerospace
Corporation.

1990, while we were field testing a remote-
operated vehicle. The plane showed no
appreciable deterioration during this time
period. It has been videotaped on two other
occasions since this initial documentation.

Historical Record

We have been able to identify the "Gull
Island plane" as a Grumman AF-2W Guardian
by comparing its dimensions with those of
airplanes in a comprehensive encyclopedia of
military aircraft (Angelucci 1981:450, 460),
which reports a length of 43 feet 4 inches and
a wingspan of 60 feet 8 inches for this craft
and clearly illustrates the unusual auxiliary

171

rudders on the tail. Illustrations of the plane
in this source do not indicate a second cockpit
(Figure 8.6). Communication with Lois
Lovisolo, corporate historian for Grumman
Aerospace Corporation, resulted in our
acquiring several manuals pertaining to this
plane. An illustration detailing emergency
exit modes and equipment shows that a second
cockpit is indeed present; the open starboard
hatch of the second cockpit is consistent with
an emergency ditching at sea.

This plane carried a pilot (forward
cockpit) and a radar operator, relief radar
operator, and a radio-countermeasure operator
in the aft cockpit. The AF-2W was designed
for antisubmarine search and radar scouting


SUBMERGED CULTURAL RESOURCES UNIT REPORT AND

PUBLICATION SERIES

The Submerged Cultural Resources Unit
was established in 1980 to conduct research on
submerged cultural resources throughout the
National Park System with an emphasis on
historic shipwrecks. One of the unit's primary
responsibilities is to disseminate the results of
research to National Park Service managers,
as well as the professional community. A
report series has been initiated in order to
fulfill this responsibility. It has been
incorporated into an umbrella series entitled

Intermountain Cultural Resource Centers
Professional Papers. The following are the
categories:

bmerged Cultural Resources Assessment

First line document that consists of a brief
literature search, an overview of the maritime
history and the known or potential underwater
sites in the park, and preliminary
recommendations for long-term management.
It is designed to have immediate application to
protection and interpretation needs and to
become a source document for a park's
Submerged Cultural Resources Management
Plan.

Submerged Cultural Resources Survey

Comprehensive examination of blocks of
park lands for the purpose of locating and
identifying as much of the submerged cultural
resources base as possible. A comprehensive
literature search would most likely be a part

241

of the Phase I report but, in some cases, may
be postponed until Phase II.

Phase I -- Reconnaissance of target areas
with remote sensing and visual survey
techniques to establish location of any
archeological sites or anomalous features that
may suggest the presence of archeological
sites.

Phase II -- Evaluation of archeological
sites or anomalous features derived from
remote-sensing instruments to confirm their

sionificance
significance,

This may involve exploratory removal of
overburden,

Submerged Cultural Resources Study

A document that discusses, in detail, all
known underwater archeological sites in a
given park. This may involve test
excavations. The intended audience is
managerial and professional, not the general
public.

Submerged Cultural Resources Site Report

Exhaustive documentation of one
archeological site which may involve a partial
or complete site excavation. The intended
audience is primarily professional and
incidentally managerial. Although — the
document may be useful to a park's
interpretive specialists because of _ its
information content, it would probably not be
suitable for general distribution to park
visitors.


and wreckers will begin to tear her to
picces immediaicly

‘The series of articles leaves the impression
that wreckers salvaged the vessel thoroughly.
No wreckage has been located that might
correspond to the description of this vessel.
‘The vessel should lie along the coast between

Skunk Point and Last Point, near the
freshwater lagoon.
Sania Rosa
1879-1899
{sland Support Schooner
Gross Tonnage 30.99 tons

29.45 tous
61.2 feet

Net Tonnage
Lengih

Beam 17.5 feet
Depth 6.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 115660
Construction wood
The schooner Santa Rosa stranded in

Cuyler Harbor, San Miguel Island, at 4:00
A.M. on November 24, 1899, pushed onto the
beach by high seas, ‘The wreck report
specifically stated that winds were light. ‘The
crew had run out the kedge anchor to move
the vessel ahead when breaking seas
interfered. Dropping the bow anchor did not
prevent the vessel from stranding, The vessel
probably came to rest on the south side of the
harbor.

Dawn
1883-1901
Gasoline Schooner Supporting Island
Lobster Camps

16.59 tons
15.76 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 34.8 feet
Beam 14.1 feet
Depth 5.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 157169
Construction wood

Things were not going well for the
Catalina Conserving Company. About 18
months after the loss of the Magic, the
company lost the Dawn, engaged in the same
trade.

‘The Dawn Wrecked
Went to Pieces on Anacapa Rocks
The Vessel Was One Known Well Here

News reached here yesterday from
Hueneme of the total wreck of the
gasoline schooner Dawn, formerly of
this port. She went ashore on
Saturday night in a strong northeast
gale on the rocks of the harbor of
Anacapa Island.

156


Ship Name
Blazenka B
Shamrock
Chelan

Jana Dawn
Sea Wanderer
Patrick

Peacock

Official
Number

557740

571693

233743

277143

268135

MSC 198

M<
iS
g
Ss

|

1977

1977

1978

1978

1979

1980

1980

No data are available for those listed below.

Anacapa Plane
Friendship

Galileo

Grumman Avenger
Hueneme

Kinkajou

White Star

Bar-bee

J F West

Babina aka Babinda
Crescent City
Seahoph

St Anne of the Sunset

Manila Galleon

1940s

227

Island

SCI
ANI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SBI

SCI

Ship
Type

fishing
yacht

fishing
fishing
fishing
fishing

government


Ns Sy li:

Figure 4.20. One of the three corner sinks
present today at the Lester Ranch ruins, San
Miguel Island. At least one identical sink is
present within the Cuba wreck scatter. NPS
photo by Don Morris.

reefs that flank it on the north, west, and
south, and by Point Bennett on the east and
southeast. The immediate vicinity of the
wreck is calmer than the surrounding area,
although the wreck is usually not
approachable. A southern swell, particularly
common during summer months, presents a
discouraging picture to prospective divers.

The vessel's cutwater is tilted back at
roughly a 45-degree angle, pointing south.
Right in front of the bow lies an anchor with
attached anchor chain. Two other anchors,
one still within a hawse pipe, can be found in
wreckage on the starboard side of the bow.
The main deck near the bow has fallen straight
down, retaining an anchor winch and related
gear. This area of the wreckage can be
compared with a photograph of this portion of
the stranded Cuba,

Proceeding aft, two more large winches
can be found amidships in an area near the
cargo mast and the main hatch. A fragment of
4-inch ceramic-tiled surface is located here,

59

near fragments of bulkhead or decking, all of
which suggest relatively finished construction
that might be associated with the bridge.
Also, here is a metal corner wash basin
(Figure 4.20) identical to three found at the
Lester ranch house on San Miguel Island,
perhaps from the forecastle. Inner aspects of
both port and starboard hull side are visible
beneath extensive sections of the main deck.
Several bitts and empty portholes occur here.

Swimming north, or aft, a diver sees
prominent sections of the floors lying beneath
two conspicuous single-end Scotch boilers.
Immediately aft are the massive twin triple-
expansion steam engines (Figures 4.21, 4.22
and 4,23), standing upright and reaching

Figure 4.21. The Cuba's triple expansion
engines reach to within ten feet of the surface.
NPS photo by Mark Norder.



Ship Name
Liebre*

Lotus

Unity

Cuba

Eagle

OK

Watson A West
Labor

Lion

Wampas aka Grey Ghost
Maryland

Blue Sea

Jane L Stanford
Adriatic
Typhoon

W.T. & B. Co. No. 60
Zingara
Emperor

Swan

Beulah*

W. T. Co. No. 3

Imperial

Official

Number

221073

141723

218553

215771

81782

222693

215807

214495

217149

77070

223392

219887

226573

230938

15639

171619

212356

Year
1921
1921
1922
1923
1923
1923
1923
1924
1924
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1931
1931
1932
1932
1933
1935

1936

223

Island

ANI

SCI
SMI-PB
Scl
SCI
SMI
ANI
SCI
SCI
SCI
SBI
SRI
SBI
SCI
SRI

ANI

SCI
ANI
SMI

scl

Ship
Type

oil tanker
passenger
fishing
pass-freight
fishing
fishing
lumber
fishing
fishing

rum runner
fishing
fishing
lumber
fishing

yacht

yacht
fishing
yacht
freighter
barge

fishing


Gypsy Q

JF West

Manila Galleon
Seahoph

St Anne of the Sunset
Milmar

Pacific

Pan Pacific

Fishhook

Amie

Anacapa Plane
Friendship
Galileo
Flueneme
Thornton

White Star

Official

Number [sland

254596 ANI L955
256076 — 1950
227246 ~ 1951
254926 — 1950

Wrecks Which Lack Information
_ a 1893

— a 1884?

— — 1910?

48

44

89

226


island where deposition of sediments, rather
than erosion, predominates. One of the best
areas would be the Santa Rosa Island coastline
from Skunk Point to East Point; another might
be the immediate environs of Prisoners Harbor
on Santa Cruz Island.

Euro-American Vessels Before the Gold Rush

According to the sketchy historical record,
there were very few shipwrecks before the
gold rush of 1849 and the torrent of shipping
that developed as the Euro-American
population of California grew. There is no
record of any loss of vessels of exploration in
southern California, although Cabrillo's ships
may have left behind some anchors and the
Victoria grounded briefly somewhere in the
islands. While there may have been no
maritime disasters, this was certainly an
important time during which American
mercantile interests came to know California
through the China trade, sea otter hunting, and
the surprisingly lucrative hide and tallow
business.

Between 1565 and 1815, Manila galleons
traversed the Pacific Ocean from Manila to
California, a six-month voyage, and then ran
down the coastline to Acapulco. The galleons
would sight land usually around Monterey but
sometimes as far north as Cape Mendocino or
as far south as Baja California. Over the
years, 10 to 12 of these vessels vanished
without any record and have not yet been
located.

A Manila galleon is rumored to lie off San
Miguel Island (Howorth and Hudson 1985),
although there is no substantive record in a
credible source for this statement. No definite
physical or documentary evidence for such a
shipwreck has yet come to public view.

A galleon is alleged to have sunk near
Point Bennett on San Miguel Island, and a

17

salvage claim was filed with the California
State Lands Commission in the 1970s. The
South Central Coastal Commission authorized
a permit to Gibson-Pierson Ship Salvors, Inc.,
of Toluca Lake on July 25, 1974 (SBNP,
July 26, 1974). The project is described as
follows: "Archeological type recovery of a
wrecked wooden vessel. The purpose of this
application is to allow the salvage of a
300-400 year old wooden vessel lying in
approximately 50 feet of water off the
northwest side of San Miguel Island." The
News Press further states that the vessel was
60 feet long, "carrying a cargo valued at
$100,000 or perhaps several times that
amount.” As a condition of the permit, the
project was to be monitored by the Santa
Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and
the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
(minutes of the South Central Coast Regional
Coastal Commission, July 25, 1974, item 40-
12).

At least one public meeting was held at the
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
describing the project, but there is no record
that any fieldwork took place other than that
mentioned a newspaper article announcing
"Recovery Plan Abandoned." The article
quoted Travis Hudson of the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History, who was
appointed monitor for this project. Hudson
stated that "investigation indicates that the
wreckage is scattered too widely to make
exploration and salvage convenient," and
"some objects had been recovered from the
wreckage many years ago, but that not much
information had been gained from these
recoveries." Hudson certainly spoke truly.
He did tell the senior author a shadowy tale of
a "golden captain's ring" that the salvors
showed to prospective investors as "proof" of
the existence of this galleon—but no one ever
explained to Hudson how such a specific



Billcona
1943-1952
Tug and Barge

Gross Tonnage 71 tons
Net Tonnage 26 tons
Length 66.9 feet
Beam 17.6 feet
Depth 8.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 251907
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Santa Barbara News Press reported
the grounding of the tug Billcona, originally a
U.S. Army vessel known as S7-399, and a
cattle-laden barge at Morse Point, Santa Cruz
Island, in the early morning of June 23, 1952.
The vessel was reported to be sinking. A
story the next day reported an unusual
maritime roundup:

Seven Coast Guardsmen from Santa
Barbara turned sea-going cowboys
yesterday to help get about 300 grass-
fat cattle from Santa Rosa Island to
safety after the barge on which they
were being hauled ran aground at
More's [sic] Point on Santa Cruz
Island.

Only four out of the 300 cattle being
taken to Port Hueneme were drowned
when the barge and the tug Bilcona
[sic] ran aground.

The discharge door on the barge faced
the ocean and, as the cattle were
shoved off the vessel and into the

167

water in attempts to save the craft from
sinking, some of the cattle headed for
the sea.

From about 7:15 a.m. until about
noon, Chief Thomas J. Naccarato and
his crew of Coast Guardsmen from
Santa Barbara became  sea-going
cowboys, herding the swimming
cattle, trying to head them off from
the open water. Some of the steers
had to be roped from a dinghy
launched from the Coast Guard cutter.
Two had to be towed ashore, bodily,
after they refused to swim to safety.

The cattle were loaded aboard the

Island, bound for Hueneme and towed
by the tug. After the vessels ran
aground, the tug Racona from Long
Beach was rushed to the scene. The
barge [sic] was towed to the lee side
of Santa Cruz Island and was still
afloat today.

Attempts were being made today to
drive the cattle across Santa Cruz
Island for another attempt to haul
them to Port Hueneme and then to
market.

The circumstances that led to the stranding
of the Billcona are not described. The tug
followed a common route around the
backside, or south, of Santa Cruz Island en
route to Port Hueneme or Ventura. This route
offers shelter from northwesterly swells.

The vessel had been originally designated
ST-399, operated by the U.S. Army. A
smokestack found on the beach apparently
relates to this vessel.


Official

Nature of

Ship Name Number Island Year Casualty Ship ‘Type
Cape Argo 253429 SBI 1954 burned fishing
Carol O 276479 SRI 1961 burned fishing
Chappo 127191 SCI 1897 stranded —

Chelan 233743 scl 1978 collision fishing
Chickasaw 241993 SRI 1962 stranded freighter
Cinnamon Bear 260737 SCI 1966 burned fishing
Chinese Junk a ANI? 1884 stranded fishing
City of Sausalito 235380 scl 1941 burned other
Comet 126379 SMI 19] stranded lumber
Convoy S161 SRI 1884 stranded sealer
Corsair 208712 SCI 1953 stranded yacht
Crescent City ~~ _ - - -

Crown of England 9911S SRI 1894 stranded freighter
Cuba 215771 SMI-PB 1923 stranded pass-freight
Dante Alighieri I 236704 SBI 1938 stranded fishing
Dawn 157169 ANI 1901 stranded lob sup boat
Del Rio 234477 ANI 1952 burned fishing
Dolphin V 233428 SCI 1962 burned fishing
Dora Bluhm 157091 SRI 1910 stranded lumber
Dorothy M 248634 ANI 1958 stranded fishing
Eagle — SCI 1923 — fishing
Eileen D 261529 SRI 1967 capsized lishing


hold stanchions, and eight hold ladders.
Rivets are itemized in sizes from 5/8 to 7/8
inch, ‘Tradesmen working on the vessel
included fitters and platers, __riveters,
carpenters, smiths, caulkers, hole borers,
joiners, laborers, painters, polishers, and a
plumber who installed two single-valve water
closets, one hopper water closet, and two iron
urinals.

Fiven an ivon ship has many wood
components. ‘lo build the Goldenhorn, 102
logs of yellow pine, 40 logs of teak, and
smaller amounts of pitch pine, red pine,
mahogany, American ecim, “E. Elm,“
fernheart, veneers, sparring, deals, flooring,
and spruce spars were used.

Finally the Goldenhorn was launched on
January 9, 1883:

As the vessel glided off the ways into
her clement, she was christened the
Goldenhorn by Mrs. Roger, wife of
one of the Directors of the firm of
Russel and Co... . There was a large
company at the launch and at the cake
and wine service afterwards the usual
toasts were proposed [Greenock
Telegraph and Greenock Advertiser,
1883].

The cost book records the expenditure of
four pounds, sixpence, to "J B Morrisons for
luncheon" under the heading "Launch
Expenses."

According to Lloyd's Registry of 1891, the
Goldenhorn rated "+O0A1," the highest
possible rating, and carried a crew of 26, At
least one photograph exists of the working
vessel (igure 4.2).

Wre

On its last voyage, the Goldenhorn hauled
coal from Newcastle, New South Wales,

30

Australia, to San Pedro, for
eventual use by the Southern Pacific Railroad
(Haller 1986:29). Although details of
previous voyages are unknown, — the
Goldenhorn probably would have departed
California with a load of grain for European
ports.

The Goldenhorn wrecked on offshore
rocks along the southwest coast of Santa Rosa
Island on the evening of September 12, 1892.
Sailing in heavy fog, the vessel was unable to
maneuver away from the island when the wind
failed and the current carried it to shore. At
the board of inquiry hearing held later in the
month, Captain Dunn stated that by dead
reckoning he placed himself 15 miles from the
east part of Santa Rosa {sland. Land was seen
at 6:00 P.M. and was estimated to be 14 miles
away. Driven by a strong current and a heavy
swell and hindered by dense fog, the vessel
struck at 8:10 p.m. (LAT, September 20,
1892), It struck bow first, although by the
time the crew had taken to boats, "she was
completely gutted aft." After the vessel
struck, soundings showed 6 fathoms on the
port side and 4.5 on the starboard (LAT,
September 20, 1892). The crew abandoned
all personal effects on the vessel, eventually
rowing to Santa Barbara via Becher's Bay in

the two 25-foot ship's boats (SBMP,
September 15, 1892).
When the British vice-consul in Los

Angeles, Mr. Mortimer, arrived at Santa
Barbara to head the board of inquiry, he "paid
off the men of the Goldenhorn giving cach
man his choice to either stop at Santa Barbara
or be sent to the nearest port where he would
be likely to find an opportunity to ship home”
(LAT, September 16, 1892). A weck later the
Times reported: "A petition is in circulation
to raise a purse for Captain Dunn of the
wrecked vessel Goldenhorn. The captain lost
everything in the loss of the vessel" (LAT,



oe

tase oe J

Figure 5.32. ‘This knee is attached below the
surface to a section of the hull thirty inches
thick. NPS photo by Don Morri

About 1.25 kilometers to the east, a
portion of the kcelson nearly 80 fect long
looms conspicuously on the beach. — Still
farther east is a somewhat smaller piece of
wreckage. Much of this material is buried in
sand, rarcly exposed,

Stout iron bolts are prominent in the
keelson piece. Although corrosion renders
precisc measurement difficult, measurements
of relatively fresh holes in the Dougias fir
timbers indicate that 14-inch ferrous bolts,
peened over ferrous washers, were employed.
These are spaced in two staggered rows set in
two 16x16-inch Douglas fir timbers and
reaching down into a third, similarly sized

102

timber, badly rotted, which is obscured by the
sand. The irregular intervals between
the bolis vary from 13 to 19 inches. In
several places, the timbers are missing and
only the bolts project from the sand. ‘The
bolts form a straight line, indicating that they
are still set in the lowest member, except in
one area toward the castern end of the piece
where the bolts are skewed to the south, No
mast steps arc evident in the exposed matcrial,
yet it is clear from photographs of the vesscl
that any portion of a keelson of this length
must contain at least onc mast step. Perhaps
the mast steps were removed when the ship
was converted to a fishing barge.

No scarfs were present in the timbers
exposed in 1990. A portion of one frame is
exposed in the sand north of the keelson at a
distance of 14 fect from the member; it is
attached to the keclson. ‘There is no hint of
cither stem or stern members in the material
presenily exposed.

Small, scattered timbers that can be found
all over the gencral areca may be part of the
Jane 1, Stanford. ‘Timbers with ferrous
fastenings, including bolts clinched over rings,
have been observed over a mile south of
Skunk Point. ‘This entire area is characterized
by shifting sands, and new material will be
exposed periodically (igure 5.33).

The account of the removal of the Jane I.
Stanford — contaiv several archeological
implications, Presumably, large metal pie
such as the "huge boiler" and its associated
machinery should be Jocated just offshore
from Skunk Point at the spot where the
explosives were detonated. — In addition,
matertal might be found at considerable
elevation on the low hills just back from the
beach in this locality.

The arrangement of the visible remains on
beach at) Skunk Point — strongly

the


as "one set improved screw steering gear
having spindle S inch diameter Mal iron
crosshead, cast iron backstand and topper with
black connecting rods, brass bushing
backstand and swivel bush." ‘There are also
fragments of iron decking and boat davits in
the area. Except for 20 to 30 feet of collapsed
bow, no more hull bottom appears, other than
the major piece discussed above, so about half
of the hull bottom of this vessel has been
found. Most of the missing hull would have
been forward of the mainmast, the very area
where the vessel broke initially. About 130
feet of hull side occur in the mapped
wreckage. Roughly 430 feet of hull side
remain unlocated.

A 60-foot section of port side hull lies in
slightly shallower water inshore and east of
the main piece. There are two stringers
between the bilge line and the main deck level.
The two stringers are constructed similarly to
the side keelsons. The side frames
channel bar stock. This piece of hull side
contains attached deck beams and deck shelf.
There are diagonal tic plates of flat stock
above the deck beams. The main deck was
open or possibly decked with wood. ‘There is
also a hull section that could be from the
starboard side of the vessel. A 12- to 15-foot
section contains articulated knees, deck,

are

broken at the main deck level.

{n this general vicinity, probably near the
location of the galley, a number of bricks can
be found. One brick, recovered from a wreck
thief in 1987, bore the inscription "Glenboig,"
identifying it as a product of the Glenboig
Brick Company in Glenboig, Scotland, a small
community near Glasgow (Gurcke 1987).
Surprisingly, no fire bricks are listed in the
cost book for the Goldenhorn, nor is there a
record of any transaction with the Glenboig
Brick Company. Perhaps these bricks were

incorporated into the "galley stove, complete"
that was installed in the vessel. Mortar
adhering to these bricks indicates that they
were part of the vessel and not simply cargo.

Still farther inshore lies the bow section
with the cutwater laid over with the starboard
side of the bow turned up, clearly showing a
single port side hawsehole. ‘This is the most
evident piece of exterior hull plating extant in
the wreckage. Nearby lies onc of two
capstans mentioned in the cost book.
Prominent here are three large fragments of
the foremast, including the lower trestle tree
and the lower yard with truss (Figure 4.6).
Also present is one of the catheads and an iron
section of deck with a hole for the foremast.

Goldenhorn's mast, truss and

Figure 4.6.
lower yard. NPS photo by Larry Murphy.

36




Historical Record

Van Camp Sea Food Company provided
the Labor as part of its tuna flect operating out
of San Pedro in the 1920s. Fleet vessels were
leased to their masters, and Van Camp
provided a guaranteed market for all the fish
the crews could catch. Principal species were
sardines and tuna.

On the night of October 2, 1924, the
Labor was anchored for the night near the
south side of Anacapa Island when its mooring
broke and the boat drifted onto the rocks.
When master Visko Spero tried to siart the
engines, he found the propeller fouled with
kelp and the vessel helpless. The crew of
eight survived, but the vessel and its 3 tons of
barracuda were all lost. The Labor has not yet
been located.

Maryland
1916-1927
Vishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 24 tons
Net Tonnage 16 tons
Length 52 feet
Beam 13.7 feet
Depth 5.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 214495
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel, with a crew of three, all of
whom survived, burned 2.5 miles off Pelican
Bay, Santa Cruz Island, on August 19, 1927
(MVUS 1928 and final license). The crew left
the boat in the skiff and were rescued by the
Ka-eri (wreck report). Van Camp Sea Food
company owned the vessel.

Blue Sea
1918-1928
Fishing Vessel

Gross ‘Tonnage 40 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 26 tons
Length OLS feet
Beam 15.1 feet
Depth 6.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 217149
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel, built and home-ported in Los
Angeles, stranded on the “Santa Barbara
Islands, Calif." on October 27, 1928 (MVUS
1929), with no loss of life. No account of the
vessel's accident has been located. The use of
the verb stranded implies that the remains of
the Blue Sea should lic somewhere in
intertidal waters around one of the four
northern Channel Islands. Another source,
Record of Marine Casualties, gives the wreck
sile more specifically as the “northwest side of
Santa Barbara Island.”

Adriatic
1920-1930
Purse Seiner

Gross ‘Tonnage 42 tons
Net ‘Tonnage 18 tons
Length 60.5 feet
Beam 15.5 feet
Depth 7.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 223392
Construction wood


Figure 4.2. Goldenhorn at anchor, unknown location. Photo by W. A. Scott courtesy, of San

Francisco Maritime NHP.

September 23, 1892). A local tradition holds
that several of the crew settled in the Santa
Barbara area (Wheeler and Kallman 1986),
although local newspapers record that all the
crew left town a few weeks after the wreck.

At the board of inquiry hearing, four
members of the crew, including the first and
second mates, corroborated the captain's
statements and testified that the “influence of
liquor" was not a factor in the wreck. The
board exonerated Captain Dunn and the crew,
calling attention to strong uncharted currents
in the area.

The very evening the shipwrecked crew of
the Goldenhern arrived in Santa Barbara, the

31

schooner Genovia set out for the wreck,
returning two days later with the report that
"her stern is caved in and the upheaval of the
cargo has splintered the deck in many places
and the whole aspect is one of ruin and
destruction." Some salvage is known to have
occurred. The schooner Ruby brought back
some rigging saved from the wreck on
September 20 (LAT, September 21, 1892),
reporting that the vessel was broken in two
between the fore- and mainmasts. By
September 22, all the crew but the captain had
departed Santa Barbara (SBMP, September
22, 1892). By September 25 (LAT), the
wreck had been sold to a San Francisco firm


Official Gross

Ship Name Number Island Year Tonnage
Warrior 211956 SMI 1967 82
Watson A West 81782 SMI 1923 818
Isabella 100181 SML-C 1885 12.8
Kate and Anna 14376 SMI-C 1902 24.65
Liberty 140174 SMI-C 1895 13.41
Santa Rosa 115660 SMI-C 1899 30,99
Legend 281997 SMI-PB 1967 15.88
Blue Fin 229764 SRI 1944 94.5
Convoy 5161 SRI 1884 15.26
Ella G 116928 SRI 1908 25
Magic 141068 SRI 1899 24.3
Rosemond R 260203 SRI 1969 18
Shasta (fragment) 200714 SRI 1906 722
Shoshoni 278356 SRI 1967 55
Standard Nut 260204 SRI 1969 14
Yankee Blade (fragment) ~—- SRI 1854 1767

Wrecks Within the Sanctuary, Outside the Park

Balboa 235502 ANI 1949 128
Adore 228159 ANI 1954 27
Eros 277869 ANI 1966 7

Louise D 252516 ANI 1955 22

201


APPENDICES

The following abbreviations are used pertaining to island locations in the appendices:

Cc Cuyler Harbor

OUT Outside the park and the sanctuary
P Pelican Cove

PB Point Bennett

SC Scorpion Harbor

SM Smugglers Cove

195



Ship Name

Nancy Baka Nancy Lee
San Francisco

Adriatic

Cape Argo

Emperor

HLT. P. Co, IX

Chelan

Emil
Francine
Glady |
Golden Gate
Liberty
Marie

Mary
Maryland
Ruth E
Santa Clara
Sea Wanderer

Undine

Official
Number

243764

223392

253429

226573

214093

233743

230776

120988

262071

246308

256332

253652

92322

214495

250964

Gross
Island Year Tonnage
ANI 1946 —~
ANI 1949 128
SBI 1930 42
SBL 1954 38
SBI 1932 56
SBI 1921 12
SBI 1919 26
scl? 1901 a
SCI {978 34
Sci 1938 48
SCI 1901 15.75
SCL 1975 1
scl 1952 120
SCI 1973 197
Scl 1960 13
Scl 1968 71
SCI 1927 24
scl 1955 25
SCI 1949 —
scl 1979 _
SCL 1890 15.56




None of these later ships wrecked in the park.
Through time, in both sail and steam, there
has been a trend toward employing larger
ships.

Railroad construction provided an
expanding market for lumber products in the
regions east of Los Angeles and San Diego.
An example is Fort Bowie, a cavalry post in
far southeastern Arizona that utilized timber
construction for nearly all buildings after the
arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in
1881. Heliographs, used to communicate
during the Geronimo campaigns, were
mounted on large, clear redwood posts that
still survived on strategic mountain summits at
the time Fort Bowie National Historical Site
was established in 1967. These posts had
undoubtedly started their journey to the high
Arizona deserts on board a lumber schooner
bound for Los Angeles. The coal that ran the
trains was itself brought from abroad in
vessels like the Goldenhorn.

Lumber was the first important trade in the
Los Angeles ports. By 1912, Los Angeles led
the world in volume of lumber imports
(Queenan 1983:200), Over the last 50 years,
lumber has not retained its carly
overwhelming dominance as the Los Angcles
economy has grown and diversified, but it has
continued to be an important import. The
early ascendancy of this trade is mirrored in
the lumber schooners that came to grief in the
Channel Islands.

In this chapter, we present accounts of the
lumber schooners that wrecked within Channel
Islands National Park, proceeding from the
earliest to the latest, by date of wreck. In
accord with the development of the trade, this
arrangement also follows a rough order from
the smallest to the largest of the vesscls.

70

G W Prescott
1874-1879
‘fwo-masted Coastal Lumber Schooner

Gross ‘Tonnage 112.97 tons
Net Tonnage not applicable
Length 91.5 feet
Beam 27.2 feet
Depth 7.3 feet
Deck one

Official Number 85329
Construction wood

Historical Record

Thomas J. Peterson built the G W Prescott
at Little River, California, in 1874 for a group
of owners among whom James Hanson of San
Francisco was the half owner and master.
The following delightful account of the ship's
launching is recorded:

‘The new schooner, G W Prescott, was
successfully launched on Wednesday
evening at 7 P.M. A large concourse
of visitors was present. She is owned
by the Little River Mill Company, and
Capt. Hanson. Mr. G. W. Prescott is
the agent of the Little River
Company. After the launch, a social
dance was given at Corrigan Hall,
where a few pleasant hours were
enjoyed by all who participated.
Another new schooner has been
successfully launched into the: still
waters of Little River Bay by Capt.
Thos. Peterson the builder
[Mendocino West Coast Star, June 12,
1874, quoted in {aller 1986].



The “carved eagle" referred to is often
attributed to the Winfield Scott. The theater in
question is the Lobero. This account indicates
that wreckage from other vessels that wrecked
along the central coast might also be expected
to wash up on the islands, particularly on the
north coasts of Santa Rosa and San Miguel.

Archeological Record

The preceding historical account suggests
that fragments of the Yankee Blade might be
expected along the north side of Santa Rosa
Island. Island archeological survey has
located SRI-91-75, a Chinese abalone camp,
which contains burned beams from an iron-

25

fastened wooden vessel. This site is located
close to Sandy Point, the west end of Santa
Rosa [sland, along the southwest coast.
Included in the material are small copper
nails, quite comparable to the sheathing nails
recorded from the Winfield Scott, a vessel
very similar to the Yankee Blade. Evidently
the wreckage in question may have carried
copper hull sheathing. While this hardly
constitutes definitive identification, the
material might reasonably be thought to have
come from the Yankee Blade. A metallurgical
analysis of nails from the Yankee Blade, the
Winfield Scott, and the Santa Rosa site might
settle the question.


Ella G stranded in Becher's Bay "one half
mile west of wharf" in gales blowing about 40
miles an hour. Although both anchors were
set, the anchor lines were severed, the rudder
was lost, and the vessel became
unmanageable. The vessel and its entire cargo
of sealskins, valued at $1,050, were lost as the
crew used the ship's boats to escape the
breakers. The Ella G rode up onto the beach,
breaking up almost immediately.

After landing at the mouth of the creek
that leads to the ranch, the crew again
went to the scene of the wreck at low
tide, only to find little left but the keel
and a few ribs. Wreckage was
scattered all over the base of the cliff
and bones of their ship were buried in
the sand. The men procured shovels
and dug into the sand. At a depth of
some six feet, they found some of their
ship's stores, such as canned goods
and several oil skins. Not a thing
could they save. Besides the ship,
they lost a small boat, half a dozen
fine sealing rifles, ammunition, and all
the equipment for navigation and
personal effects.

Assisted by the ranchers on Santa Rosa
Island and later by those on Santa
Cruz Island, the crew arrived in Santa
Barbara on February 13, 1908. This
storm, with heavy rainfall, also caused
considerable damage to "crayfish"
(lobster) camps on Santa Cruz Island
(LAT, February 4, 1908].

115

Archeological Record

The information available for the Ella G
indicates that wreckage might be expected in
the area between the pier and Carrington Point
in the northern portion of Becher's Bay.
During the Fairweather cruise in 1985,
launches investigated this locality using both
side-scan sonar and magnetometer. Later
analysis of the side-scan sonar data indicated
a pole like object on the seabed that showed
up on the magnetometer launch Fathometer.
This sonar trace appeared to correlate with a
magnetic anomaly, although the anomaly was
not consistently repeatable on successive
sweeps through the area. The side-scan
record showed nothing else that could be
interpreted as cultural in origin.

Investigations continued from NPS vessels
later that same year. The NPS magnetometer
made successive sweeps on 20-meter intervals
through the original area again. Only very
small anomalies appeared—perturbations
interpretable as anchors, lobster traps, or
similar small items. A dive team investigated
the largest of these with negative results.

Wooden frames from a relatively small
vessel were seen in the early 1980s very near
the pier at Becher's Bay (Figure 6.1). This
material is periodically uncovered when winter
storms move sand off the beach. In 1992,
some observations of the partially exposed
portions of this wreckage showed frames
spaced 12 to 13.5 inches apart. Individual
frames were sided 2% inches and molded 5%
to 6 inches. About 17 feet of the hull were
present in this one piece. Nearby were a


Pigare 8.29) Sane L Stanford, Puget Sound,

Mrarilunie NLP

aw young girl growing up on the quarterde
she remembers pkiying with dried shark's eyes:
for marbles iad shark vertebrae strung into
neeklices. On two oveastons, while en route
to Australia, the Jenne Lb Stanford visited
Pitcairn Esland (Carol Jung interviews. October
1992)
overboard on hts ist projected voyage before

Cape Horn seas swept her father

reurement in Lots

Durie World Ward, Sot
the vessel. but he sold it in 197 to Pacdic
In L9T9, Robert Dolkur
Stanford lh sinan Lott)

Shade owned

Freaghters Company

bouvht the sane f

a

1910 L9TS

Photo courtesy of San brancisco

Thus burst at during World War |
reflects the extraordinary shipping boom and

HCLIVILY

speeufative Fever ob the tive. when biph carpo
rates offen allowed recovery of capital costs,
as well as profit. on age
(Greealull 1980-49). Tins situation prolonged
the careers of many older ships that miplit

The June 0.
under

vO

jusl one

otherwise have been scrapped
Suyord made a litst vay
1920, us the shipping boom cooled, thereatter
being kid up tn San Prancisco Bay (Whitman
1989). dn 1926. the Jane Lf Stanford was.
moved from San brancisco Bay end became a



SEALING ON ANACAPA

With the month of December usually
comes the seal catching season on the
islands off the coast. Although seals
can be found in small numbers on
these islands nearly the entire year,
during the winter months they are
much more numerous, and are in a
betier condition, producing more oil
and blubber. The business of catching
seals and converting their blubber into
oil is quite extensively pursued on the
islands in the Santa Barbara Channel
A large number of men and boats are
employed, and altogether, it is a
profitable indusiry.

On Anacapa, this season, Mr. Myron
Warner is devoting his attention to this
business. Seals are very numerous, and
can be killed within a short distance of
his camp. ‘They are killed with riffes,
and towed to shore near where the
camp is silualed, when the blubber is
stripped off in great sheets and taken
to the trying pots, where it is chopped
and tried out. An average size seal
will produce about a barrel of oil,
which is worth from 35 to 45 cents per
gallon, according to ils purily.

On Anacapa, where Mr. Warner's
camp is situated, there is only a
narrow strip of sand beach, while all
around are rugecd and precipitous
cliffs. The camp is on the north side
of the island, ina little cove. On the
other side of the island no scaling is
done, because it is very difficult to Kill
the animals and get their blubber to
camp. On the rocks and beaches
thousands may be seen at any time,

108

baking in the sunshine. ‘The hunter
gocs along in his boat and selects the
largest and fattest, sending the deadly
bullet crashing though their brain
Sometimes they are killed in the water
around the boats, In killing them in
the water, great care must be taken to
keep the boat far enough away from
them, for one of these old sea lions, in
the throes of agony and death, is
liable to attack a boat and make
kindling wood of it ina moment.

There is not a drop of fresh water on
island, and the fishermen procure
their supply from either Santa Cruz
Island or the main land. Wood is but
fittle used, but at the commencement
of the season the fishermen usually lay
in a small supply. ‘The cracklings
from the blubber, and some of the
blubber itsel!, furnishes most of the
fuel, On Anacapa about five men are
employed, and Mr. Warner informs
us that the present season he will
obtain about one hundred barrels of
oil.

The seal are the ordinary hair scal,
and the Jargest of those killed will
weigh from 1,800 to 2,500 pounds.
Their skins are worthless. ‘Their
barking can be heard for miles on a
still night, and in the noise on the
island it is almost impossible to hear a
person speak. ‘The scason lasts about
two months, when the seal begin to
leave the islands for other climes.
The business is dangerous and
possesses no charms. ‘The fishermen
live in voluntary exile two or three
months, and during that time never
sce strangers’ faces. Communication




rocks 10 minutes after the anchor cable parted.
The wind direction given in the wreck report
indicates that the vessel stranded on the
western shore of Cuyler Harbor, perhaps even
northwest of the normal anchorage. If this is
so, the remains of the Isabella may lie beneath
the debris of the 1895 or 1942 landslide in
Cuyler Harbor.

Pearl
2-1891
Sealing Sloop

Gross Tonnage _
Net Tonnage

Length 33 feet
Beam —
Depth —
Decks one
Official Number --
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Pearl wrecked on Anacapa Island in a
windstorm while Captain Troop and his two
clients, an Austrian husband and wife, were
camped ashore. Having been left without
provisions, they were forced to kill a sheep for
food. Two days later, the steam schooner
Santa Barbara brought another group of
sealers to the island. The Austrians stayed on
with other sealers, and Captain Troop returned
to Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Daily
Independent, September 25, 1891; SBMP,
September 26, 1891; Ventura Free Press,
October 2, 1891).

The description of the wreck suggests that
the incident occurred at Frenchy's Cove,
virtually the only anchorage that would allow
reasonable access to a camping spot above the
tides. A vessel anchored there is vulnerable to

113

both northwesterly winds and Santa Anas. No
material has been located that has been
identified as belonging to this wreck.

Kate and Anna
1879-1902
Sealing Schooner

Gross Tonnage 24.65 tons
Net Tonnage 23.42 tons
Length 36.4 feet
Beam 14.8 feet
Depth 5.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 14376
Construction wood

Historical Record

The dimensions given above are those on
the Kate and Anna's certificate of enrollment
at the time it wrecked in Cuyler Harbor, San
Miguel Island. Fortunately, registration
documents have been preserved in the
National Archives; they show that the vessel
was essentially three different vessels during
its lifetime.

Charles Lutgens, who was also the
captain, built the Kate and Anna | at Yaquina
Bay, Oregon, in 1879. According to the first
certificate of enrollment, the vessel was a
steam schooner 45 feet long with a 14.5-foot
beam and a depth of 5.9 feet. Measuring
22.57 gross tons, the Kate and Anna had a
billet head and a square stern.

The Kate and Anna's next certificate of
enrollment, dated February 11, 1882, states
that she was rebuilt by master carpenter John
F. Steffen and was now a steam screw steamer
with a sharp head and an elliptic stern. The
Kate and Anna II had grown to a length of
56.4 feet, a beam of 14.8 feet, and a depth of


Ship Name
Galileo

Georgia
Hueneme

J F West
Kinkajou

Liberty

Manila Galleon
Nimbus 3

Pearl

San Buenaventura
Santa Clara

Sea Foam (fragment)
Sea Lion

Sea Wanderer
Seahoph

St Anne of the Sunset
Thornton

Undine

Unnamed Sailboat
White Cap

White Star

219

SMI?

ANI

SCI

scl

SMI

SCI

scl


Official

Nature of

Ship Name Number Island Year Casualty Ship ‘Type
HT. P. Co. 1X 214093 SBI 192] burned local
freighter
Helene 96325 SCI 1898 stranded guano
Hueneme oo a o _ _
Imperial 212356 scl 1936 stranded fishing
(rebuilt)
International L 167316 SCI 1918 stranded barge
drene ood SCI 1908 stranded other
Isabella 100181 SMI-C 885 stranded sealer
Istand Packer 251991 ANI 1969 stranded tour boat
JF West —- ~~ - _ ~
JM Colman 76717 SMI-PB 1905 stranded lumber
Jana Dawn 277143 SCI 1978 destroyed fishing
Jane L Stanford 77070 SRI 1929 demolition lumber
Joan 278028 scl 1974 stranded fishing
Josie Lena 239867 SMI 1962 stranded fishing
Kate and Anna 14376 SMI-C 1902 stranded sealer
Kinkajou — SCI 1930s sank yacht
Labor 222693 ANI 1924 stranded fishing
Leader 15216 SMI 1876 stranded sealer
Legend 281997 SMI-PB 1967 stranded yacht
Liberty 140174 SMI-C 1895 stranded is] sup boat
Liberty 256332 SCI 1973 sank fishing


AMC-19 on November 11, 1940. Assigned to
the San Francisco area, the vessel performed
minesweeping and training duties. The vessel
reverted to civilian ownership in April 1945,
returned to the former owner.

What we know of the fate of the Del Rio
comes from the Los Angeles Times, October
29, 1952:

The 82' purse seiner Del Rio was
destroyed by fire early yesterday three
miles off Anacapa Light but 11 men
aboard were saved by other vessels.
Loss was estimated at $80,000.

The Coast Guard said the fire started
about 3 a.m. from a backfire in the
engine room. Two other purse seiners,
the Sea Ranger and Monarch, rescued
Captain Frank Bosnich . . . Owner
Marijan Katnich . . . and the crew of
nine.

A Coast Guard marine casualty report adds
that the burning boat "drifted on beach and
sand between Big Anacapa island and little
Anacapa island," giving latitude and longitude
consistent with Frenchy's Cove. The engine
block and at least some of the other debris
found at this location today is most likely from
the Del Rio.

Archeological Record

A six cylinder engine block of massive
proportions lies in the intertidal zone at
Frenchy's Cove, Anacapa Island. The number
of cylinders and their dimensions are
compatible with the engine listed in the
records for the Del Rio.

Cape Argo
1947-1954
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 38 tons
Net Tonnage 26 tons
Length 44.1 feet
Beam 14.5 feet
Depth 9.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 253429
Construction wood

Historical Record

Home-ported in Seattle and formerly
known as the Doris, the Cape Argo burned to
the waterline 5 miles northwest of Santa
Barbara Island. Peter Toft, the owner and
captain, and a crewman were rescued by
another fishing boat (LAT, September 6,
1954),

Ruth E
1946-1955
Fishing Vessel
Gross Tonnage 25 tons
Net Tonnage 11 tons
Length 43.5 feet
Beam 13.8 feet
Depth 6.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 250964
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Ruth E, out of Tacoma, Washington,
burned on January 9, 1955, at 33° 51'N,

137


Broadbill
1917-1966
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 34 tons
Net Tonnage 17 tons
Length 62.5 feet
Beam 13.6 feet
Depth 6.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 215227
Construction wood

Historical Record

According to MVUS (1965), the Broadbill
had previously been known as the Broadbill
(USN), which is apparently the SP-823, "a 66-
foot motor boat of 1918-19 . . . also known as
Broadbill" (Dictionary of American Naval
Fighting Ships 1959:160). This is consistent
with the Broadbill's origin in 1917, as listed
in MVUS. The vessel wrecked before dawn
on August 20, 1966, on the northwestern side
of Santa Rosa Island (SBNP, August 22,
1966). The Cape Sable, a Coast Guard cutter,
rescued owner Earl Aggus and a crewman,
returning them to Santa Barbara. The vessel
had been en route to Morro Bay from
Wilmington.

Archeological Record

Peter Howorth has stated that wreckage in
the first cove just east of Orr's Camp, which
lies between Garanon and Tecolote canyons on
Santa Rosa Island, is that of the Broadbill.
The largest piece is a diesel engine block still
in place above portions of the hull with
concrete filled bilges. This massive fragment
is often covered with sand and kelp. About
300 meters to the east are twin engine blocks
and smaller pieces that relate to another

vessel. The Pleides, yet another fishing
vessel, drifted ashore here, virtually on top of
the Broadbill, in 1992. As this vessel breaks
up, its wreckage will mingle with material
from the Broadbill.

Cinnamon Bear
1944-1966
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 14 tons
Net Tonnage 9 tons
Length 50.0 feet
Beam 12.8 feet
Depth 4.8 feet
Decks one
Official Number 260737
Construction wood

Historical Record

Formerly the U.S. Navy's No. 23318, the
Cinnamon Bear, burned at Twin Harbor,
Santa Cruz Island, on August 26, 1966
(MVUS 1968). According to the Coast Guard
casualty report:

On Friday morning, August 26, after
running around most of the night
looking for bait, the crew decided to
rest a few hours before returning to
port. As on almost all vessels working
at night, the coffee pot is kept hot. At
any rate, while securing for little rest,
there was a terrific explosion in the
galley that could only have been
caused by a galley stove. Operator
dumped one fire extinguisher but
could not get to the others. There was
not even time to get a radio message
out as it happened too fast and flames
engulfed the wheel house.




CHAINS. ANCHORS, ETC:

One 1800 Ib. anchor, one 1550 |b. anchor, one 400 Ib. kedge, 60 fihms. of 1%" chain; 60
fthms. 14" chain; 120 fthms. of 7" hawser. 120 fthms. 5"; 60 fthms. 6" wharf fast and one coil of
3%" running line; chain cat stoppers and shank painters, tarpaulins and mast coats, galley
fixtures, cabin furniture, carpet, table, chairs, clock and crockery. Lamps, cabin and state room
lamps, side lights, mast head lights, galley and forecastle lamps. One spirit compass and one of
brass. Patent log, sounding lead and line. 1000 gallons of water casks. One 18' boat and oars,
rigging screws marline spikes and ship's tools.

Vessel to be fitted for sea for a coasting voyage, with the exception of provisions and
bedding. Vessel to be launched on or before the 20th day of September 1886.

In consideration of the fulfillment of the foregoing contract, the parties of the first part agree
to pay to the party of the second part, the sum of Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000) in U.S. Gold

Coin, in the following payments. viz:

$5000 On signing contract
7500 On July 10th, 1886
7500 On Aug. 10th, 1886
10000 When vessel is delivered at Port Blakely, W.T.

(Signed) F. P. & J. A. Hooper, 2/3rds
C.F. S. Lass, 1/3rd
(Signed)
W. G. Hall,

Party of second part.


Kahn, Ava

1982 Santa Harbor and Waterfront Residents
In Santa Barbara by the Sea, edited by
Rochelle Bookspan. McNally &
Loftin, Santa Barbara.

Kemble, John Haskell

1943 The Panama Route, 1848-1869,
University of California Press,
Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign
Shipping

1891 Lloyd's Register. London.
1892, 1893
1929, 1930
1947, 1948
1963, 1964

Lubbock, Basil

1927 The Last of the Windjammers. Brown,
Son and Ferguson. Ltd., Glasgow.

Lyman, John

1941 Pacific Coast-Built Sailers, 1850-1905,
Installment No. 16, The Marine

Digest. May 17.
Moratto, Michael J.

1984 California Archaeology. Academic

Press, San Francisco.
O'Neill, Owen H.

1939 History of Santa Barbara County. H.
McLean Meier, Santa Barbara.

239

Paasch, H.

1901 Vom Kiel zum — Flaggenknopf,
Illustrirtes Marine-Worterbuch.
Hamburg.

Palacios, Diego Garcia de

1587 Nautical Instruction: For the Good Use
and Management of Ships, Their
Design, and Conduct in Accordance
with the Latitude of Mexico. Translated
by J. M. Bankston, 1986. Terrenate
Associates, Bisbee, Arizona.

Payne, Stephen M.

1982 Over a Century of Tradition and
Progress: A History of Santa Barbara's
Fishing Community in Santa Barbara
by the Sea, edited by Rochelle
Bookspan. McNally & Loftin, Santa
Barbara.

Queenan, Charles F.

1983. The Port of Los Angeles: From

Wilderness to World Port. Los
Angeles Harbor Department, Los
Angeles.

Reed, Monica

1989 Leader. Ms. on file, Channel Islands
National Park.

Roberts, Kenneth G. and Philip Shackleton

1983. The Canoe: A History of the Craft
from Panama to the Arctic.
International Marine — Publishing
Company, Camden, Maine.


end of Santa Cruz Island. Joe Castagnola,
representing the Castagnolas who owned the
Santa Clara, and Paul Lindwall, a former
crew member, inspected the "anchor winch,
chain, mast, stays, rudder, quadrant, horn
timber, and part of the stove." The inspectors
considered the winch head particularly
diagnostic of the Santa Clara (SBMP, May 5,
1954). The depths reported in the newspaper
for the place where the wreckage was found
occur some 4 to 5 miles off San Pedro Point,
both north and south of the Anacapa Passage,
which reaches a maximum depth of 30
fathoms.

Equator
1949-1949

Gross Tonnage 238 tons
Net Tonnage 103 tons
Length 92.9 feet
Beam 26.6 feet
Depth 12.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 257143
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Los Angeles Times of July 3, 1949,
reports:

A captain and five crew members of
the fishing craft Equator escaped
drowning yesterday when they were
rescued by the Coast Guard after their
boat sank near Anacapa Island, twenty
miles from San Pedro.

Nick Trutanich . . . [of] San Pedro,
owner and master of the Equator, said

131

his craft struck rocks 150 yards from
the island's shore and went down
quickly in 4 1/2 fathoms of water.

The Coast Guard buoy tender
Blackthorn raced to the scene and
picked up the struggling men scant
minutes after they were thrown in the
ocean.

The Blackthorn had received a distress call
for the Equator at 3:00 A.M. while anchored
at Los Angeles. Underway 20 minutes later,
the Coast Guard vessel reached the scene off
Anacapa Island by 9:38 A.M., picking up the
crew. Their log gives the location of the
wreck as 34° 00' 25" N, 119° 23' W.

The Equator is the largest f
wrecked in the park. Apparently new when it
sank, it was built at a time when fishing
vessels were steadily increasing in size
(Scovill 1951:41). The wreck of the Eguaror
was not recorded until the 1963 MVUS in
which it is stated, "Exact location unknown."

The Equator had not been fishing in local
waters; the vessel was conveying frozen fish
caught in Central American waters to a plant
in the Pacific Northwest when it wrecked on
Anacapa Island. In this respect, the Equator
stands apart from all the other fishing vessels
that have wrecked in the area. The ship really
should be considered more a transient vessel
than a member of the local fishing fleet.

Archeological Record

A wreck scatter near East Fish Camp,
Anacapa Island, is the remains of the Equator.
This material is scattered in shallow water and
in a sea cave (Figure 7.4) at the coordinates
given above. A bronze propeller (Figure 7.5)
and a 5-inch-diameter drive shaft over 46 feet



Figure 5.20. 1984 closeup of capstan.
Compare to capstan pictures in Figures
5.21 and 5.23. NPS photo by Reed
McCluskey.

Figure 5.21. Unidentified lady on foredeck of the Comet. Compare capstan and
background with modern photographs of the Simonton Cove wreck scatter. Photo
courtesy of Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

91


the bilges. There are intercostal plates
beneath the side keelsons. Frames are spaced
on 2-foot centers.

Upper wreckage forward of the mainmast
has been swept clear of this hull bottom piece
and generally deposited in a great jumble to
the east. Sternward, the keelson and hull
bottom are overlain by pieces of the port side
of the hull, down to the mizzenmast step,
where about 20 feet of the keelson is again
exposed before ending beneath another piece

of port hull side
of port hull side.

Separated, and some distance away in 60
feet of water, is the stern, intact from the keel
up to the main deck level, tilted over to
starboard. Here can be found a well-preserved
fantail. The rudder, tiller, and patent steering
gear lie nearby.

Mast fragments (Figure 4.13), hull side
pieces, and decking lie southeast of these
prominent pieces, clearly deposited in this
pattern by the prevailing northwesterly swells
and current (Figure 4.14). Deck beams are
spaced on 4-foot centers. East of the
mainmast step and the mizzenmast step lic
fragments of the respective masts. Among the
fragments of the mainmast is a boiler (Figure
4.15) for a donkey engine. Close by are two
capstans (Figure 4.16). No sections of the
foremast are evident. Also missing are pieces
belonging to any above-deck construction or
any sign of the galley or associated brickwork.

A startling example of the force generated
by wave action is the presence of the cutwater,
the forwardmost piece of the hull, completely
separated from the rest of the wreckage and
deposited more than 270 feet to the east of the

Figure 4.13. Detail of the Aggi mast
rigging. NPS drawing by Mark Norder.

main hull bottom. Even though the nearest
part of Santa Rosa Island is slightly less than
a mile away, the beaches along the island east
of Talcott Shoal must have received a great
deal of material that floated away from the
wreck as it broke up.

The present northerly orientation of the
wreckage indicates that the seas must have
pivoted the wrecked vessel nearly 180

degrees, since it was traveling southeast when
struck. As a result, the bow was virtually

SOON

Figure 4.14. Mast on the Aggi site. NPS
photo by Steve Barsky.



gs

Figure 4.4. Floor frames on the Goldenhorn. NPS photo by Larry Murphy.

35


Historical Record

The Nellie wrecked at Santa Cruz Island
on December 25, 1912, in a Santa Ana,
according to a wreck report signed by Dan
Bethune, captain of the vessel. This document
gives the official number of the vessel as
130865. A story in the Los Angeles Times of
January 3, 1913, agrees in all particulars
except for the date of the wreck:

Santa Barbara, Jan—Telling a story of
great suffering and danger, Capt. Dan
Bethune and Mate Fisher, of the power
vessel Nellie, of San Pedro, which was
dashed to pieces on the rocks on the
east end of Santa Cruz Island were
brought here today by a party of
brought here today by a party of

fishermen who rescued them.

Capt Bethune told of having
encountered a northeast gale New
Year's Eve which drove their small
craft upon the rocks, When the vessel
struck, they jumped overboard and
battled heavy seas until they reached
shore. Exhausted, they fell upon the
rocks where they remained all night.
They passed New Year's Day in
watching and signalling for help. The
fishermen who rescued them put out
from Santa Barbara this morning and
passed near enough to Santa Cruz
Island, twenty miles across the
channel, to see the signals of distress.

The Nellie was listed as a passenger
vessel, built in either 1879 (MVUS 1914),
1887 (Wreck Report), or 1900 (MVUS 1910).
The MVUS for 1914 lists the wreck of the
sloop Nellie on December 25, 1912, and gives
the official number for this vessel as 209731,

159

which apparently is an error. Documentation
for 130865 exists, and it is clearly the same,
or a very similar, vessel (MVUS 1910, 1911).
The other documents describe the Nellie as
powered by a gas engine.

International I

1918-1918
Barge

Gross Tonnage 72 tons
Net Tonnage 72 tons
Length 70.0 feet
Beam 30.0 feet
Depth 3.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 167316
Construction wood

Historical Record

All the information currently available on
this vessel comes from the 1919 and 1920
editions of Merchant Vessels of the United
States and its certificates of enrollment in the
National Archives. The vessel was owned by
the International Packing Corporation, and its
first license was issued on July 18, 1918. The
wreck report states that International I,
carrying a crew of five, stranded at Smuggler
Cove, Santa Cruz Island, a result of a
southeast swell and a 40 mile an hour gale on
September 13 of the same year. The 1920
MVUS gives 1916 as the construction year for
the vessel, while the 1919 MVUS gives the
year as 1918. This latter date is probably
correct, since the vessel is not listed in the
1918 MVUS. Constructed in East San Pedro,
International I's home port was Los Angeles.
No account of the wreck is available from
local newspapers, probably because of
security restrictions relating to World War I.



whether or not the assemblage represents only
one vessel. The sizes of the larger fittings and
timbers found in this arca are compatible with
those from a vessel like the Dora Bluhm.

Although most of the pieces of wre
may belong to the Dora Bluhm, wreckag
from other vessels may be intermingled with
the main wreck scatter, Consider this short
article from the Santa Barbara Morning Press
(November 3, 1906):

Heavy west-nor'west gales have been
blowing in the channel near the islands
for several days past, and Captain
Robards states that he had to lie under
the east end of Santa Cruz for sever
days for safety. Captain Robards says
that the wreckage of the Shasta, which
went to pieces near Point Conception
several weeks ago, is still in evidence,
the greater part of the pilot house of
the ill-fated schooner being now
stranded on Bee Rock on the south side
of Santa Rosa Island.

Clearly, wooden wreckage can drift a long
way, over 30 miles in this instance. ‘The
Shasta, a wooden steam schooner, has also
contributed to the coastal woodpile al Cluster
Point.

Comet
1886-1911
Three-masted Coastal Lumber Schooner

429 tons
368 tons
144.6 feet

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage
Length

Beam 35,2 feer
Depth 11.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 126379
Construction wood

86

Historical Record

Hall Brothers of Puget — Sound,
Washington, buill the Comet for Wooper
Brothers of San Francisco, who remained
owners throughout its life (Figures 5.14 and
5.15). Fortunately for this report, the contract
under which it was built has survived and is
reproduced as Appendix Hi. ‘The Comet is one
of three vessels built by Hall Brothers that
wrecked within the park, the others being the
JM Colman and the Dora Bluhm. ‘The vessel
carried three anchors of 1,800, 1,550, and 400
pounds, respectively, 60 fathoms cach of 1%-
inch and 14-inch chain, wire rigging, custom-
made blocks, and cotton — sails The
specification "forward house to be adapted for
donkey engine" suggests that this useful
appliance was carried, as well as "diamond cut
screw steering gear," "#3 capstan and patent
traveler for spanker," and a "water-closet and
stationary wash-bow! complete." Caulking
was cement below the water line and white
lead above. All fastenings were iron, ranging
in size from % inch to 1% inch. One-and-
one-quarter-inch treenails were specified for
fastening the planking. Like others of its
trade, the Comet posscssed bow and stern
ports for casier loading of long lengths of
timber.

A partial list of the Comet's voyages
shows it active in the coastal lumber trade,
picking up cargo at Port Ludlow, Port
Blakely, Aberdeen, and Gray's Harbor and
delivering to San Diego, San Pedro, and Santa
Barbara. Only five times in eight years did
the Comet call in at San Mrancisco, its home
port. Several pictures show the Comer in
active service.

The Comet struck Wilson Rock at 8:00
P.M. on August 30, 1911, while sailing in fog
(Figure 5.16), The disabled vessel then
stranded on San Miguel Island at Simonton



46. Albert Manchester and Ann Manchester.
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site:
An Administrative History. Division of
History, 1992.

47. James E. Bradford. Archeological
Survey, Gila Cliff Dwellings National
Monument. Division of Anthropology, 1992.

48. Peter Russell. Gila Cliff Dwellings
National Monument: An Administrative
History. Division of History, 1992.

49. Frances J. Mathien, Charlie R. Steen and
Craig D. Allen. The Pajarito Plateau: A
Bibliography. Division of Anthropology.

50. Randall L. Guendling, George Sabo III,
Margaret J. Guccione, Sandra L. Dunavan,
Susan L, Scott. Archeological Investigations at
3MR80-Area D in the Rush Development
Area, Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Vol.
2. Division of Anthropology, 1992.

51. James E. Mount, Stanley J. Olsen, John
W. Olsen, George A. Teague, and B. Dean
Treadwell. Wide Reed Ruin: Hubbell Trading
Post National Historic Site. Division of
Anthropology, 1993.

52. Charles M. Haecker. A Thunder of
Cannon: Archeology of the Mexican-American
War Battlefield of Palo Alto. Division of
Anthropology, 1994.

53. H. Wolcott Toll. An Analysis of
Variability and Condition of Cavate Structures
in Bandelier National Monument. Division of
Anthropology, 1995.

245

54. Susan C. Boyle. Comerciantes,
Arrieros, y Peiones: The Hispanos and the
Santa Fe Trade, Division of History, 1994.

Intermountain Cultural Resource
Centers Published Reports

55. Michael Welsh. Dunes and Dreams: A
History of White Sands National Monument.
History Program, 1994.

56. Morris, Don. Channel Islands National
Park and Channel Islands National Marine
Sanctuary, Submerged Cultural Resources
Assessment. Submerged Cultural Resources
Unit, 1996.

57. Robert P. Powers and Janet D. Orcutt.
The Bandelier Archeological — Survey.
Anthropology Program, 1997.

58. Michael Welsh. A Special Place, A
Sacred Trust: Preserving the Fort Davis Story.
History Program, 1996.

59. James E. Ivey. Unique In All Respects:
The Structural History of Pecos National
Historical Park, History Program, 1997.

60. Hal K. Rothman. "Our Heart's Home":
A Historic Resource Study of the Texas White
House. History Program, 1996.

61. Robert Hartzler. Acrylic Modified
Earthen Mortar. Conservation Program,
1996,


Westcott Shoal

Castle
Rock Outer

“Be Harbor

‘Ye

rN

—

%

«

Point Bennici _
CP oo
adam ae
Cove

© 2B hitomttess

re

° 3 miles

ee

~ Green Mtn.

San Miguel

Hanis
Point

IS Prince Island

Bay Point
~
~
4

evel

NE ook Point

+ San Miguel Hill

Point

Figure 2.2. San Miguel Island.

Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island, a
process that continues actively today.

Santa Cruz Island (Figure 2.4), the
largest and most rugged of all the Channel
Islands, reaches a height of 2,434 feet at
Mount Diablo. The island is made up of
two parallel east-west trending mountain
ridges flanking a secluded interior valley.
The north coast is steep and rugged, while
the south side contains several beaches and
sheltered coves. Santa Cruz is relatively
sheltered by the mainland mountain ridges to
the north. Prisoners Harbor is the principal
harbor.

Anacapa Island (Figure 2.5) is actually
composed of three separate islets that are
nearly joined by sandspits at low tide.
Together these islets comprise a steep
volcanic ridge. East and Middle Anacapa
are relatively flat compared to rugged West
Anacapa, which reaches a height of 930 feet
on Summit Peak. Frenchy's Cove, where
Middle and West Anacapa meet, is the most
reasonable landing. Until the construction

of the Anacapa Light in the early 1930s, the
present landing cove was not particularly
accessible. Relatively calm conditions
prevail on Anacapa even when the outer
islands are quite unsettled.

Santa Barbara Island (Figure 2.6) is the
tip of a Miocene volcano. The smallest of
the islands in the park, at 640 acres, it
generally experiences the calmest seas and
weather. Its coastline is rugged and
difficult, except for a few locations on the
east side.

All the islands have seen at least
sporadic attempts at occupation and grazing
during historic times, although — these
episodes were short lived on Santa Barbara
and Anacapa. The larger operations all
involved support vessels that transported
supplies, stock, and personnel from island to
mainland on a frequent basis.

Although the islands’ terrestrial
resources, other than their grazing potential,
are relatively sparse, the surrounding waters
sparkle with life, supported by the kelp



Ship Name ‘Tonnage Island

Ruth K 14 SMI
Standard Nut 14 SRY
Vineth {4 SCI
Surprise 14.65 SMI
Convoy 15.26 SRI
Helene 15.31 scl
Undine 15.56 —_
Francine 15.75 sel
Legend 15.88 SMI-PB
Dawn 16.59 ANI
NB 17.6 SMI
Corsair 18 SCI
Dorothy M 18 ANI
Lion 18 SCI
Patrick 18 SBI
Rosemond R 18 SRI
Shamrock 20 ANI
Swan 20 SCL
Black Dolphin 21 SCI
stand Packer 2 ANI
imperial 22 scl
Louise D 22 ANI
Zingara 23 ANI


Ship Name
Magic

Santa Rosa
Bell

Dawn
Francine

Kate & Anna
J M Colman
Sea Lion
Shasta (fragment)
Sea Foam (fragment)
Anubis*
EllaG

rene
Thornton
Dora Bluhm
Comet

Nellie
Pectan*

Aggi
International 1
Natoma

HT. P. Co. 1X

Official
Number Year Island
141068 1899 SRI
115660 1899 SMI-C
~ 1901 SCI
157169 1901 ANI
120988 1901 scl
14376 1902 SMI-C
T6NT 1905 SMI-PB
1906 ScI
200714 1906 SRI
_ 1907 SMI
aa 1908 SMI
116928 1908 SRI
co 1908 SCI
- 1910? o
157091 1910 SRI
126379 1911 SMI
130865 1912 SCI
212911 1914 SMI
102136 1915 SRI
167316 1918 SCI
209087 1919 SBI
244093 1921 SBI

Ship

lob sup boat
isl sup boat
fishing

lob sup boat
guano
sealer
lumber
fishing
other

other
freighter
sealer

other

lumber
lumber
tour

oil tanker
freighter
barge
fishing

local
freighter


been reported by various archeological
projects and by park employees engaged in
other operations.

Nearly all the fieldwork was accomplished
by volunteers, who worked faithfully and
diligently, ofien in conditions ranging from
poor to rotten, to map and photograph vessel
remains. The results of their work are
presented in sections that discuss the
shipwrecks of the park in terms of the major
type of trade the vessel conducted.

Nearly all previous studies of shipwrecks
for the park have set some sort of lower size
limit, such as 50 feet long or 50 tons, and thus
do not consider the smaller vessels of the area.
We adopted no lower limit for at least two
reasons. First, adopting an arbitrary limit
says that historical (i.e., important) events or
processes did not occur on small craft. Such
is not the case. Second, watercraft are simply
artifacts--tools used to accomplish desired
results. Through historical and archeological
study of the artifact, we attempt to understand
the people who made the decisions and guided
the tools, as well as the environmental and
social milieus in which they lived. Small craft
can be every bit as helpful in this endeavor as
big ones. Seal hunters, for example, used
small boats, but with large impacts, which is
why historical studies of sealing and its
associated boats are worthwhile.

Nevertheless, this study is undeniably
biased in favor of larger ships because they
are, after all, more conspicuous, more
prominent in the historical record, and easier
to trace. Future fieldwork and historical
research should strive to eliminate this bias.

We discuss submerged prehistoric sites
only briefly, not because they are unimportant
but because the excellent treatment of them by
the late Travis Hudson (Howorth and Hudson
1985) is still current. Certainly submerged

we

sites did exist along former coastlines, and
some may have left detectable traces. Since
Hudson's synopsis, however, only one
artifact, a stone mortar, has come from a
submerged context. It is the only one known
with a provenience even close to precise.
Tnaccurate and vague locations make progress
difficult in this area.

Similarly, yachting and recreational use of
boats receive short shrift here, even though
bits and pieces of sailboats can be found more
and more commonly around the islands. A
problem in assessing them is the propensity of
the fiberglass boat to disintegrate, literally
overnight, into tiny gel-coated bits of
laminate. Yet recreational use of the islands
is an important use today; it is part of the
area's maritime history, undoubtedly with its
own unique environmental effects.

Our ignorance of prehistoric watercraft is
enormous. Humans reached the islands at
least 10,000 years ago (Moratto 1984:71) and
produced conspicuous middens by 8,000 B.P.
Since the islands were not connected to the
mainland at that time, what watercraft were
used? Documented remains of watercraft that
could shed light on this era would be the most
important new information possible for the
maritime history of the Channel Islands--even
more important than finding the quasi-
mythical Spanish galleon alleged to lie off San
Miguel Island. We have included in this
report a section that summarizes our scant
knowledge about prehistoric watercraft in the
Channel Islands and the myth and hearsay
surrounding possible Spanish wrecks.

In terms of maritime history, the gold rush
of 1849 stands as a watershed between the
relatively tranquil time of Hispanic California
described superbly in Two Years Before the
Mast (Dana 1965) and the rapid developments
following it. Accordingly, a section deals



Figure 5.18. Overall view of exposed wreckage. NPS photo by
Reed McCluskey.

“4

Figure 5.19. 1984 view of wreckage. NPS photo by Reed McCluskey.

90




newspaper account of the wreck of the Helene
as "Andine."

Fishhook
2-1893
Trade Not Known

This vessel is also mentioned in the Helene
article, with no details whatever of the event.
The name suggests the vessel was engaged in
fishing.

Liberty
1876-1895
Supply Sloop for San Miguel Island

Gross Tonnage 13.41 tons
Net Tonnage 12.74 tons
Length 34.6 feet
Beam 13.8 feet
Depth 4.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 140174
Construction wood

Historical Record

Numerous short entries in the Santa
Barbara Morning Press indicate a busy life for
the Liberty, carrying supplies to San Miguel
and returning with wool and sheep. One
particularly rough trip from Santa Barbara
began with calm winds that required the vessel
to take two days to work west along the coast
to El Capitan. The northwesterlies picked up
on the third day, increasing so violently that
when the boat had almost reached the island,
waves swept overboard a member of the crew,
an Indian named Augustine Ybarra. Although
the crew threw an oar to him, they could not
save him. Forced to take shelter at Johnson's
Lee on Santa Rosa Island, the Liberty finally
reached San Miguel Island a day later (SBMP,

151

June 14, 1891), The bare possibility that
Ybarra might have reached Santa Rosa Island
alive was squashed when the Santa Rosa
returned from Becher's Bay with no report of
the lost crewman (SBMP, June 18, 1891).

The Liberty may have sunk as a result of
the Cuyler Harbor landslide of 1895 (Johnson
1972:287). A wave generated by the sudden
subsidence of a portion of the shoreline into
the harbor wrenched the Liberty from the
double anchors sometime during the evening
of March 28.

Her crew discovered her pounding in
pieces on the southeast shore of the
harbor. Fragments of the vessel
strewed the beach for half a mile but
her frame was still intact. A careful
inspection revealed the curious fact
that her bow had been stove in as if
the boat had received a sharp blow
from beneath the water and her
mainmast lay amidships along her
deck pointing sternwards. The anchor
chains were wound around her keel as
if the sloop had been rolled over and
over and the anchors were but fifteen
feet away, half buried in the sand.
The wreck was found three quarters
of a mile from the place where the
vessel had been anchored [LAT, April
9, 1895].

The chart for Cuyler Harbor, 1930
edition, bears the notation "surveyed from
1858 to 1896" (Figure 8.1) and clearly shows
a slump area due west of the anchorage and an
extensive area of projecting beach that is no
longer present. This represents the location of
the 1895 landslide (Figure 8.2), which must
have created a very large wave proceeding out
from a lee shore to the anchored vessel. An
area just 250 yards north of this landslide let


by the captain to stop the ship. He did
so, and was signaled his relief when
some one shouted down the hatch,
"For God's sake, start her up or we
will be upon the rocks." The captain
also signaled to go ahead, but in a

season in a few days {LAT, August 28,
1899].

A short article in the Santa Barbara News
Press of October 11, 1949, a column entitled
"Fifty Years Ago—11 Oct 1899," provides

moment, a terrible shock threw the
engineer over his engine, and the next
minute a rolling lurch threw him
violently against the wall.

Running on deck, the engineer saw the
captain and crew, save one man,
making away from the ship. The
schooner had three skiffs and a boat in
tow, and the men had cut loose in

these. Every instant the engineer
expected a blow up, but his

companions, seizing an old Mauser
rifle near by, loaded it, and pointing it
at the captain, ordered him to return.
The men were taken off and later the
boat which got off the rock went down
in twenty feet of water. The accident
means a delay to the crawfish cannery
here [LAT, August 24, 1899].

information on the demise of the Magic.

The schooner Santa Rosa arrived from
the scene of the gasoline schooner
wreck near Santa Rosa Island and
reports that a thorough inspection
reveals that the keel is gone in part,
including the iron shoe, two plank
butts are started, and the rudder post
is broken. The machinery is in good
condition, and the 22 horse power
engine is not injured in the least. The
schooner Magic lies in a convenient
position in a little bay, with a sandy
bottom, and will be offered for sale as
she lays. The mainsail, boom
mainsail, boom and gaff, and the
foresail, boom and gaff were brought
to port in Santa Barbara and will go
with the Magic in case she is sold.

The schooner Santa Rosa brought the crew
back to Santa Barbara (wreck report). The
loss of the schooner caused repercussions at
the cannery:

Finally, the Los Angeles Times September
15, 1899, reported:

Marine Insurance Inspector L. H.

The loss of the schooner Magic which
went on the rocks last week and now
lies at the bottom of the channel of the
islands, has thrown the crawfish
cannery back a week, and left a large
number of people out of employment
for that length of time. The sloop
Restless of this port has been chartered
by the owners of the cannery to bring
crawfish from the Channel Islands and
will arrive with the first cargo of the

155

Turner and party of wreckers arrived
today from the scene of the wrecked
schooner Magic at Rancho Viejo Bay,
Santa Rosa Island, and report that it
will be impossible to raise the Magic.
Her entire keel has been carried away.
The Magic ran ashore under what
were considered suspicious
circumstances some time ago, and the
insurance men have been investigating
the matter. She will be sold as she
lies for her machinery and old iron,



CHAPTER It

Prehistory through the Gold Rush

Juan Cabrillo, exploring for Spain, was the
first Europea: to contact an impressive people
now known as the Chumash, who lived in
settled communities along the mainland shores
of the Santa Barbara Channel and on the
islands. Developers of an elaborate and
complex way of life, the Chumash intrigue
anthropologists because their culture derived
entirely from a hunting and gathering base.
Maritime products figured prominently in
Chumash subsistence, and their key implement
for fishing was the tomol, or plank canoe, an
item they shared with their neighbors to the
east, the Gabrielenos. The tomol impressed
the early Spaniards enormously:

The expertness and skill of these
Indians is unsurpassed in the
construction of their canoes of pine
boards... . They fasten the boards
firmly together, making holes at

qual distances apart one inch from

the edge, matching each other in the
upper and lower boards, and through
these holes they pass stout thongs of
deer sinews. They pitch and caulk
the seams, and paint the whole with

15

bright colors. They handle them
with equal skill, and three or four
men go out to sea to fish in
them. ... They use long double-
bladed oars, and row” with
indescribable agility and swiftness
{Costanso in Roberts and Shackleton
1983}.

By all accounts these vessels were swift,
maneuverable, handy in surf, and generally
seaworthy. Employed for fishing and travel
between the islands and the mainland, tomols
were a key technological element in Chumash
culture. Correspondingly, the construction
and use of the tomol figured in a web of
social, economic, and religious relationships
that pervaded Chumash society.

The tomol was not the only watercraft
utilized by the Chumash; they also employed
three- and five-bundle tule balsas and dugout

canoes. The Chumash ‘yprcally launched

these craft only in lagoons and other sheltered
waters, although Harrington (1978) states that
tule boats did make cross-channel trips.

The tomol, unique among native North
American watercraft in being constructed of


"A-1370" failed to heave-to and it was
then apparent to the Officer-in-charge,
CG-254, that she was loaded with
contraband and endeavoring to escape.
The Officer-in-charge fired 59 rounds
of one-pounders making six direct hits,
one through her pilot house and
another at her starboard waterline,
doing considerable damage and
partially disabling the "A-1370." At
the same time, Mo.M.M.2c Edward
O. Caliouette manned the machine gun
from the top of the pilot-house,
expending ten magazines and making
numerous hits. The "A-1370" was
now disabled to such an extent that it
headed for the Island to avoid sinking
and was run ashore at 10:50 a.m. on a
rocky beach about one and one-half
miles east of Valley Anchorage, Santa
Cruz Island.

The  Officer-in-charge, CG-254,
immediately lowered the dinghy and
boarded the rum-runner. A moderate
surf was running at the time and the
rum-runner was swamped and partially
submerged. It was ascertained that the
"A-1370" was loaded with
approximately two hundred (200) sacks
of imported whiskey, two of which
were removed and placed aboard the
CG-254 for evidence of violation of
Section 593-A, Tariff Act of 1922.
Near the wreck, two oak half-barrels
(about twenty gallons each) of liquor
were found floating and they were also
placed aboard the CG-254.

The CG-254 then reported the seizure
to the base by radio-telephone and
requested the assistance of another
patrol boat with a dory, a dory being

161

more suitable for unloading the
beached rum-runner. The CG-254,
while standing by the rum-runner for
four hours, endeavored to unload or
two off the beached vessel from the
rocks but this could not be
accomplished.

Up to this time no person had
been sighted on the "A-1370"
and it was presumed that the
operator of same had escaped
ashore at the time she was
beached and accordingly parties
were sent out by the CG-254 to
capture him. The first two
parties found no trace of
anyone, but the third party,
consisting of Mo.M.M.2c
Edward O. Caliouette, found a
man hidden between some
boulders about thirty yards from
the "A-1370" and brought him
aboard the CG-254 at 2:30
His clothing being
still wet from the surf and the
fact that he was hiding led the
Officer-in-charge to believe that
he was the operator of the "A-
1370" and he was accordingly
arrested as such.

At 12:30 p.m., 13 November, the
CG-259 was sent from the Base to
assist the CG-254. The CG-259
arrived at the scene of the seizure at
11:30 p.m. to return to the Base. A
heavy surf prevented the CG-259 from
doing any work toward saving the
cargo of the seized rum-runner that
night, but the following morning, at
6:30 a.m., they began to unload the
liquor from the "A-1370" in a heavy


Ship Name

Pan Pacific
Equator

W. T. Co. No. 3
Dora Bluhm
Peacock

Comet

JM Colman
Shasta (fragment)
W.T. & B. Co. No. 60
Watson A West
Jane L Stanford
George E Billings
Winfield Scott
Beulah*

Yankee Blade (fragment)
Aggi

Goldenhorn
Crown of England
Cuba

Anubis*
Chickasaw
Liebre*

Aristocratis*

Tonnage

226
238
264
330.44
370 (dspl)
429
463
722
738
818
970
1260
1291
1389
1767
1898
1914.78
2574
3168.8
4763
6131
7057

7191

217

Island
ANI
ANI
SMI
SRI
SCI
SMI
SMI-PB
SRI
SRI
SMI
SRI
ANI?
ANI
ANI
SRI
SRI
SRI
SRI
SMI-PB
SMI
SRI
ANI

SRI



igure $31. Jane L Stanford at sca with a deck load of lumber. Photo
courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NFP.

100


Smuggling: ‘The Unspoken 7

Richard Henry Dana first discussed
smuggling in the Santa Barbara Channel. By
the very nature of smuggling, vessels involved
in the trade keep a low profile and leave a thin
paper trail. We, therefore, know little about
the specifics of smuggling. As an overall
view of the practice, the following article is as
timely today as when it was first written, even
though the specific items smuggled have
changed with the years (the racial and personal
slurs were typical of local journalism of the
period).

OPIUM SMUGGLING

Santa Barbara Channel Murnishes
Many Opportunitics

Recent developments indicate that the
gang of opium smugglers, known to be
strung on the Pacilic coast, has found
a new field of operations along the
shores of the Santa Barbara
Channel—and, all things considered,
the wonder is that the field was not
found long ago. Possibly, indeed, it
was.

There is no telling how much of the
drug might have found its way into the
San Francisco market by this route, for
the revenue officials are proverbially
—sometime interestedly--slow, and
smuggling may be going on ina given
locality for years before any
knowledge of the fact comes to the
authorities. The channel route, away
from the hurry and bustle of the large
ports north and south, is as quiet as
could be desired for the business.

180

Only the coastwise steamers, with an

casional lumber schooner and here
and there a fishing vessel, disturb the
smooth waters that lie between the
Santa Barbara Islands and the main
land, and those islands themselves,
several of them deserted rocks
inhabited only during a part of the
year by Chinnese [sic] fishermen, and
honey-combed with wave-worn caves,
afford a thousand hiding places for the
drug. There are secure anchorages
that revenue vessels never think to
visit, and here could lie all
unperccived the swift little schooners
that ply in or out to sea to meet the
China steamers in the night and take
off the stuff upon which it is not
desired to pay duty. Running back to
the island anchorages, nothing is
easier than lo beat across the channel
and land the opium either at Ventura
or Santa Barbara or at some point
between those towns.

Nobody is on watch there—for,
although there is an agent of the
collector of the port of Wilmington
resident at Ventura, his duties require
him to cover also the towns of
Hueneme and Santa Barbara, and he is
a sleepy old fossil anyway, whose
ideas run vastly more upon what he is
to have for the next day's dinner than
upon the preservation of Uncle Sam's
interests. So long as he draws his
salary, he thinks that he has
discharged his every obligation to the
government. Once landed, of course,
the drug passes into the hands of the
Chinese, who are numerous
thereabouts, and the litte brown men


14. Hal Rothman. The Bandelier National
Monument: An Administrative History.
Division of History, 1988.

15. James E. Ivey. In the Mist of A
Loneliness: The Architectural History of the
Salinas Missions, Salinas Pueble Missions
National Monument Historic Structure Report.
Division of History, 1988.

16. Richard W. Sellars and Melody Webb.
An Interview with Robert M. Utley on the
History of Historic Preservation in the
National Park Service--1947-1980. Division
of History, 1988.

17. Laura S. Harrison and Beverley Spears,
Historic Structures Report, Chinle Trading
Post, Thunderbird Ranch and Custodian's
Residence, Canyon de Chelly National
Monument, Arizona. Division of History,
1988.

18. James P. Delgado and Stephen A. Haller.
Submerged Cultural Resources
Assessment: Golden Gate National Recreation
Area, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine
Sanctuary and Point Reyes National Seashore.
Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, 1989.

19. Judith K. Fabry. Guadalupe Mountains
National Park: An Administrative History.
Division of History, 1988.

20. Peter J. McKenna and Scott E. Travis.
Archeological Investigations at Thunderbird
Lodge. Division of Anthropology, 1989.

21. Peter J. McKenna and James E. Bradford.
The T. J. Ruin, Gila Cliff Dwellings. Division
of Anthropology, 1989.

243

22. C. Patrick Labadie. Submerged Cultural
Resources Study: Pictured Rocks National
Lakeshore. Submerged Cultural Resources
Unit, 1989.

23. Daniel J. Lenihan, Editor. Submerged
Cultural Resources Study: USS Arizona
Memorial and Pearl Harbor National Historic
Landmark. Submerged Cultural Resources
Unit, 1989.

24. Robert H. and Florence P. Lister. Aztec
Ruins National Monument: Administrative
History of an Archeological Preserve.
Division of History, 1990.

25. Jill-Karen Yakubik. Archeological
Investigations of Six Spanish Colonial Period
Sites: Barataria Unit, Jean Lafitte National
Historical Park and Preserve. Division of
Anthropology, 1989.

26. Herschel A. Franks and Jill-Karen
Yakubik. Archaeological Survey on 65 Acres
of Land Adjacent to Bayou des Familles:
Barataria Unit, Jean Lafitte National
Historical Park and Preserve. Division of
Anthropology, 1989,

27. Walter K. Wait and Peter J. McKenna.

Quarai Parking Lot Rehabilitation:
Archeological Testing Program, Salinas
National — Monument. Division of

Anthropology, 1990.

28. Diane Taylor, Lyndi Hubbell, Nancy
Wood and Barbara Fielder. The 1977 La
Mesa Fire Study: An Investigation of Fire and
Fire Suppression Impact on Cultural
Resources in Bandelier National Monument.
Division of Anthropology, 1990.


Official Nature of
Ship Name Number Island Year Casual;
Shasta (fragment) 200714 SRI 1906 stranded
Shoshoni 278356 SRI 1967 stranded
Sierra 262656 SCI 1972 stranded
St Anne of the Sunset -— ~~ - —-
Standard Nut 260204 SRI 1969 stranded
Thornton _ — 1910? -
Trilogy 292480 SCI 1966 stranded
Typhoon _ SCI 1931 stranded
Undine 25277 SCI 1890 capsized
Unity 218553 SCI 1922 burned
Unnamed Sailboat ~ SCI 1972 sank
Vineth 239460 SCI 1961 stranded
W. T. Co. No. 3 171619 SMI 1935 sank
Wampas aka - SCI 1926 stranded
Grey Ghost
Warrior 211956 SMI 1967 sank
Watson A West 81782 SMI 1923 stranded
White Cap —_ SCI 1966 —
White Star —- ~~ we _
Winfield Scott _ ANI 1853 stranded
W.T. & B. Co. No. 60 166821 SRI 1931 demolition
Yankee Blade (fragment) --- SRI 1854 stranded
Yukon 219965 scl 1938 fire-collision

Ship Type
other
fishing

fishing

fishing

yacht

yacht

fishing
yacht
fishing
barge

rum runner

fishing

lumber

passenger
barge
passenger

fishing


Historical Record
A short newspaper article reports:

The launch P. Firmin, Captain Short,
brought word to this city yesterday of
the wreck of the sloop Sealion on
Santa Cruz Island. The vessel is a
total loss, but the crew were all saved
The Sealion is owned by a Japanese
company, and has been engaged in the
abalone trade in the channel for some
time past. Owing to defective ground
tackle, she drified onto the rocks at
Dick's harbor during a heavy blow a
day or so ago and broke up in short

order [SMBP, October 26, 1906}.

Natoma
1914-1919
Fishing Sloop

Gross Tonnage 26 tons
Net Tonnage 17 tons
Length 47.5 feet
Beam 14 feet
Depth 6.2 feet
Decks one
Official Number 209087
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Natoma was a fishing sloop, with a
gasoline engine for propulsion. ‘The vessel
was built in Santa Barbara and was ng
about four miles off Santa Barbara Island
when a fire of unknown origin gutted the
vessel (wreck report). ‘The Komie Maru,
another fishing vessel, saved the crew and
stood by while the Natoma burned to the

watcr's edge and sank. MVUS gives the
wreck location as Santa Barbara not Santa
Barbara Island.

Unity
1919-1922
Fishing Boat

Gross Tonnage 40 tons
Net Tonnage 32 tons
Length 60.6 feet
Beam 15.2 feet
Depth 6.9 feet
Decks one
Official Number 218533
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Unity was built’ in’ Bellingham,
Washington, and registered in Seattle (MVUS
1922). On August 25, 1922, the vessel burned
at the “southeast end of Santa Cruz Island,
Calif." (MVUS 1923). The wreck report
gives the location as “4% miles south of
Smuggler's Cove," stating the fire was caused
by a backfire in the engine.

Eagle and OK
1923
Fishing and Lobster Boats

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage ~
Length
Beam
Depth
Decks
Olticial Number o
Construction wood

No statistics are available for the OK.


Zingara
1920-1931
Yacht

Gross Tonnage 23 tons
Net Tonnage 11 tons
Length 52.0 feet
Beam 14.6 feet
Depth 6.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 219887
Construction wood

Historical Record

While owned by W. H. Yule, the Zingara
had crossed the Atlantic twice to visit Europe.
Four months after Frank Conroy purchased
the vessel, it caught fire and exploded "30
miles off the Santa Monica coast" (SBMP,
November 12, 1931) or "off Anacapa Island"
(MVUS 1931). Conroy stated the accident was
“just bad luck"; he intended to buy another
craft in the spring. The crew of two were
saved by a navy boat. Described as a
"Gloucester schooner" (SBMP, November 15,
1931), the vessel was built in Thomaston,
Maine. According to MVUS (1930), the
Zingara was powered by a gasoline engine.

Swan
1931-1932
Diesel Yacht
Gross Tonnage 20 tons
Net Tonnage 16 tons
Length 42.5 feet
Beam 11.9 feet
Depth 5.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 230938
Construction wood

163

Historical Record

The Swan was licensed as a yacht on June
22, 1931, owned by "Newhouse Incorporated,
Ltd" of Long Beach. C. H. Newhouse was
listed as master. According to MVUS (1933),
the Swan burned at Santa Cruz Island on
October 17, 1932, with three on board. The
license for the vessel gives the wreck date as
October 12, 1932, and specifies Frys Harbor
as the anchorage. The crew was rescued by a
nearby fishing vessel, the A-115.

Bar-bee
Dates Unknown
Prohibition Era Rum Runner(?)

Historical Record

According to local tradition, this vessel
probably resides in deep water near Cat Rock,
West Anacapa Island. Attempts to find it have
been unsuccessful so far.

Kinkajou
1930s
Yacht

The information on this vessel was
graciously volunteered by Henry Kilgraff
Workman, Jr.:

Kinkajou ... drifted onto the rocks one
night at Pelican Cove, Santa Cruz
Island. Evidently the crew had a bit
too much to drink, and the wind came
up in the middie of the night.
Kinkajou was owned by Donald
Douglas, founder of Douglas Aircraft
Company. My grandfather sailed
frequently with Mr. Douglas, and was
on board when this occurred. He and


Anubis
1898-1908 +
Cargo Steamer

Gross Tonnage 4,763 tons
Net Tonnage 3,897 tons
Length 382 feet
Beam 48.2 feet
Depth 26.2
Decks two
Official Number -—
Construction steel

Historical Record

J, L. Thompson & Sons of Sunderland,
England, built the Anubis, ex-Luciana. The
Kosmos Line of Hamburg, Germany, owned
and operated the ship. A triple-expansion
engine powered the vessel, which had electric
lighting (Haller and Kelly 1987).

On the trip during which the Anubis
grounded on San Miguel Island—a passage
from Tacoma, Washington, to Hamburg—the
vessel had already experienced misfortune. In
San Francisco, three crewmen were detained
by United States authorities for an assault on
Chief Officer Johannes Dohrn; and while
departing San Francisco, the Anubis missed
colliding with the steamer Cecil by a mere 10
feet (San Pedro Daily Pilot, July 21 and July
30, 1908). More was to come.

On July 20, 1908, the vessel stranded near
San Miguel Island, off course due to a faulty
compass and fog. Some early newspaper
accounts and one of the two wreck reports for
the Anubis located the wreck site “on a reef of
death between Santa Rosa and San Miguel
Islands" (San Pedro Daily News, July 21,
1908), but the stranding actually occurred
between Castle Rock (Flea Island) and San
Miguel Island. The Anubis grounded less than

41

2 miles away from the lumber schooner JM
Colman, which wrecked three years earlier.

The Anubis struck the rock at 12:15
o'clock Monday morning, while
running at eight knots through a heavy
fog. For a mile before the disaster,
the keel moved through a bed of kelp.
Captain Von Salzen was asleep at the
time. He had left word that he should
be called if fog was encountered, but
this order was disobeyed... . The
accident is directly attributable to the
fact that the ship's compass was
defective. . . . There was a panic on
board following the crash as the crew
thought there had been an explosion
of dynamite, a large quantity of which
was stored in the hold. A few pieces
of this did explode, but did no damage
as compared with that which followed
the terrific impact of the ship against
the rock [Los Angeles Examiner, July
23, 1908].

Captain Von Salzen, once he had decided
that the vessel was hard aground, dispatched
First Mate Dohrn, Third Mate Karl Loewe,
and seven seamen to seek help. The lifeboat
landed at Point Conception, wrecking in the
surf. The lighthouse keeper there telegraphed
for tugs from San Francisco, San Pedro,
Redondo, and Port Harford [San Luis Obispo]
(San Pedro Daily News, July 22, 1908).
Several vessels responded, including the
Charm, from "Vaviota" (Gaviota, near Santa
Barbara), the Redondo, from Redondo Beach,
and, eventually, the revenue cutter Manning.

First reports stated that the Anubis would
be a total loss. Only Captain Von Salzen
remained aboard the wreck while the rest of
the crew camped on Flea Island, about three-
quarters of a mile to the southwest of the



staterooms here, a bath and toilet
room, pantry, etc. [Humboldt
Standard, December 20, 1892].

A barkentine is a vessel whose foremast
carries square sails and that has at least two
aftermasts rigged with fore and aft sails,
schooner fashion. The rig attempts to
combine the downwind ability of the square-
rigger with the handiness of a schooner. A
two-masted vessel rigged in this manner is a
brigantine.

Launched with a capacity of 1,200,000
board feet, the Jane L Stanford was employed
in the trans-Pacific lumber trade (Figure
5.31). Its barkentine rigging increased the
speed on these predominantly downwind runs.
The ship's first voyage was to Sydney,
Australia, under managing owner J. J. Smith
of San Francisco, and the vessel carried

lumber (Humboldt Standard, December 20,
1892). It traveled to numerous Pacific ports
(China, Australia, Hawaii) with
occasional coastwise passages to southern
California. The Jane L Stanford recorded
voyages do not include any coastwise passages
to southern California. While it is nowhere
stated explicitly, the Jane L Stanford might
have carried cargoes of coal outbound from
Australian ports and sugar from Hawaii to San
Francisco, a typical triangular trade for that
time, although transporting coal in wooden
vessels was not a safe practice.

Carol Jung, the captain's daughter, lived
on board the Jane L Stanford during this
period for the first 7 years of her life. She
recalls flowers growing in pots in the cabin
skylights and brass polished daily in a bright,
cheery, clean, and well-maintained vessel that
rarely encountered storms during voyages. As

Figure 5.28. Jane L Stanford at Dollarton, British Columbia. Photo courtes

Maritime NHP.

y of San Francisco


Figure 4.22. Documenting the Cuba, San Miguel [sland. NPS photo by Mark
Norder.

¥igure 4.23. Another view of the Cuba's engines. A diver
can easily swim through the openings below the expansion
chambers. NPS photo by Mark Norder.

60


Santa
4 Barbary,
Diablo Point ra Channel

West Point Profile Point ‘ Platts Harbor

Twin Harbors

{Pelican Bay Potato Harbor
NN Prisoner's Harbor 56°77

Point

Fraser}
Point o>

Scorpion Harbor

Fomey's Cove i Coche Point Hungeyman San Peco
Black Poist an
Ching Harbor Gulch in
# Devils Peak . Smuggler’s Cove
. Yellow banks
Kinton Point nta Cruz nchorage

a Center idle Anchorage
Sandstone Point
Valley Anchorage

s Morse Point ay ne ae
%, - Bowen Point

nen eae i a Willows Anchorage

Corral P

2 bay Laguna Harbo
nay

° 5 10 kilometers
ea
6 5 16 alles

Figure 2.4. Santa Cruz Island.

Landing Cove arch
Oo ca
__- West Anacapa / Rock
a“ re

‘ Anai Light
Summit Peak. capa Light

Frenchy's East Anacapa

Cove

Cat Rock

0 2 kilometers

2 miles

Figure 2.5. Anacapa Island.



Figure 5.5. Mapping the wreck scatter, Northwest Cove, Point Bennett, San Miguel Island,
October 1989. Most of the wreckage is exposed only during the minus tide, and even then,
marine growth conceals many pieces of wreckage. NPS photo by Mark Norder.

During the 1990 visit, archeologists
located two iron hawse pipes, each 3 feet long
with an interior diameter of 9 inches. Also
found were additional winch parts and massive
wheels fitted for pulling chain. On this visit,
a metal detector indicated numerous additional
metallic objects buried in the rocky intertidal
area near the donkey engine parts. Matthew
Russell of East Carolina University initiated a
more intensive study of this wreck scatter,
along with those of the Comet and the Dora
Bluhm, in October 1993.

This wreck scatter is tentatively identified

71

as that of the J M Colman primarily on the
basis of the donkey engine, which the JM
Colman carried, the large hawse pipes, and
the very large timbers with the appropriate
size iron drifts. Figure 5.6, the historic
photograph, indicates wreckage in the area
earlier than 1911, so the material cannot be
from either the Watson A West, which
wrecked in 1923, or the Comet, which had
just wrecked to the north and was
photographed at the same time. The material
located seems to be entirely too large and
massive for the G W Prescott.


OAH
we

16

Wun
mn

19
5.20
5.21
5.22
5.23
5.24
5.25
5.26
5.27
5.28
5.29
5.30
5.31
5.32
5.33
61
71
7.2
73
74
15
71.6
V7
8.1
8.2

2
3

8.4

wn

Driftwood camp at Point Bennett, San Miguel Island, ca. 1911.26... eee 4
Probable JM Colman wreck scatter .

Mapping the wreck scatter, Northwest Cove, Point Bennett, San Miguel Island... 77
Additional view of driftwood at Northwest Cove, Point Bennett .........6+-.++ 78
Probable Dora Bhim wreck scatter... ee eee 81
Weathered wreckage fragment pertaining to Dora Blusm, Cluster Point ......-6 83
Overall view of Cluster Point, Santa Rosa fsland, looking southwest ........+.- 83

Mast band recycled as a fireplace ring
Hlawse pipe in the rocks 2.0... eee ee

Rudder post and yoke, Cluster Point : 85
End view of the rudder yoke 0.0. eee tee eens . 85
Schooner Comet docked with a load of lumber... 60.60.62 87
Comet at Santa Barbara, 1905 00... 06 tees ... 88
Comet aground at Simonton Cove oo... 56s e terete teeter e teense 89
Anchor and background at Simonton Cove... 06.0652 2s renee esters 89
Overall view of exposed wr C 90

1984 view of wreckage ....
1984 closcup of capstan...
Unidentified lady on foredeck of Comet...
Another view of Comer
Unidentified man on Comet foredeck . 6.0.0... tte ee tees
Hulda and Otto Lembke aboard Comet... 0.6.00 c ee eee teen nee
Watson A West, location unidentified ....
Captain Sorensen on deck of Watson A West
Launching of Jane L Stanford . .
Jane L Stanford at Dollarton, British Columbia Deeb eee ete t ete teens
Jane L Stanford, Puget Sound, ca. 1910-1915
Cabin of Jane L Stanford... ccc eens
Jane ft. Stanford at sea with a deck load of lumber
‘This knee is attached below the surface to a section of the hull
Map of the exposed wreckage of Jane L Stanford .....
Hull section partially exposed near the picr, Becher
Deck plan of a purse seiner
Generalized sketch of a purs
Diagram accompanying cruise report of Aurora showing, method of rescue ..... 128
Equator propeller shaft exposed during a minus tide .... 0... cee eee eee 132
A little deeper in the cave lies Equator propeller .
San Giuseppe burning near Anacapa Island . .
Pacific underway l'ebruary 22, 1932.
Cuyler's Harbor, 1858 to 1896. .
1895 landslide debris ......
1895 landslide area, ca. 1990
Blue Fin at dock 45, San Francisco, January 3, 19386 cee cece eee ees 165

xil




South Point on Santa Rosa Island on
February 7, 1962 (Figure 4.25).

The grounding of the Chickasaw was at
first overshadowed by an impending marine
disaster of far greater proportions for southern
California readers—for a brief period actress
Jayne Mansfield was reported lost at sea
during a Bahamas vacation. But by February
9, the Los Angeles Times reported the
grounding and stated that the vessel was in
"no immediate danger” while vessels standing
by awaited better weather before trying to free
the Chickasaw.

Better weather conditions never occurred;
mud slides and floods in southern California
became national news items. Three days later,
newspapers reported the transfer of 32
crewmen and
buoy over 8-foot swells to Santa Rosa Island.
From this small beach, all but four crewmen
climbed up the steep slopes and walked to

four passengers via a breeches

Johnson's Lee, assisted by personnel of the
669th Air Control and Warning Squadron.
From there, all transferred to a Coast Guard
cutter and traveled to Santa Barbara. The four
nontrekking crewmen sheltered in a small
building nearby (perhaps the South Point
Light) and left via helicopter the next day.

On that day, February 13, swells
described as shooting as high as the
bridge pummeled the ship parallel to the shore
and shoved it further onto the rocks. On the
following day, February 14, the Los Angeles
Times published a photograph captioned
"Hopelessly Aground," showing the vessel in
essentially its present location.

Subsequent photographs of the Chickasaw
over the years pay tribute to its sturdy welded
construction. The ship has disintegrated far
more slowly than any other vessel wrecked in
the park, even though the area on which the
vessel became stranded is not well sheltered.

Figure 4.26. Chickasaw in December 1982. By the end of the winter, the stack on the
amidships section of the wreck would be deposited on shore, where it remains today. NPS
photo by Don Morris.



APPENDIX C

VESSELS LISTED BY GROSS TONNAGE

Ship Name Tonnage Island
Chappo 5.67 SCI
Dolphin IV 6 SCI
Eros 7 ANI
Trilogy 7 SCI
Marimari 8 SCI

Leader 9.96 SMI
Glady I 1 Scl
Pinocchio sal ANI
H.T. P. Co. IX 12 SBI
Joan 12 SCI
Isabella 12.8 SMI-C
Carol 0 13 SRI
Marie 13 SCI
Sierra 13 scl
Liberty 13.41 SMI-C
Cinnamon Bear 14 SCI
Dawn 14 ANI
Eileen D 14 SRI
Nellie 14 SCI


Liberty. See eee eee seve eee eee. ES]
Chappo oo... Lee Lea bee 153
Helene oo. Se 153
Magic ...... a Fee eee o.. 154
SMa ROSH ee 12. 1S6
Dawn oo... Lae Pee an an 156
Francine... Se eee... LST
Shasta o.oo... Fen bee 2... 57
Sea Foam oo. rn 1S7
dren@ so, Se ee tae tae : oo... 158
Nellie Sees . bee oe... 158
International 1. Lee Lee Le eee . 159
HLT PL COX ee fee eee ee. 159
Lous See See eee ... 160
Wampas (A-1370) aka Grey Ghost. 2.000 ee eee .... [60
W. T. and B. Co. No. 6€0...0.0..0..00..., bee 162
Typhoon 06... See eee .. 162
Zingara oo bee cee .... 163
SWAN ee . 163
Bar-bee eee eee eee Lee 163
Kinkajou .... S163
W. T. Co. No. 3 on See Se eee 164
City of Sausalito oo. fee Fee . ... 164
Blue Fin See eect ee ee eee : fee eee. 165
Grumman Avenger (Airplane)... 0... . Sees ... 165
Seaborn oo 0... See an cere eee. 166
Billcona so... See Fe ee Fee 167
Aurora... oo... . Se oe. 168
Corsair. Se 168
Grumman AP-2W Guardian (Airplane) . . cee See ee 2. 168
Adore... 0... ee a Fee Lae 172
Sea hion oo... 0000. Pee Pee eee eee eee. 172
Marie oo rn .. 173
Santa Crug. 00. Fee 173
Elaine oo... 0... See See . 17S
Trilogy oo, fee fe Be eee 175
EYOS 20. Se Fe ee 176
White Cap oo... Fee ee .. Le 2... 176
Legend oe See en 2... 176
Nimbus 3... .. Se eee eee oe. 176
Black Dolphin 0.00000 cee a Fee 177
Marimari fae oe See Fee vee eee ee. 177



Figure $.27. Launching of Jane L Stanford. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

Hist

Mans Bendixsen built the four-masted
barkentine Jane L. Stanford at Pair'
California, in 1892 (Figures 5.27, 5.28, 5.29
and 5,30). Although frequently cited as the
largest vessel constructed on the West Coast at
the time it was built (Lyman 1941), it was
exceeded by at least 100 tons by the
Wildwood, built in Oregon some 20. years
earlier (Whitman 1989; Hopkins 1874).

The v
appearance

beautiful
She is

| presented a
this morning

96

painted dark grcen on the outside to
the waterline, below which she is
copper painted... . The vessel is
fitted with the latest steam hoisting
and pumping apparatus. ‘The sails
will also be raised by steam. In the
forward deckhouse, the donkey engine
is located: the galley in front of the
engine room, and the sailor's quarters
forward, The cabins are
elegantly finished in maple, walnut,
and oak and will be furnished in a like
manner. The after-cabin is finished in
whiie and gold. There are six



Shipyard, Baltimore, from which it was
launched in July 1943, equipped with triple-
expansion engines from General Machinery
Corporation. The vessel was known as the
Aristocratis until 1951, when it became the
San Roque. Later registered as the Aghios
Spyridon and the San Spyridon, the vessel was
scrapped in Shanghai in December 1968
(Sawyer and Mitchell 1985:46).

Archeological survey might reveal coal
from this vessel along the coast near Johnson's
Lee, although there is no specific mention of
any cargo dumping during the rescue of the
Aristocratis.

Patria
1944-(1954)-1964?
Freighter
Gross Tonnage 7,217 tons
Net Tonnage 5,063 tons

Length 424 feet, 6 inches
Beam 57 feet, 2 inches
Depth 34 feet, 9 inches
Decks two

Official Number 73062
Construction steel

Historical Record

The Patria was alleged to have been a
Liberty ship (Barksdale 1989), but no such
vessel name appears in Sawyer and Mitchell
(1985), either as an original construction name
or as a later renaming. The Patria is
doubtless confused with the Aristocratis,
which was a Liberty ship. The Patria,
actually a Canadian vessel, was launched in
1944 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and
was originally named Moose Mountain Park.
The vessel had also been known as Benoil and
Conqueror in a relatively short career (RAFS
1954), This source reports that the vessel

63

carried a direction finder and a Fathometer.
A triple-expansion engine powered the vessel.
Lloyd's Registry, 1963-1964 edition, gives
later names for this vessel of Running Eagle
and Patapsco River, the latter apparently
Patria's final designation.

Barksdale (1989) reports that the Patria
ran aground near Skunk Point, Santa Rosa
Island, on June 21, 1954, while steaming in
dense fog. It was carrying 10,000 tons of coal
from Norfolk, Virginia, to Yokohama, Japan.
At this time, Lloyd's had recently assigned the
vessel a "100A1" rating (RAFS 1954). The
Patria was eventually freed from the shoal.
People from the ranch on the island found coal
washed up on the beaches south of Skunk
Point in subsequent years (Lulis Cuevas,
personal communication, 1992). NPS divers
recovered two small fragments of coal from
this area in 1995.

Chickasaw

1942-1962

Freighter
Gross Tonnage 6,131 tons
Net Tonnage 3,567 tons
Length 439 feet
Beam 63.1 feet
Depth 27.5 feet
Decks --
Official Number 241993
Construction steel (welded)

Historical Record

The vessel that was to become the
Chickasaw saw long military service. Laid
down two days after Pearl Harbor, the
Thurston (AP-77) was commissioned on
September 19, 1942. Fitted as an auxiliary
transport, the vessel participated in the
invasion of North Africa, the invasion of


Figure 8.8. Sana Cruz underway near Santa Barbara, August 14, 1929. Photo courtesy of

Sherman Library and Archives.

the condition of the channel, will begin
the shipment of cattle to Santa Rosa
Island, the first consignment of
Arizona stock for Vail and Vickers
island rangers having arrived. The
cattle were taken on the wharf last
evening, and will be loaded on the
Santa Rosa schooner early _ this
morning, about 200 head being carried
at each trip.

The Santa Cruz island schooner came
in yesterday with a cargo of wine,
walnuts, and almonds, products of the
island ranches, and returned in the
afternoon for a cargo of sheep (SBMP,
November 23, 1906).

174

The log entries show the Santa Cruz
carried a wide variety of cargo and all sorts of
visitors, including soldiers during WW IL.
The vessel was truly a sea going pickup truck,
just like the ships serving the islands today.

The Santa Cruz stranded while running in
the fog at Rincon Point, due to a defective
compass on September 19, 1913. Captain
George Nidever and two crew rowed all night
to reach Santa Barbara, having no idea of their
location. Several salvage attempts resulted in
suc on December 19 when the vessel was
winched off the rocks and towed to San Pedro
for repairs. It was the following spring before
the Santa Cruz returned to service. The long
history of this vessel ended when the ship was
caught by a Santa Ana wind, a link in the



seamen

. Anvother view of the Comet. Much of the deck load remains. Photo
anta Barbara Museum of Natural Eistory

Figure 5.22
courtesy of S:

ah “ : = cee .
¥igure 5.23. Unidentified man on the Comer foredeck. Note the ledge in the background

just below the tip of the bowsprit. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Museum of Natural
History.


ee :

Figure 5.3.

Driftwood camp at Point Bennett, San Miguel Island, ca. 1911. The lady in the

photo appears later at the Comet, about three and one-half nautical miles along the coast to the
northeast. Photo courtesy of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

photograph, however, conclusively
demonstrates that it was taken at Point
Bennett, Northwest Cove, and that it is very
close to the wre atter now thought to be
that of the J M Colman (Figure 5.4). The
wreckage shown in the picture probably comes
from several vessels.

Archeological Record

A wreck scatter in the intertidal zone at
Northwest Cove, Point Bennett, San Miguel
Island, is physically accessible only at low
tides. Because of the need to protect breeding
pinnipeds, it is administratively and legally
accessible for a short period in the spring and
during the month of October. Peter Howorth
led the senior author to the locality in 1986;
park teams visited the scatter again and

14

mapped the wreck scatter in 1989 and 1990.
On each visit, significant new material came
to light, despite very brief visits.

Principal components of the wreck scatter
are shown in Figure 5.5. These include a
steam donkey engine boiler, a winch cathead,
the donkey engine base, and associated gears.
Much more material is obscured by the
abundant sea grass that grows in the area.
Four hundred feet up the beach, at least four
massive timbers with iron fastenings are
thought to be associated with this wreck
scatter. The largest is a timber 24 inches
square with long iron drifts, approximately
1.25 inches in diameter, protruding from one
side about 18 inches. ‘Timbers and fastenings
of this size are consistent with a vessel of the
tonnage of the JM Colman.



Ventura College, graciously provided the
guidance which finally put Park Service divers
on the wreckage in October 1995

‘The history of this specific plane is not vet

known, but Avengers were the mosi common
torpedo bombers World War Uf, first
fighting in 1942 at the battle of Midway
Grumnan Aircraft Corporauion developed and
buill, many planes. designated TBES
fastern Aircraft, from
Grumman, built most of these planes. ‘They
carried the designation TBM. and can be
distinguished from TBEs only on the basis of
therr Bureau numbers. On the basis of the
wing length and the tocation and contiguration

of

al

under a license

of the radio amenna mast on top of the
canopy, the Anacapa plane appears to be a
TBP (or TBM)-IC, a version produced in the
last half of [943

Some Avengers continued in
through 1954, although most of these were the
TBM-3, a model with slightly shorter wings
and a more powerful engine

service

Versions of the
‘TBM-3 were developed for carrier delivery of
and for antisubmarine
Avengers, like the Grumman Guardian, were
conhigured at “killer,” (PBM-3S) and "hunter"
(TBM-3W) versions. The TBM-3W carried a

suspended radome and auxiliary tail fins

cargo and crew

Some Avengers saw civiltan service as fire
bombers

‘The wings and fuselage are largely intact
with much of the canopy remaining in place
The radial engine has broken from the frame
and is partially buried in the sand boitoni
which surrounds the site. The upper portion
of the rudder has collapsed and the right tl
plane is missing
right side of the fuselave. near a hatch which
opened into the rear crew compartment

There is a large hole on the

166

While Miller and Vox stated that when
they first saw the aircraft in the carly 1960s,

it still retained the rear machit in. Such
(ompting artilacis  ¢ NOW MIssine All
equipment inside the cockpit is also pone

Che canopy around the pilot's compartment is
sail intict except for the hatch

Seaborn
1918-1952
Tug
Gross ‘Pornage 36 tons
Net Tonnage 24 tons
Length 59.8 Leet
Beam 16.8 feet

ih 6.6 feet
Depth 6.6 feet

Decks one
Official Number 259656
Construction wood

Listorical Record

‘This vessel collided with the Seafigiter on
September 2, 1951, “in Santa
Channel" (MVUS 1952:958). This may be
the vessel listed as the Seahoph ia some

Barbara

shipwreck fists. “The owner was a John kK.
Seaborn, of San Francisco. Although listed in
MVUS as a lug, a newspaper article describes:
the Seaborn as a yacht. ‘The Seaborn survived
but his two children drowned as the vessel
The accident occurred either six
miles south of Santa Cruz Island or
miles northwest of Anacapa tsland at 1:30 in
the mocaing

The Seaborn, built for the Navy, had been
known previously as YLP-89, YP-89, and

YMT-4+

quickly sank
three


Remain of Radar Scanner
NS Visable Under Wing
\

\ _~” Wing Tip Approximately 4 Feet Off Sand

\ a

Wing Span 60 Feet NN

Figure 8.5. Field sketch showing Grumman Guardian on the bottom, Santa Cruz Island. Sketch
by Mark Norder.

not attached to the engine. Howorth reports forced landing before immersion.

that the four-beaded prop lies about 75 feet The plane is 41 feet 6 inches long with a
away. Ailerons from the wings and portions of wing span very close to 60 feet. Since the
the rudder are missing. Howorth reported the propeller and hub are missing, the measured
tail was intact at the time of discovery, but length must be somewhat short of the plane's
since then a portion of the starboard tail has actual length. Unusual and distinctive features

vanished, probably as a result of anchoring. are the auxiliary rudders on the tail plane.
Instruments, control stick, and seat belt After several abortive attempts, a return
hardware remain in the forward cockpit, dive to this plane took place in February

suggesting that few divers have visited the 1986. We were not able to read the plane's
wreck. The aluminum skin of the plane is identification number on the port side just
very nearly intact. No collision impacts are below the root of the tail plane. In addition,
evident. The plane sits on the bottom right the radome is totally buried in sediment. The
side up with landing gear retracted under the propeller was located aft of the fuselage.
wings, suggesting a low-angle, low-energy Additional video footage was taken in August

169



Figure 4.8. Pectan. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

cargo. Either misnavigation or foggy weather
led it to stray onto the beach on January 21,
1914, at 9:30 P.M. Newspapers reported
significant storm damage around southern
California around that date, so fog and stormy
weather probably played their usual role in
grounding the Pectan.

Apparently suffering no damage (LAT),
the Pectan rested easily while waiting for a
high tide on February 10, when it was able to
extricate itself unassisted. In the interim,
several vessels assisted in the rescue. Using
the wireless, the Pectan summoned the Argyle
and the Lansing, also Union Oil tankers, to its
aid. Soon involved were the salvage steamer
Taqua and the tug Dauntless, as was the
revenue cutter USS Manning. In attempt on

43

January 26 by the Argyle, the Lansing, and yet
another steamship, the Whittier, to reach the
Pectan with a tow line met with no success.

On February 1, the Dauntless steamed to
Ventura for fresh water and food for the
Pectan's crew of 49, with the announced plan
of waiting for the high tide of February 10
(LAT, February 2, 1914). The final report on
the Pectan (LAT, February 12, 1914) relates
that the vessel pulled itself off without any
assistance and "proceeded north to have her
hull thoroughly inspected before returning to
Port San Luis for reloading."

By 1918, having been renamed the
Coalinga, the vessel passed to American
registry and the ownership of the Union
Steamship Company, whose home port was


strong a current that from Port Harford
to the Cliff House, San Francisco, it
ran the boat ahead of her log twelve
and one-fourth miles.

A strong Davidson Current would have set
the Crown of England toward Santa Rosa
Island on the outside track that Captain
Hamilton was attempting to steer.

By the end of the month, plans were afoot
to salvage the vessel, as the Lloyd's surveyor
had reported the cost of towing the vessel to
San Francisco excessive. The California Iron
and Wrecking Company, despite having
recently lost its salvage vessel San Pedro
while working on the wreck of the Gosford at
Point Conception, entered into an agreement
to break up the Crown of England and bring
the wreckage to San Francisco. In early
December, matters apparently were
progressing well:

Henry J. Rogers of the California Iron
and Wrecking Company, arrived here
yesterday afternoon on the tug Katie
O'Neill trom Santa Rosa Island where
the company has three boats and about
forty men engaged in saving the
machinery from the wrecked steamship
Crown of England. He reports good
progress. They have already
recovered the main engines, steam
hoists, steering gear, anchors, chains,
and a great deal of other valuable
material. The schooner Annie is being
loaded with the machinery and if good
weather continues, will be able to
carry a large cargo to San Francisco.
After the machinery is carefully
removed, the vessel will be broken up
and all the iron saved [SBNP,
December 5, 1894].

39

Judging from the wreck site of the Crown
of England today, that is exactly what
happened. The loss of the San Pedro may
have been of no consequence to the salvage
company in this operation, as the Crown of
England was so close to Ford Point that
salvage could proceed easily from the island.

Archeological Record

Ford Point is a low, gently rounded
peninsula on the south side of Santa Rosa
Island. It provides one of the few flat
locations along this stretch of coast, and a
small sandy bay immediately to the east
provides an excellent landing spot.

For years Ford Point has been
distinguishable by the presence of a steam
donkey engine (Figure 4.7) from the Crown of
England on the seaward edge of the terrace.
At one time the top of the boiler of this engine
was even marked as a U.S. Coast and
Geodetic benchmark. Apparently the
salvagers had moved the donkey engine ashore
and employed it for hauling salvage material
from the wreck.

Next to the engine lie two spars, each
suitable for service as a stiff leg or boom to
move material ashore. Fragments of thick
wire cable, often with spliced eyes, poke up
through the usually thick grass near the
donkey engine. Inland sits a massive iron
stove, certainly from the galley of the Crown
of England, on a level area of the terrace that
would make an ideal camp site for the salvage
crew. These artifacts are all remnants of the
salvage operation carried out on the Crown of
England during the winter of 1894.

In May 1990, Dr. Bruce Hector and the
senior author spent three days mapping the
visible artifacts. Reasoning that the grass


park and refined research techniques used in
gathering much of the data for this report.
Submerged cultural resource protection is
an intergovernmental undertaking. Peter
Pelkofer and Kirk Walker of the California
State Lands Commission have created a
shipwreck protection program and generously
shared all available information from their
shipwreck data base with us. John Foster at
the California Department of Parks and
Recreation provided guidance on other
resources that contributed to our research.
This report could not have been completed
without cooperation and encouragement from
the staffs of several archives. The staff of the
Government Publication Section of the UCSB

library gave the junior author of this report

Island Foundation, Santa Barbara Museum of
Natural History, Goleta public library, Goleta
Valley Historic Society, Lompoc public
library, San Luis Obispo public library,
California Polytechnic University at San Luis
Obispo, San Luis Obispo Historic Society,
Monterey Maritime Museum, San Francisco
National Maritime Museum, California State
Library at Sacramento. In addition, special
thanks goes to the National Archives staff in
Washington D.C. for their efforts in locating
reports which ied to the positive identification
of the wreckage of the Dante Aligheri at Santa
Barbara Island.

Finally, we would be remiss in not taking
note of the countless divers, history
enthusiasts, park visitors and others that it has

assembling data on vessel losses from the
merchant vessels of the United States
directories. In addition, the collections and
archives of the following institutions and the
patient guidance and warm hospitality of many
staffers were critical in assembling data for
this report: Long Beach public library,
University of California at Los Angeles
library, Los Angeles Maritime Museum, Los
Angeles Marine Exchange, Ventura public
library, Ventura Historic Society, Oxnard
public library, Santa Barbara public library,
Santa Barbara Historic Society, Santa Cruz

while engaged in this undertaking and for
whom this report is written. They recognize
that shipwrecks are indeed a national resource
to be shared and enjoyed by all, not by a
select few who through the unauthorized
recovery of artifacts seek to privatize wrecks
and deprive citizens of the common heritage
that wrecks represent.

James Lima
Troy State University

XXi



APPENDIX D

VESSELS LISTED BY YEAR

Official Ship
Ship Name Number Year Island Type
Winfield Scott aa 1853 ANI passenger
Yankee Blade (fragment) — 1854 SRI passenger
San Buenaventura _ 1858 SCI other
Leader 15216 1876 SMI sealer
G W Prescott 8532! 1879 SMI lumber
NB 18388 1879
Surprise 115499 1881 SMI sealer
Amie 1884? _- _
Convoy 5161 1884 SRI sealer
Chinese Junk _ 1884 ANI fishing
Isabella 100181 1885 SMI-C sealer
Undine 25277 1890 SCI _
Pearl _ 1891 ANI sealer
Goldenhorn 36279 1892 SRI freighter
Fishhook ~ 1893 _ _
Crown of England 99115 1894 SRI freighter
Liberty 140174 1895 SMI-C is] sup boat
Chappo 127191 1897 scl o
Helene 96325 1898 SCI guano

221



Goldenhorn became a bark by 1886. The
Silberhorn vanished at sea in 1907; the
Matterhorn foundered off Umatilla Reef,
Oregon in 1909.

The Goldenhorn was a typical medium
clipper (Lubbock 1927:244), a vessel only
slightly slower than the classic extreme clipper
ship of the 1850s and 1860s but considerably
more capacious. Medium clippers were not as
large, however, as vessels constructed later in
the nineteenth century. A typical capacity for
these medium clippers was 1,800 tons,
whereas later vessels ranged up to 8,000 tons
(Allen 1978:21). A bark rig, with a fourth
Gigger) mast rigged fore and aft, in contrast to
the square sails on the three forward masts,
improved maneuverability and did not require
as large a crew. Ships like the Goldenhorna
show a workable accommodation of speed,
cargo capacity, and ease and economy of
operation.

The accounting records, or “cost book,"
for the Goldenhorn have survived and provide
detailed information about the specifics of the
"No. 60 ship." Five hundred and seventeen
blocks of various sizes, all specified, were
consumed in rigging the vessel, along with
four mast-head trucks, two deep-sea reels, one
log reel, and two ship's logs. The
Goldenhorn came equipped with three
Rodger's anchors (Figure 4.1) and three
considerably lighter ordinary anchors with
more than 200 fathoms of anchor chain.
Rodger's anchors, developed about 1830,
were stronger than traditional anchors by a
virtue of a wood core shank. There were
three main varieties of this anchor.

Listed accessories include a 12-inch brass
bell engraved “Goldenhorn," a smaller 6-inch
bell, four ship's boats, “one handsome cabin
stove," a stove for the forecastle, a 6-foot
cooking range, lightning conductors, at least
11 compasses, a "brass sounding machine," a

29

brass foghorn, a brass speaking trumpet, nine
gimbeled oil lamps, and a fire engine with
hose. ‘There were weapons as well—a 6-
pounder line gun on carriage, 25 breech-
loading rifles with bayonets, 12 boarding
pikes, two Colt revolvers, and appropriate
ammunition. Moreover, the list includes
handcuffs and leg irons, 12 large rockets, and
12 blue lights for distress signals.

Also detailed are the carpenter stores: cut
nails, copper nails, oakum, portland cement,
deck bolts, and rivets. Amenities included
bedding, cutlery, glass, and crockery.
Suppliers equipped the Goldenhorn with flags,
canvas, medicine chest supplies, mirrors,
water casks, buckets (including 10 brass fire
buckets), and ropes and hawsers ranging in
size from 4-inch steel hawsers to whipping
twine and marline.

The iron plates, angles, and bulb stock
that compose the ship are listed along with the
keel, stem, sternpost, and rudder forgings, 86

Rodger’s (Bower)

Cut, rs. ths.
Weight of Anchor 9 0 8
Weight of Stock 5 2

4 2

‘Total

Figure 4.1. Rodger’s anchor.



GoLDENHORN
Four-masted British Bark
Wrecked: 1892

Santa Rosa Istaxo, Catsrorsia
(Chasover Istanns Namonat PARK

Surveyed: 1985

“— £2
pease ey EEG 9,

PE el

Sis

Figure 4.3. Wreck scatter of the Goldenhorn. Mapped by Jim Bradford and Jerry
Livingston; final rendition by Caro! Vesely and Susan Morris.

33


Beulah
1923-(1933)-1948
Copra Freighter

1,389 tons
1,042 tons

Gross ‘Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 232 feet, 6 inches
Beam 37 feet, 7 inches
Depth 20 feet, 4 inches
Decks one

Official Number 15639
Construction steel

cal Record

The Beulah is frequently mentioned as an
Anacapa Island wreck, The following

newspaper account indicates only a_ brief

grounding for this vessel. Little more is

known of its history.

Flood Brothers’ litle Panamanian
motor ship Beulah yesterday at
daylight worked herself free trom the
recfs off the cast end of Anacapa
(sland, on which she had grounded in
fog three hours previous, and
proceeded to San Francisco apparently
little damaged.

The Beulah, operating in copra trade
among the Tonga sand Fiji
archipelagos, sailed for San Francisco
from this port Thursday — after
discharging resin cargo from
Manzanillo. Of 1045 net tons, she was
originally built as a bark at Grimsted,
Norway, in 192 |?}, then being named
Heiren. Two Bolindor diesels were
installed when her spars and yards
were removed |LAT, September 23,
1933, Shipping News].

Although the ship remained in Norwegian
registry, by 1926 it was powered by twin
diesel engines. The Beulah attained
Panamanian — registry by 1929 (Lloyd's
Registry, 1929-30). ‘The vessel was last
known as Yai Woo in the 1947-48 Lloyd's
Registry.

Aristocratis
1943-(1949)-1968
Freighter (Liberty Ship)

7,191 tons
4,309 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 441.5 feet
Beam 57 feet
Depth 37.3 feet
Decks two
Official Number MCE 1006
Construction steel

Historical Record

The Aristocratis, the former Liberty ship
William H Jackson, grounded in "soupy fog"
near Johnson's Lee on Santa Rosa Island on
December 1, 1949, while en route to
“Keclung, Formosa," (Taiwan) with a cargo
of coal, Another newspaper article describes
the cargo as "ammonium sulphate in holds,
tanks on deck." Immediate radio messages
from the vessel indicated no danger to the
crew of 30 "if the weather held." Three Coast
Guard cutters, the Perseus, the Diligence, and
the 83-366, came to the grounded vessel in
fog heavy enough to impede even these radar-
cquipped vessels. The Red Stack tug Relief’
arrived on the scene and pulled the
Aristocratis free the following day on a high
tide (SBNP, December 2, 1949),

The William H Jackson was bull number
2156 when built in the Bethlehem-Hairfield



v
a 5 4

mar’ YONES

ee
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Ak ft 4

H LIE THROWING COS
wes Useb Ye CE THe 7
ME HLA hint ASM ONE,

HRINE BUCY WHS MADE

EASY ON YE CENTRE OF [-

yas gid HWO SHU ThE

eae
We A Tp cel vour
Yo yenen, |

KELP

4

WEHVY ay
4

wsuer Woy
ANCHORED HERE

d WITH Lows Score

or wachow LIVES py

Figure 7.3.

men were marooned on the beach,
Immediately got underway — and
proceeded at 15 knots to her
assistance. Arrived at scene of disaster
at 7:00 a.m. to find an exceptionally
heavy surf breaking on the beach. The
Dante Alighieri had broken up and was
a total loss. Due to the heavy surf and
the great amount of drifting wreckage,
contact from seaward was impossible
at this time, although an attempt was
made to shoot lines ashore from a
small boat. At LO:15 sent landing
party with gear ashore on lee side of
the island to effect a rescue from the
top of a 500 foot cliff. This procedure
proved unsuccessful due to dangerous
contours of the cliff and loose rocks.
However, a survey was made of the
situation from the cliffas to the best

Diagram accompanying cruise report of the Aurora showing the method of r

approach by small boat. ‘The landing
party returned to the ship at 1330 and
the Aurora stood around the island to
locate anchorage off the position of
the marooned fishermen. [ft was
found with high tide the sea was less
boisterous and the wreckage had
drifted away leaving the water clear
for running a line ashore. At 1415
anchored and sent boat in toward the
beach, A line was shot ashore and a
9 thread line sent in with a ring buoy
made fast midway. By picking out a
good place for the fishermen to plunge
into the surf from the beach and
watching the seas carefully, rescue
was effected by taking one man off at
atime. The life ring was pulled out
to a small boat anchored just beyond
the breaker linc. When the man was



redwood and assembled the craft with
fastening techniques quite different from
conventional wooden construction. Therefore,
even small fragments should be identifiable.
Dr. Robert Nash describes the vessels:

The junks built in California used the
native redwood... The construction
details are typically Chinese... The
hull was carvel built with two inch
redwood planking edge nailed on six
inch centers. Black iron cut nails were
used... The keel was Oregon pine
[Douglas fir, ed.}. They had
considerable sheer, a raking stern and
flaring bow. The stern was narrow
and dory-like with an overhanging
deck like most Oriental junks. The
rudders were of the unbalanced type
with diamond shaped perforations to
ease the steering... The rudder is
fitted with a conventional stiller.
There is a small hold aft and living
quarters covered with a hatch just
forward of that. The remainder of the
space below deck was devoted to fish
holds...

According to newspaper articles, junks
were launched at Santa Barbara in 1872 and
1876, at a minimum. Sing Chung, the richest
of the local merchants, operated a fleet of
several vessels in local waters, whose crews
fished, harvested abalone, and took seals and
the occasional sea otter as well.

Beil
?-1901
Gasoline Fishing Schooner

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage
Length

Beam

Depth —
Decks

Official Number
Construction wood (inferred)
Historical Record

This vessel capsized in heavy seas 3 or 4
miles south of Santa Cruz Island in late
December 1901. Captain Oleson (also
referred to as “Harry Carson" in the
newspaper account of this incident) and
crewman Pete Wallace drifted at sea on the
boat for 14 days until Wallace died. Three
days later, Arturo Valdez picked up Captain
Oleson “just beyond the kelp off Goleta."
Oleson was fishing primarily for "crawfish"
from a camp on Anacapa Island (SBMP,
January 14, 1902) According to. the
newspaper, the vessel carried more than one
mast. No mention is made of salvage of the
vessel. Presumably it either wrecked near
Goleta or was saved along with Captain
Oleson.

Sea Lion
1906
Japanese Abalone Fishing Sloop

Specifications unknown.




Historical Record

After sailing out of Santa Barbara on the
Eagle at noon on January 29, 1923, Frank E.
Nidever, grandson of pioneer and otter hunter
George Nidever, vanished. Concern first
appeared in a newspaper article (SBMP,
February 11, 1923) that detailed the beginning
of an extensive search. This search proved
fruitless and led to the loss of the OK, one of
the searching vessels, and its captain and
mate, Jerry Shively and Isaac Newton.

According to the Santa Barbara Morning
Press (February 21, 1923), the body of Isaac
Newton was eventually found in Scorpion Bay

Bay is actually at Santa Cruz Island. Amid
highly speculative articles about foul play and
rum running, the search continued. On
February 25, Shively's body turned up, along
with ship wreckage, in Scorpion Bay.
Shattered wreckage from both boats turned up
to the east around "Castle Rock," which seems
to be present-day Cavern Point, Santa Cruz
Island.

Captain Valdez of the schooner Santa Cruz
reported that he had seen a large liner pass
close to the vicinity of the Eagle when his own
boat was drifting before the wind with motor
problems. Widely scattered fragments of the
Eagle that were beginning to appear along the
north coast of Santa Cruz Island supported the
hypothesis that the Eagle had been run down
(SBMP, March 2, 1923).

123

Lion
1917-1924
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 18 tons
Net Tonnage 12 tons
Length 51.3 feet
Beam 12.6 feet
Depth 5.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 215807
Construction wood

Historical Record

According to the wreck report prepared by
Captain E. W. Bartell of San Pedro, a gas
engine powered this vessel. The Lion
stranded on the “Santa Cruz Ids" at 8 P.M. on
July 4, 1924, after dragging anchor in a heavy
wind.

Labor
1920-1924
Purse Seiner

Gross Tonnage 42 tons
Net Tonnage 22 tons
Length 59.1 feet
Beam 15.6 feet
Depth 7,2 feet
Decks one
Official Number 222693
Construction wood


leaving port. The captain navigated on dead
reckoning throughout the voyage, attempting
to follow a course that would take the vessel
outside, or south of the Channel Islands.

Although a lookout was maintained and
speed was cut in half to 4 knots at 15 minutes
before midnight, the vessel struck rocks just as
the watch spotted them and gave the alarm.
Reversing the engines merely caused the
vessel to settle deeper. Over the next few
hours, the waves and current pivoted the
vessel to starboard, or east, tearing large holes
in the starboard bull. As day broke, the crew
could at last determine that they were on an
island, rather than on an isolated rock. The
vessel had wrecked at Ford Point on the south
coast of Santa Rosa Island. A search of the
istand during the day by crew members failed
to locate any inhabitants. Tventually, first
officer John Poole and a crew of five rowed to
Santa Monica, giving word of the wreck after
arriving on the morning of November 11
(LAT, November 22, 1894).

The tug Fearless departed San Francisco
and reached the scene on November 15,
finding the Crown of England in very bad
condition. The Times described il as:

A total wreck. She lies broadside
against the shore and her bottom is full
of holes made by pounding on the
rocks. When Capt. Haskell [skipper
of the Fearless} visited her... he
could put a plank from the shore to the
steamer's bow and walk aboard. .

It will take a very short time to break
the vessel in pieces [LAT, November
16, 1894],

A court of inquiry into the accident
convened at Santa Monica on November 20,
headed by the Honorable C. White Mortimer,

British vice-consul, who had also performed
this role for the Goldenhorn wreck. ‘The court
heard from Captain Jolm Hamilton, First
Officer John Poole, Second Officer James
McGeorge, First Engineer Robert Mcflaffey,
Third Engineer John Clark, and seamen
Michael McLaughlin and Lmil Smith, who
had been helmsman and lookout, respectively,
at the time of the grounding (LAT, November
22, 1894).

Captain A. Smith of San Pedro discussed
the erratic nature of currents around the
islands and the fact that sailors find strong
currents running in the opposite direction. He
blamed the accident on this contrary current
and stated he would have followed the same
course as Captain Hamilton because "a fog
never stops the steamboat" (LAT, November
21, 1894).

The final wimess, Second Officer B. O.
Parsons of the passenger steamer Corona,
gave the board the following — graphic
description of what was surely a tully
developed Davidson Current:

On the boat's voyage to San Dicgo,
undertaken November — 2, it
encountered a strong current, tending
northward, which was estimated . . .
to flow two and one-fourth knots per
hour, and from Port Harford [San
Luis Obispo] to Santa Barbara it
retarded the boat from the usual
running time of less than ninc hours to
more than nine and a half. It was
noticed as particularly strong off Santa
Barbara [slands. While al San Dicgo
defendant went on board the Crown of
England to warn the Captain of the
current, but did not find him on
board. ‘The Corona lett San Diego
November 5th and ran ina current all
the way to San Francisco, [t was so


TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES 2.02 ee eee teen eae xi
LIST OF TABLES «2... eee eee nee xv
FOREWORD ... 6... ete xvii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 0.0.02 eee eens xix
I INTRODUCTION ..... 0.000000 eens 1
Tl OVERVIEW 200 eee eee 5

Navigation and Shipping Hazards
Anchorages: Problems and Shortcomings

Ill PREHISTORY THROUGH THE GOLD RUSH .... 0.0.0.0... 02 e eee 15
Euro-American Vessels Before the Gold Rush ......... 0.0 ..00..000. 17
Gold Rush 2. eee ees
Winfield Scott
Yankee Blade

TV WRECKED AND GROUNDED COMMERCIAL VESSELS .............. 27
Goldenhorn oo eee 28
Crown of England 00.00. ete eee 37
Anubis 0.0...
Pectan

Beulah

Aristocratis
Patria .....
Chickasaw . .



HU. P. Co. 1X
1916-1921
Local lreighter

Gross Tonnage 12 tons
Net Tonnage 8 tons
Length 45.8 feet
Beam 10.2 feet
Depth 4.8 feet
Decks one
Official Number 214093

Construction wood
Tistorical Record

This vessel, built in East San Pedro, was
owned by the Halfhill Tuna Packing Company
of Long Beach. Licensed in the coasting
trade, the vessel burned "off Santa Barbara
Island, Calif." on January 30, 1921 (MVUS
1921). No newspaper account has been
located to give further details, but the final
license gives the location as "four miles off
Santa Barbara Island, Cal 1/30/21 2 persons
on board, no lives lost."

Lotus
1901-1921
Steam Schooner

Gross Tonnage 114 tons
Net Tonnage 78 tons
Length 104 fect
Beam 20 feet
Depth S.7 feet
Decks “=
Official Number 141742
(141723-MVUS 1922)
Construction wood

160

Historical Record

While en route to San Diego to enter into
passenger service, the steam schooner Lotus
burned off Port Hueneme the evening of
September 15, 1921, apparently well away
from the park and sanctuary (LAT, September
16, 1921), ‘The wreck report gives the
location as “off Anacapa Island" and the
vessel is included here as possibly being
within the sanctuary.

Wampas (A-1370) aka Grey Ghost
?-1926
Rum Runner

Gross ‘Tonnage 9 tons
Net Tonnage _
Length 56 feet
Beam 11 feet
Depth _

Construction —
Yistorical Record

At 10:30 a.m., November 13, the
CG-254, Boatswain (T) L. i.
Williams, Offi n-charge, while on
patrol off Cochies {sic} Prietos, Santa
Cruz Island, sighted the fast motor-
boat "A-1370", powered with two 300
hp Sterling engines and known as the
"GREY GHOST." ‘This boat was
about 1600 yards distant when sighted
and the CG-254 gave chase at once,
firing one bland one-pounder and two
service charges across her bow. The



the Channel Islands. The local trades
involving island support, sealing, fishing, and
tourism related to the region, then as now, in
a very different, more intimate way. Local
vessels, their crews, and their activities were
but a portion of a total system that was based
on mainland social and economic institutions.
This system can best be seen in the island
shore camps, supporting boats, and fish
markets that supported fisheries around the
islands, notably Santa Cruz, in the first
quarter of the twentieth century, No aspects
of this system have been studied adequately.
This is equally true of the abalone and sealing
trades in the islands, both of which involved
island camps as well as mainland economic
systems.

The transient and local divisions translate
closely into large versus small vessels, ‘The
gross tonnages of the vessels described in this
report run from the 5.67 tons of the Chappo to
the 7,318 of the Pectan. All the transient
vessels have gross tonnages greater than 300,
with the single exception of the lumber
schooner the G W Prescott (112,97), All the
fishing and "other" (except for barges) vessels
discussed in this report fall below 300 gross
tons. The largest of these vessels is the
Equator with 238 gross tons, and it is really
more a transient than a local.

‘The wreck assemblage as presently
understood does not include examples of all
the significant craft that navigated around the
islands. Unknown are examples of tomols, the
most sophisticated watercraft of the Chumash,
and Manila galleons, despite legends about
such a craft near the shores of San Miguel
Island, No otter hunting vessels or pre-gold-
rush trading ships wrecked in the islands.
Smugglers left behind litte evidence of their
activities. The wrecks of the islands do,
however, include many examples of turn-of-
the-century commercial vessels, both sail and

184

steam, and an assemblage of lumber
schooners, although examples of steam-
powered lumber vessels are absent. ‘These

larger vessels strikingly illustrate the rise of
Los Angeles as a seaport and the development
of a transportation network late in the
nineteenth century.

Not surprisingly, transient and local
vessels wrecked in different ways, although
the dominating influence of the prevailing
northwesterly weather and ocean currents
alfected all categories of vessels. For at Icast
two vessels, the Aggi and the Ella G, disaster
commenced to the north along the central
coast, and both vessels were struggling for
refuge when they came to grief. The Sea
Foam, the Shasta, and the Yankee Blade
wrecked to the north, and the northwest winds
and currents scattered their debris on the
islands. This factor certainly must be
considered when examining any archeological
wreckage; just because wreckage is found on
the islands does not necessarily mean that the
vessel originally wrecked there.

Fog is prominently associated with
shipwrecks of transient vessels. In two cases,
those of the Goldenhorn and the Crown of
England, fog in combination with the
Davidson Current (or at least a west-running
current in the case of the Goldenhorn,
contrary to "normal" patterns) threw the
vessels off course. A further suggestion of the
combined ef of currents and fog is the
wrecking of the Cuba and the lumber
schooners G W Prescott, J M Colman, and
Comet during the months of August and
September, when Oceanic Period currents
would set vessels coasting offshore toward
San Miguel Island. Vessels in fog were more
likely to wreck when the normal currents for
that time of year set the vessels toward a
hazardous area, which was usually San Miguel
Island.



Ship Name
EllaG
Elaine

Emil
Emperor
Englyn
Equator
Eros
Fishhook
Francine
Frederick Q
Friendship
G W Prescott
Galileo

George E Billings

Georgia
Glady I
Golden Gate
Goldenhorn

Grumman
Avenger (plane)

Grumman
Guardian (plane)

Gypsy Q

Official Nature of
Number Island Year Casualty Ship Type
116928 SRI 1908 stranded sealer

- SCI 1961 stranded yacht
230776 Scl 1938 sank fishing
226573 — 1932 sank fishing

— SCI 1974 stranded yacht
257143 ANI 1949 stranded fishing
277869 ANI 1966 sank yacht

_ - 1893 ~~ --
120988 SCI 1901 sank guano
260183 SMI 1974 sank fishing
85329 SMI 1879 stranded jumber

~~ ANI 1941 burned lumber

/fish barge

a Scl 1964 sank fishing
262071 Sci 1975 sank fishing
246308 SCI 1952 sank fishing
36279 SRI 1892 stranded freighter

—- ANI 1940s ditched? government

- SCI 1954 ditched government
254596 —_ 1955 sank fishing

207



CHAPTER VIII

Other Trades and Pursuits

World War II increased the military's
presence in the Channel Islands, although San

th e park,
had been reserved for the navy as early as
1933. Every island had at least a small
detachment of troops, while Santa Rosa
sported a concrete gun emplacement and a
small base in the interior of the island. San
Miguel Island was under navy control after the
war, utilized as a bombing and bombardment
range. Santa Barbara Island, for a time,
housed missile tracking cameras for the
Pacific Missile Test Center operating out of
Point Mugu. Other government agencies,
such as the National Park Service and the
California Fish and Game Department, have
patrolled the waters around the islands more
frequently in recent years. This activity has
left material behind, which is briefly discussed
in this chapter.

The bulk of the chapter deals with vessels
such as pleasure craft and those supporting
island operations. Most of these ships are not
immediately different from the typical fishing
vessels, but at the time of their wrecking, they
were employed in other activities. A short
section at the end of the chapter discusses
vessels often reported to have wrecked in the

149

park but not indicated by primary sources to
have done so.

San Buenaventura
2-1858
Sloop

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage
Length

Beam

Depth

Decks

Official Number
Construction

Historical Record

The San Francisco Alta California
repeated the following story on October 13,
1858:

Wreck and Loss of Life: On the 13th
of September, the sloop San
Buenaventura, of Santa Barbara,
sailed from that port for the island of
Santa Rosa, having on board Peter
Hammond and Miguel Cota, as


promptly ensued, keeping the Cuba in the
newspapers for several more weeks.
Undoubtedly, more salvage occurred than has
been recorded; the Cuba rests in an isolated
spot, open to every passing ship.

Captain Ira Eaton visited the Cuba first,
searching primarily for bootleg liquor but
finding only much cheaper marijuana, which
was thrown overboard in disgust. Eaton did
find more than 500 letters that he turned over
to postal authorities (SBMP, September 26,
1923). The next day a band of 16 armed men
(apparently Eaton and his crew) had taken
over the Cuba, removing “blocks, radio sets
and aerials, nautical instruments, mahogany
doors and panels, glassware, galley-gear,
linen, and parts of the cargo to the value of
more than $400,000" (SBMP, September 27,
1923). Eaton is reported in the same article to
have recovered "a piano, bedding, carpets,
furniture, mail, electric fans, galley
equipment, and coal." Lloyd's of London was
asking for bids on the Cuba at this time, even
as other salvagers were heading for the wreck.
One group, led by Marcella Dillon, was
"repulsed by Captain Eaton and a dozen of his
crew, who drove them away with guns,
threatening to shoot anyone who attempts to
come aboard" (SBMP, September 28, 1923).
At this point, Lloyd's asked the Los Angeles
district attorney to take action against the
salvagers.

The revenue cutter Vaughn steamed to the
wreck with orders to capture all trespassers
and seize salvaged items, as Eaton and
Lloyd's representatives debated the legal status
of the Cuba and its goods. They eventually
struck a deal whereby Eaton was to receive 40
percent of the value of the goods he had
removed for his efforts. At the same time,
Marcella Dillon was reported to have stripped
and sold fittings and goods from the vessel in
another unauthorized salvage operation

55

(SBMP, September 30, 1923). Dillon did
apparently salvage and sell some material at
the dock in Santa Barbara, including
“blankets, coats, carpets, rope, electric
switches and motors, drug stores, and
commissary stores” (LAT, September 19,
1923)

As the dispute was negotiated, "a
company of Motion Picture actors [used] the
wreck for the past two days for shipwreck
pictures" (SBMP, October 2, 1923). The
company was from the Thomas Ince Studios
of Hollywood (SBMP, September 30, 1923).
The result of this filming, or the whereabouts
of any resulting footage, is unknown.

Finally, as the vessel listed "40 degrees to
port" and began breaking up, Eaton and
Lloyd's struck a deal for the hulk, paying
undisclosed price (SBMP, October 7, 1923).
Although Eaton planned to strip machinery
from the vessel with divers, no additional
salvage occurred, as oil from the wreck
hindered operations. Eaton apparently paid
$700 for the wreck.

In addition to the salvage related above,
the Cuba's safe and some corner-mount sinks
reached the ranch on San Miguel Island. The
preceding accounts suggest that as salvage
commenced, the most valuable and portable
items were taken _ first—understandable
behavior in view of the precarious nature of
the wreck and its steady disintegration. Much
of interest remains on the wreck today.

Archeological Record

The wreckage of the Cuba is the most
compact and organized of all of the major
wrecks in the park (Figure 4.19). Despite the
violent nature of the waters around Point
Bennett, the material has remained in place.
An impression gained from repeated dives on
the wreck is that the Cuba is actually sheltered
from heavy seas by a series of shallow



Brockway Point
a

Cluster Point
China Camp TM

Taleott eas Corral Point
Shoat
sandy Ranch + _ Becher’s Bay
Point “x Air Suip Vv SY
> Southeast Anchorage
TN | 4 skunk Point
\ SANTA ROSA

NA ens lee
N

0 5 W kilometers

Vode eebe bccbeseebeeeey peed

0 5 10 mites
Lec ae

Carrington Point

va Comi Point

Abulone Rocks

Fast Point

i Point

Figure 2.3. Santa Rosa Island.

forests that abound in depths out to 100 feet.
This singularly productive system supported
prehistoric occupation for at least cight
millennia and has survived historic
exploitation, though with changes and
consequences that are not fully understood.

Weather

Wind and weather reach the Channel
Islands from the northwest. The California
Current proceeds south along the California
coast, bringing cold water to the channel.
Northwest winds that frequently build large
seas result from the typical presence of the
Pacific high pressure area offshore, which
causes a flow toward low pressure arcas
onshore, ‘The variable strength and location
of the Pacific high together influence the

track of storms that pass through the islands
and make the Santa Barbara Channel a very
interesting and unpredictable weather area.
One necd only read a few accounts of
shipwrecks in these waters to realize that fog
causes conditions favorable for wrecking.
‘The Goldenhorn, the Cuba, the Chickasaw,
and the Winfield Scott all wrecked in fog.
Fog forms easily on the islands, owing to a
variety of conditions. It is most common at
the western end of the channel, where both
San Miguel ~— Island and Point
Conception—-the western mainland terminus
of the channel-—-frequently experience
sufficient fog to hinder navigation.

The climatic conditions are very
variable around this island. Ut


Figure 4.18. Cuba as Sachem. Photo courtesy of Mike McGarvey.

admitted to American registry under a joint
resolution of Congress on May 12, 1917, and
was renamed the Sachem (Figure 4.18). After
being purchased by the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company from the United States Shipping
Board, the Sachem was rechristened the Cuba
on May 11, 1920. Little is known about the
vessel's earlier career under German registry.
The following cryptic entries suggest a well-
maintained vessel (RAFS 1922). The subject
of a special survey in March 1918, the Cuba's
shafts were drawn in February 1921 and its
machinery was surveyed in August 1922. In
1922, the Cuba carried an "Al" rating, the
second highest possible.

53

First placed in service between San
Francisco and Havana, the Cuba later voyaged
between various South American and Mexican
ports and San Francisco (Shaw 1985:114-
115). On August 17, 1923, the Cuba left the
Panama Canal Zone, stopping briefly at
Mazatlan on September 3. By the early
morning hours of September 8, the Cuba
approached the waters of the Santa Barbara
Channel. The crew had navigated solely on
dead reckoning for the past three days because
of persistent fog. A lack of spare parts had
left the ship's radio unrepaired. Captain J. C.
Holland retired for the night, leaving orders
for him to be roused if visibility became less



Figure 7.5, A little deeper into th
Dave Bunnell,

132


May 10 and legal investigation in
Tvedestrand July 16. Resuli—-cause of
the wreckage was stormy weather and
the case was dismissed {Norwegian
Archives].

Maller provides further ominous details of

the last voyage, including the desertion of the
ship's cat at the beginning of the voyage and
the death of the cabin boy during the voyage
to San Francisco.

Atticles in the Los Angeles Times provide
follow-up details of the crew's efforts to reach
Santa Barbara aficr establishing a temporary
camp on Santa Rosa Island. Salvage of at

feast two large and five small anchors from
the vessel is mentioned (Fouts 1989:7),
Although only a small amount of cargo was
retrieved, many fittings and other small
portable items were saved.

The vessel played its final role as a movie
set for the Universal Film Company, ‘The
earliest film crew, from [lying-A Moving
Picture Studios, attempted to film the wreck
less than three weeks after it happened, on
May 24, 1915 (Fouts 1989:6). Grandiose
plans to utilize the wreck as a centerpiece in
several other films came to nothing, although
a company of six Universal Film stars actually
visited the wreckage. Only a small amount of

Figure 4.10. Aggi in a different color s
courtesy of the Monterey Maritime Museum.

heme, presumably under an earlier owner.

46

Photo


CHAPTER I

Introduction

This repcrt gathers together historical and
archeological information on vessels that
wrecked within the boundaries of Channel
Islands National Park and Channel Islands
National Marine Sanctuary before 1980, when
the two preserves were established off the
southern coast of California. It summarizes,
as well, a series of archeological investigations
of wreck scatters in this area that began in the
early 1980s with Dan Lenihan's dives on the
Winfield Scott and continued after 1985 under
the direction of the senior author. The latter
work, which: located and documented several
large wreck scatters, is summarized here for
the first time, Although major gaps remain in
our knowledge of the shipwrecks and
submerged cultural resources, considerably
more information is now available to the
Channel Islands staff than was known in the
mid-1960s, when a request for information
about wrecks from a dive group drew the
response, "There are no shipwrecks at
Anacapa Island."

The first definite location of a wreck in the
area under consideration by the National Park
Service (NPS) came on August 23, 1981. Dan
Lenihan, Chief of the Submerged Cultural
Resources Unit, and his wife Barbara
confirmed the rumored location of the

Winfield Scott at the request of park staff, who
had noticed concentrated diver activity in the
area. Additional work took place in 1982 and
1983, when the wreck scatter was the subject
of an NPS diver's workshop that produced an
elementary map of the wreckage. More
importantly, this basic knowledge enabled the
park to provide a measure of protection to the
ship's wreckage.

A literature survey commissioned by
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
and funded by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
(Howorth and Hudson 1985) provided a
beginning point for the current investigations.
Howorth and Hudson's report encapsulated
firsthand knowledge of the area's wrecks by
one of the better informed modern boat
captains active in the Channel Islands.

Our fieldwork began when the sanctuary
obtained the services of the NOAA
hydrographic vessel Fairweather for a week in
April 1985. We scanned a number of
potential wreck sites around the islands ina
series of magnetometer and side-scan sonar
searches of likely areas indicated by Howorth
and Hudson. (This cruise of the Fairweather
was the second collaboration between NPS
and NOAA to detect and research submerged



artifact could come from wreckage "scattered
too widely to make exploration
convenient."

In October 1979, the Coastal Commission
rescinded this permit, commenting that "the
Commission staff and Attorney General's
office attempted to work out the specifics of
the permit, which would conform with the
Commission's authorization. However, an
agreement could not be reached with the
applicant on an acceptable format, and no
permit was consummated." Exhibits A and B
attached to this document described and
illustrated the area in which explorations were
to have occurred:

Beginning at a point in the Pacific
Ocean located al 34° 04° 15" north
latitude, 120° 25' 19" west longitude;
thence southwesterly 1.4 miles, more
or less, to a point located 34° 03° 29"
north latitude, 120° 26' 43" west
longitude; thence S 33° 05' E, 1.25
miles, more or less, to the ordinary
high water mark of San Miguel Island;
northeasterly along — said
ordinary high water mark to a point
that bears S 33° 05° FE from the point
of beginning; thence N 33° 05' W,
1.35 miles, more or less, to the point
of beginning

thence

This area is peneratly the waters between
Westcott Shoal and San Miguel Island, from
Otter Harbor at the southwest end of Simonton
Cove, southwest alonp the coast for about a
mule and a quarter.

As fater discussion of coastwise wreck
patterns will make clear, San Miguel Island is
a highly plausible location for a vessel running
along the California coast to wreck. The
prevailing winds and currents, aided by fog,
would throw a galleon onto the lee shore of

the northwest coast of San Miguel Island in
just the way that later lumber schooners
wrecked. Similarly, wreckage from vessels
breaking up offshore would fetch up on the
beaches in this portion of the island. No
material from a galleon or its cargo has ever
been recovered from this area, however, nor
have any Spanish-period artifacts been
recovered from archeological sites on the
island—unlike material from the wreck of the
San Augustin in’ Drakes Bay near San
Francisco. ‘The existence of a galleon near
San Miguel Island seems dubious al best.

‘The quest for oucr pelts that brought
Aleuts on board American and Russian vessels
to the Channel Islands around 1800 did not
result in any known shipwrecks either. The
nature of the Aleut presence on the islands is
largely unknown, although Aleut artifacts have
been identified from collections, primarily
from San Nicholas {sland. Two possible Aleut
artifacts have been documented from Santa
Rosa Island, and ethnic Aleuts are known to
have come to the mainland missions when the
Chumash population abandoned the Santa
Rosa (Heizer 1955). Sealing vessels later in
the century, which took an occasional rare sea
otter from a rapidly declining population, are
discussed in a later chapter.

Although the years before the gold rush
offer no definite records of shipwrecks near
the Channel Islands, they are also a period for
which records are likely to be— scanty,
unresearched, or missing. Many vessels,
particularly during the Spanish period, were
smuggling and conducting other illegal
business. Vessels of the time Irequently
sought refuge from southeasters by leaving
mainland harbors and sailing to the islands,
and some might have wrecked in the area.
Tow many undocumented wrecks are there at
Channel Islands National Park’? There is a
definite possibility of encountering wreckage



of any vessel reported in this study. Built by
William Munder, master carpenter, in San
Francisco in 1891, the vessel was originally
rigged as a schooner. In 1915, the Mary was
rerigged as a sloop. A certificate of inspection
dated June 1940, states that the vessel was
rebuilt in 1925, which may be when the Mary
acquired the one cylinder gas engine, 10 inch
bore and 7 inch stroke then listed. MVUS
1969 gives a horsepower rating of 127 for the
vessel, which must be another engine.

The Mary foundered 6.5 miles "from Gull
Light Santa Cruz Island CA" on May 20, 1968
(MVUS 1970:1299). The remains of the
vessel should lie within the sanctuary in
approximately 700 fathoms of water. The
Coast Guard casualty report described the

vessel's loss as follows:
vessel's loss as follows:

The vessel began leaking while
heading west into a choppy sea and
thirty to forty knot winds. By 6 PM
the boat was taking water on the
starboard side. Leaking became worse
through the evening and the pumps
were unable to keep up with the leaks.
When plans were lost, the Coast Guard
was called. They arrived at 1 AM,
placed two more pumps aboard, and
took Mary in tow. By 4 AM, the decks
were awash, pumps were inoperative,
and the decking was breaking up. The
major leak opened at an inaccessible
point in the hull underneath the chain
locker. As the Coast Guard put it,
"this casualty was caused when the

143

hull planking fasteners failed due to old age
and the hull was then open to the sea with
progressive flooding."

Rosemond R
1950-1969
Sport-fishing Boat

Gross Tonnage 18 tons
Net Tonnage 8 tons
Length 40 feet
Beam 13.6 feet
Depth 5.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 260203
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Rosemond R , ex-Vega, developed
engine trouble during the night of August 3,
1969, and the owner, William Hovey, set an
anchor that eventually snapped. Abandoning
the vessel, the three crew members watched as
the surf carried it onto the rocks where it was
destroyed (SBNP, August 4, 1969). Stranded
on Santa Rosa Island, the crew was rescued by
the Coast Guard the next morning as the surf
and tide subsided. The location of the wreck
is given as "8 mi 070t from South Point Light
Santa Rosa Island CA" (MVUS 1976:1430).
This would place the wreckage somewhere
near East Point. Peter Howorth has noted
wreckage in this area, although recent
searches have not turned up anything.



KEELSONS:
Main keelson 16" x 20"; sister keelsons 14" x 18". Bed piece of sufficient depth to come to

top of sister keelsons and sided 14

CENTER CAS

Center case to have an 8" opening, plank of case to be 8" thick. Case coppered to top of
Keelson.
DECK. FRAME:

Deck beams to side 14" and mould 11 inches. ‘To be secured to a clamp 11 inches in
thickness, said clamp to be worked onto frame and bolted with 2-1" bolts in cach and every

frame, driven from outside and clinched. Beams to be let into said clamp 1". ‘There shall be a
picce of timber dovetailed between all the beams, within 1" of the top of the beam and flush with

clamp , with the bolts in every piece driven from the outside and clinched.

HANGING KN.

Deck frame to have a hanging knee to cach beam, where practicable. Knees to be fastened
with 7/8" inch iron, Throat bolts one iron [sic].

Ceiling out of turn of bilge four inches, the lower strake of thick ceiling 10" and graduated in
three strakes to 8", from thence to clamps 8", the two upper strakes scarphed. All thick ceiling

edge bolted.

230


concealed many smaller items, Hector brought
along a metal detector. Some metal pieces
were located in the intertidal zone with the
metal detector while the team was skin diving
in the area from the donkey engine around
Ford Point to the sandy beach just to the cast

att a

Figure 4.7. s rusting donkey engine is the
most obvious remains of the steamship Crown
of England, ford Point, Santa Rosa Island.
NPS photo by Don Morris.

In addition, the area offshore has been
searched whenever possible by teams in scuba
gear or by what is jokingly called the BAIT
technique— "Buoyant/Bewildered/Beginnin g
(Choose at Least One) Archeologist in

40

‘Tow"--which utilizes an inflatable boat to tow
an investigator in snorkel gear over a search
area. ‘The water in the vicinity of Ford Point
does not exceed a depth of 40 feet, so diving
is relatively simple, but the area near the
donkey engine is frequently very rough,
particularly when the south swell is running.
Diving close to shore, where most of the
wreckage located so far has been found, is
often impractical.

The largest piece of wreckage is a very
large anchor lying at about 30 feet deep, with
associated anchor chain extending straight
offshore from the donkey engine. Closer in to
the shore lies a 10-foot piece of tubular pipe
about 8 inches in diameter, along with three or
four L beams and some small pieces of steel
plating. No large pieces, such as frames or
the keelson, of the Crown of England remain
in the area.

On shore, the area along the edge of the
terrace contains small picces of steel plating
and fragments of steel rivets. ‘The area around
the galley stove yielded, in addition to pieces
of the stove itself, glass, crockery, the one
metallic cartridge found, and some wire
insulators that appear to be radio gear dating
from the 1930s and 1940s. All of this
material suggests camp debris, as opposed to
the stockpile of salvage material clustered near
the shore. A trail of bolts and scrap leads
from the area near the donkey engine
northeast to a steep slope that leads down to
the eastern beach. ‘I'his would be a logical
place from which to load the salvaged scrap,
because the surf is much less turbulent here. A
few pieces of iron plate located by the metat
detector offshore from this beach probably
represent small pieces that fell off during
removal to a ship anchored offshore.


APPENDIX E

SCHOONER "COMET"

CONTRACT NUMBER 49:

Contract and specifications for building a three masted schooner at Port Blakely, W.T.,
between the following parties:

F. P. Hooper, J. A. Hooper, C. Lass, parties of the first part and W. G. Hall of the second
part.

Said vessel to be of the following dimensions:

DIMENSIONS:

One hundred and thirty-six ft. keel, thirty-four ft. moulded beam and eleven ft. deep.
TIMBER:

Outside of stem, rudder post, bitts, (with the exception of paw! bitt) cleats, cavils, jaws to
gaff and booms, trestle trees, cross-trees, pin rail in rigging and windlass to be of hardwood. The
balance of wood, unless specified, to be of yellow fir.

KEEL:
To be 16 x 17 inches, and 14 inches of keel and shoe below garboards.
FRAME:
Frame to be spaced 29 inches from centers and sided ten inches. Moulded 13 inches at keel

and 6% inches at deck, with a stanchion on every frame.

229


briefly with the gold rush, the development of
the steamship route to Panama, and associated
wrecks.

The greatest part of the report deals with
historical and archeological data acquired
about post-gold-rush vessels. ‘These are
presented under the headings of the activities
with which the vessels were associated.
Within each section, vessel accounts are
presented chronologically by time of the
incident that brings the vessel to our attention.
Discussion of precise locations is deliberately
a little thin; this assessment is not intended to
be "A Looter's Guide to Channel Islands
National Park and Marine Sanctuary."

Preparing this
possible way to rea
is to learn about the submerged cultural
resources of the park. For small boats,
recreational vessels, and many other subjects,
there is surely more information to be
gathered, both from archival research and
from fieldwork,

Throughout this report, we use English
mcasurements and distances because this was
the system in common use under which nearly
all the documented vessels were — built.

report has been the best

how much more th

Dimensions and tonnage figures come cither
from copies of ship's documents or from some
official source, typically Merchant Vessels of
the United States. We also employ the
following series of abbreviations for the
islands and for frequently cited publications
and newspapers.

Table 1.1. Abbreviations Used in Publication

ANI Anacapa Island

SBI Santa Barbara Island
SCR Santa Cruz Island
SMI — San Miguel Island
SRI Santa Rosa Island

LAT — Los Angeles Times

MVUS Merchant Vessels of the United
States

RAFS Record of American and Foreign
Shipping

SBDP Santa Barbara Daily Press

SBMP_ Santa Barbara Morning Press

SBNP Santa Barbara News Press

VSVP Ventura Star Free Press

BLM — Bureau of Land Management

NPS National Park Service


Historical Record

The Emil sank 2 miles off Santa Cruz
Island on December 1, 1938 (MVUS 1939),
None of the 10 crewmen were lost.

Nancy Lee
1946
Commercial Fishing Boat
(Converted Cabin Cruiser)

Specifications unknown.
Historical Record

Carrying a crew of threc, the Nancy Lee
swamped in heavy seas midway between
Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands in March
1946. The crew took to the skiff, which in
turn swamped. Bernice Brown alone survived
by returning fo the boat, using an empty gas
can for floatation, and eventually swimming to
Frenchy's Cove, where she waited 14 days for
an eventual rescue by the Coast Guard. Her
husband and brother-in-law were lost. ‘This
vessel is referred to as the Nancy B in some
accounts,

Balboa
1937-1949
Commercial Purse Seiner

Gross Tonnage 128 tons
Net Tonnage 68 tons
Length 81.0 feet
Beam 22.0 feet
Depth 10.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 235502
Consiruction wood

1 Record

According to the Los Angeles Times
(January 19, 1949), Balboa burned and sank
“off Anacapa Island" on January 18, 1949.
The fire began in the engine room from an
electric motor. ‘The responding Coast Guard
cutter was unable to board the vessel and fight
the fire because the purse seine (net) floated
around the Balboa, ‘The Balboa and crew, all
of whom survived, were from San Francisco.
This vessel is listed in the 1950 MVUS as
having been lost "off the California coast near
Los Angeles."

Santa Clara
9.1949
Fishing Vessel

Gross ‘Tonnage
Net ‘Tonnage o
Length
Beam ~
Depth ~
Decks

Official Number
Construction wood
Historical Record

The Santa Clara disappeared at sea on
April 28, 1949, under mysterious and
controversial circumstances, ‘There was
considerable enmity between the vessel's
operators, Francis M. (Jocko) Hunskor and
Robert (Bob) Eltis. The sel was often
known as "Bob and Jocko” after these two,
who were quarreling as the vessel last sailed.

In May 1954, the trawler Sebastian L
snagged wreckage in 70 fathoms off the east



Figure 5.1. JM Colman about 1900-1905. Photo taken off Cape Vlattery or in the Straits of
Juan de Puca. Photo by Hiram Hudson Morrison, courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

met them during their voyage and took them The tug Sea Witch, Capt. Johnson,
to San Pedro (Haller 1986), looper Brothers has returned from San Miguel Island
immediately took steps to save the vessel and where she went ashore Sunday night.
its cargo, cngaging a steamer, the Chehalls, to Captain Johnson was unable to get
visit the site to attempt removal of the vessel within a half-mile of the vessel, as she

from the rocks. Patterson, returning later with
the tug Sea Witch, stated:

fies among dangerous reels and rocks
with waves breaking over her.
Johnson stated that the vessel will be
a total loss and that there is little
chance to save the cargo {San
Francisco Call, quoted in’ Haller
1986].

She is certainly very badly damaged
and I doubt whether she can be saved.
She is in no immediate danger, as the
prevailing west wind will not damage
her and there is but little fear of the
wind shifting to the southwest at this . . an
time of year. After striking, she filled Again, this description suggests the
rapidly. She is only kept afloat by her northerly side of Point Bennett, for the
lumber cargo. southern side is relatively accessible and free
from hazards.

im prophecy for the Over a year later, however, salvage of the
JM Colman's cargo continued:

By September 9, a g
JM Colman was published:

72.


stranded on Bee Rock, on the south
side of Santa Rosa Island {[SBMP,
November 3, 1906].

A search of Bee Rock for remains of the
Dora Bluhm yielded no evidence of this
vessel. Its remains may be commingled on
Cluster Point with the earlier wreckage of the
lumber schooner.

Sea Foam
Approximately 1907
Trade Not Known

The only record of this vessel comes from

the following newspaper article:

Captain Waters who returned from the
islands last Friday reports that he
found a large piece of wreckage on the
north side of San Miguel Island. Upon
the boards the words "Sea
Foam" were painted in gilt letters six
or seven inches long. Capt. Waters
has brought the relic over with him in
the hopes that some clue may be found
in this mystery of the deep [SBMP,
March 17, 1907].

A vessel of this name did wreck at
Westport, Mendocino County, California, on
October 1, 1885, when capsized by large
breakers while moored. Since this vessel
wrecked earlier and up current from San
Miguel Island, it may have provided the item
found by Captain Waters. Another possible
source is a ship also named Sea Foam that
collided with the Del Norte off the Coquille
River, Oregon, in 1905. This wreckage
would have traveled a longer distance in a
shorter time.

Irene
1905-1908
Miscellancous ‘Trades

Gross Tonnage _
Net Tonnage aa

Length 35 feet
Beam _
Depth =
Decks one
Official Number —
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel is discussed in Eaton (1980).
lra Eaton built the frene, wor
and weekends, and named it af
child. The Jrene was “out all day trolling for
bonita and yellowtail for the local market"
(SBMP, February 16, 1907). ‘The vessel
wrecked in Valdez Harbor, Santa Cruz Island,
during a northwester carly in 1908 (aton
1980:31). Thanks to Eaton's fine account, we
know of this vessel, certainly one of many that
worked in the area but that were not formally
documented and registered and whose
histories are not reflected in official records.
No listing exists for this vessel in Merchant
Vessels of the United States.

ne evenines
iB eV S

Nellie
1879-1912
Local Passenger Vessel

s Tonnage 14 tons
Net Tonnage 9 tons
Length 38.8 feet
Beam 11.0 feet
Depth 3.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 130865
Construction wood




Figure 4.28. By 1992, only the amidships portion of the Chickasaw remains above sea level.
This section broke up in 1995. NPS photo by Marc Linder.

67


Roberis, Lois W.

1978 Historic Resource Study: Channel
Islands National Monument and 1978
San Miguel Island, California.
Chambers Consultants and Planners.

Sawyer, L. A. and W. H. Mitchell

1985 The Liberty Ships. The History of the
‘Emergency’ Type Cargo Ships
Constructed in the United States

During the Second World War. Second
Edition. Lloyd's of London Press
Ltd., London.

Scammon, Charles M.

1968 The Marine Mammals of the North-
western Coast of North America.
Dover Publications, New York.

Scofield, W. L.

1951 Purse Seines and Other Roundhaul
Nets in California, Fish Bulletin No.
81, State of California, Department of
Fish and Game.

Shaw, James 1.

1985 Ships of the Panama Canal. Naval
Institute Press, Annapolis.

US Bureau of Customs

1910 Merchant Vessels of the United States,
1911 US Government Printing Office,
1914 Washington, D.C.

1918-1921
1924,1929
1930-1931
1933, 1936
1951-1954
1956, 1959
1961, 1963
1965, 1968
1969, 1970
1972, 1974
1976, 1979
1981

Walker, Philip and Pandora Snethkamp

1982

t

Final

R

t, A gical
Investigations on San Miguel Island—
1982: Prehistoric Adaptations to the
Marine Environment. Office of Public
Archaeology, Social Process Research
Institute, University of California,
Santa Barbara.

Wamba, Dan
1989 Gypsy Q. Term paper for Introduction
to Archeology Underwater. Ms. on

file, Chamnel Islands National Park.

Wheeler, Kugene D. and Robert 2. Kallman

1986 Shipwrecks, Smugglers, and Maritime
Mysteries. Pathfinder Publishing.
Ventura.

Whitman, Stan

1989 The Barkentine Jane L Stanford. Ms.
on file, Channel Islands National Park.


surf, While working on the rum-
runner the men were several times
washed overboard by the surf, the boat
being two-thirds under water. At 3:00
p-m., fifty ($0) sacks of liquor had
been recovered and the CG-259 found
no more. The CG-259 left the scene
of the seizure at 3:30 a.m., November
15, to return to the Base.

A later report stated that the Grey Ghost
"is a total loss, no part of the engines or
equipment being salvaged." Clearly there was
a less benevolent side to Coast Guard
operations during the "Roaring ‘Twenties.”

W. T. and B. Co. No. 60
1914-1931
Motor Barge

738 tons
650 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 142.1 feet
Beam 37.2 feet
Depth 16.2 feet
Decks one
Official Number 166821
Construction wood

History

This vessel burned at 34° 20' N, 120° 15"
W, in March 1931. This location is between
Point Conception and Santa Barbara, slightly
north of the shipping lanes. The Coast Guard
cutter Zamaroa towed the hulk to a location
west of East Point, Santa Rosa Island, and
there sank the wreckage using mines, in much
the same manner in which this same cutter had
dealt with the wreckage of the Jane L Stanford

162

(famaroa logbook). Wreckage has been
reported in this area by Carmen Lombardo
and an archeological survey crew which
noted the presence of a massive deck cleat, far
too large for the typical fishing vessel.

Typhoon
?-1931
Pleasure Yacht

Specifications unknown.

orical Record

Nothing is known of the specifics of this
essel, as most information derives from

ecounts sel is not

The ve ted

Of the

in the yacht section of Merchant Ve:
United States, 1930 edition.

The Typhoon was abandoned by its four-
person crew (Mr. and Mrs. Frank C, Learned,
J. E. Knowles, and Elizabeth Bakewell) at
3:00 A.M., June 28, 1931. The vessel was
still floating north of Santa Cruz Island, out of
gas and with torn sails, after "the anchor was
dragged more than a mile in a southerly
direction." ‘This is not unexpected since the
water in this region uniformly exceeds a depth
of 40 fathoms, far too deep for the typical
anchor rode.

The four reached the north shore of Santa
Cruz island near Platt's Harbor and waited for
12 hours. Knowles and Bakewell narrowly
escaped drowning. ‘They were rescued by the
express cruiser Haida, owned by Max
Fleischmann, The article gives no good idea
of exactly where the 7yphoon sank, strongly
suggesting that the yacht was still floating
when abandoned near the islands (LAT, June
29, 1931).



Ship Name
Dora Bluhm
Goldenhorn
Jane L Stanford

W. T. & B Co. No. 60

Unnamed Chinese Junk
Bar-bee

Dawn

Dorothy M
George E Billings
Island Packer
Labor

Louise Ray

Pearl

Pinocchio

San Giuseppe
Shamrock

Blue Sea

Patrick

Black Dolphin

Blazenka B

Official Gross
Number Island Year ‘Tonnage
157091 SRI 1910 330.44
36279 SRI 1892 1914.78
71070 SRI 1929 970
166821 SRI 1931 738

Wrecks Within the Park

— ANI? 1884

os ANI a -
157169 ANI 1901 16,59
248634 ANI 1958 18
86665 ANI 1941 1260
251991 ANI 1969 21
222693 ANI 1924 42
226822 ANI 1937 52

oe ANI 1891 ~
500951 ANI 1969 IL
234348 ANI 1950 109
571693 ANIL 1977 20
217149 SBI 1928 40
268135 SBI 1980 18
290301 Scl 1968 21
557140 Sct 1977 26


The Jane L Stanford, a wooden boat
showing a long development of traditional
techniques;

The Silberhorn and the Matterhorn, sister
ships of the Goldenhorn, all iron barks built in
a style reminiscent of wood construction;

The Aggi, a full-rigged ship in steel
showing the final stages in the evolution and
development of this form;

The Cuba, a steamer of modern design and
construction having more in common with a
World War {1 Liberty ship than with the
Winfield Scott, only 50 years in the past;

The Pectan, a brand new tanker and an
example of the emerging specialized cargo
vessel.

This variety of working
present in the arca today. In
around the park, visiting perhaps six wrecks,
one can see examples of many different types
of vessels and relate their activity to the
growth of modern California,

Virtually all the vessels plying the channel
were products of an industrial society. Even
the Chumash tomols, hand built by specialists,
were not always used by their makers. Most
of vessels wrecked in the park were produced
with power equipment in an industrial setting
(Greenhill 1988), Saws, drills, and the like
left their mark on the timbers now on the
beaches, and it is clear that the vessels
wrecked in the park represent a time when the
adze and the hand craftsman were vanishing.
The local production of boats in Santa
Barbara, such as the /rene by Iva Eaton, may
be an exception to this generalization.

Ironically, many of the vessels and wreck
scatters treated in this assessment of
submerged cultural resources are — not
submerged at all, primarily because of the
uncooperative nature of wood in this regard.
The floatable, and hence more mobile,
fragments of wooden vessels become scattered

188

as currents and tides work them, in contrast to
the remains of iron and steel ships, which tend
to stay put (Figure 9.1). On the other hand,
much of the material from wooden vessels is
readily available for study by researchers and
visitation by the nondiving public right on the
beach. Even vessels that are primarily
submerged have some associated material on
nearby beaches.

The wreck scatters of the Channel Islands
represent a wide range of social groups, from
cosmopolitan to local, and a correspondingly
wide range of research problems. — [f this

report. demonstrates anything, it is that
opportunities for meaningful research are rich.
archeological

Coordinated historical and

Figure 9.1. Knees and deck planking of an
unidentified wreck in use as a wind screen at
Bath Beach, San Miguel Island.


Figure 4.9. Aggi at the dock. Photo courtesy of the Monterey Maritime Museum.

Malmo, Sweden, with a cargo of 2,500 tons
of barley and 600 tons of beans (Fouts
1989:4). The two vessels encountered a
severe storm that parted the towing cable the
following day. The Aggi's cargo shifted as
the storm reached its height, putting the lee
rails under water and submerging half the
bunks in the forecastle. The crew could not
maneuver the vessel properly in this condition
and, despite attempts to reach the city of Santa
Barbara, the Aggi fetched up with great force
on Talcott Shoals, 1 mile from the west end of
Santa Rosa Island, at 3:30 P.M. on May 3,
1915.

The Edgar H Vance also encountered
severe difficulties in the storm, limping back
into San Francisco on May 5 with a jury
rudder and assistance from the tugs Navigator,

45

Rover, and Dauntless.
The summary of the maritime declaration
following the wreck of the Aggi states:

Aggi (WJBM) of Lyngor sailed from
San Francisco on April 29 [1915]
under tow to sail through the Panama
Canal. Very soon a storm broke out
and the cargo was displaced and the
towing rope was broken. The ship got
a leak and tried to get to Santa Rosa
Island as a harbor of refuge. In the
entrance, the ship grounded on May 3
on a ground not marked on the map,
leaked full of water, and was totally
wrecked. The crew saved themselves
in the ship's boats. The maritime
declaration was held in San Francisco





CHAPTER VI

Sealing in the Northern Channel Islands

Today the pinnipeds of the Channel Islands
constitute one of the most outstanding features
of the park and the sanctuary. At the principal
rookery, Point Bennett on San Miguel Island,
harbor seals, elephant seals, California sea
lions, Stellar sea lions, Northern fur seals, and
Guadalupe fur seals all use the spacious sand
beaches—the only place in the islands and in
the world where these six pinniped species
occur together. Fur seals and Stellar sea lions
have been noted only around San Miguel, and
elephant seals maintain a small rookery on
Santa Barbara Island, but harbor seals and
California sea lions are found throughout park
waters and beaches. This varied population
forages in the kelp forests surrounding the
islands.

This general situation has apparently been
true of the islands for some time, although
there have been changes in relative abundance
over time. Before 1940, Stellar sea lions were
more common than California sea lions,
whereas Stellars are nearly gone from the area
now. In prehistoric times, roughly around
3000 B.c., the Guadalupe fur seal was the
most common pinniped whose bones were
deposited in prehistoric middens at Point
Bennett (Walker and Snethkamp 1982:123);

107

today the species is extremely rare, and only
one or two individuals are observed in the
park each year (Robert deLong, personal
communication). Elephant seals have
rebounded enormously since the time of their
supposed extinction around 1900.

Sealing came into vogue as whale hunting
declined because of decimation of the larger
animals. On occasion, both types of animals
were hunted together. Elephant seals,
particularly, gave oil as good as or better than
whale oil for many industrial applications, and
hides, pelts, testes, and whiskers could also be
sold profitably (Scammon 1968).

Although sealing in the park area did
involve the use of boats, animals were also
taken on land, and island camps were
established as bases for hunting. Like many
commercial fishing boats, the vessels engaged
in the trade were often adapted from other
uses, and the crew and skipper were often
opportunistic. They made money at whatever
came along, not necessarily excluding illegal
activities like smuggling.

The following article gives a vivid picture
of the sealing trade on Anacapa during the
nineteenth century:



proceed to realize upon it in their
cunning fashion—Oakland Times
[VSFP, September 18, 1891].

Just as we were on the final editing of this
publication, Robert Schwemmer brought to
our attention the following account of a
previously unknown vessel involved in
smuggling.

Vessels Mistakenly Placed in the Islands

The following vessels, often cited by
various sources as having wrecked within the
park, are not, in fact, within the area covered
by this report.

J F West

This vessel apparently did not exist.
Haller (1986) could find no evidence of
registration of a vessel of this name, which is
referenced by O'Neill (1939), a secondary
source full of inaccuracies in the sections
dealing with maritime history. Since O'Neill
states that the vessel, allegedly a schooner,
carried four masts, it surely would have been
documented in surviving primary records.
There is no record under this name in
Merchant Vessels of the United States. The
name may be an amalgamation of names of
vessels that did in fact wreck at San Miguel
Island.

Babina

This vessel, which sank in March 1923,
did so about 60 miles south of San Francisco,
and "sixteen miles from Santa Cruz"—the city,

181

not the island (MVUS 1924). Some
references list this vessel as the Babinda.
Again, this locality is near the city, not the
island.

Crescent City

This vessel, official number 203602, 701
gross tons, stranded on July 7, 1927, at Santa
Cruz Light, California (MVUS 1929). Again,
this locality is near the city, not the island.

Liverpool

This vessel wrecked in the Other (English)
Channel Islands.

Nancy B

This is apparently the same vessel as the
Nancy Lee, described in the chapter on fishing
vessels,

St. Anne of the Sunset

This vessel also wrecked near Port
Hueneme, nowhere near Anacapa Island.

Seahoph

This distinctly odd name, which has not
been located in Merchant Vessels of the United
States, may be a typographical error for the
Seaborn, which was discussed earlier.



According to the wreck report, the Leader
was anchored at San Miguel Island, with both
anchors set. The wind was north-northwest
and there was no moon. A heavy swell
“started mooring went ashore" in the cryptic
phrase of Captain Charles — Lutyens.
According to the San Francisco Alta
California (August 12, 1876), the wreck
occurred on the “weather side" of the island,
which under these conditions would be the
northwest coast somewhere between Harris
Point and Point Bennett, including Simonton
Cove and Otier Harbor. There is no safe
anchorage on this side of the island under
these conditions. The Alta California states
that a squall blew up and gives the date for the
wreck as June 7, but the wreck report signed
by Charles Lutgens is more likely to be
correct on these points.

The crew of six continued sealing on Flea
Island, known today as Castle Rock, having
recovered about half the empty casks that
comprised the Leader's cargo at that point.
After four weeks, low on supplies, lwo of the
crew took the small boat salvaged from the
wreck and sought help from Santa Rosa
Island. Captain ‘Thompson Iced the rescue
effort (Reed 1989).

Wreckage from this vessel is probably
strewn over a wide portion of the northwest
coast of San Miguel by vigorous surf and
currents. The exact location of the wreck is
likely to be somewhere between Otter Harbor
and Point Bennett, where — pinnipeds
concentrate today. Surviving fittings, timbers,
and fastenings from this vessel would be
considerably smaller than those from lumber
schooners that came ashore in this area later,
the smallest of which measured 91 gross tons
So far, shoreline searches in this area have
been negative.

110

NB
1853-1879
Sealing, Otter Hunting, and Fishing Schooner

Gross Tonnage 17.6 tons
Net Tonnage —

Length 49 feet
Beam 16.2 feet
3.6 feet
one
Official Number 18388
Construction wood

istorical Record

The N B is a vessel with a complicated
construction history. Fortunately, many of
the registration documents have survived to
suggest some fascinating studies that could be
carried out when the wreckage is located.
When the VN B was launched in 1853 at San
Francisco, the vessel was a sloop with one
mast, measuring "22 13/95 tons," according to
its certificate of enrollment, and with a square
stern and a gilt head. In £859, the rig
changed to that of a schooner, which must
have involved adding a mast and perhaps
restepping the original mast. Minor changes in
official dimensions scem to be a result of
measurement variance rather than of
reconstruction; no rebuilding is noted on the
N B's licenses, ‘The data trom the NV B's 1879
certificate of enrollment are entered above.

During most of its career, the NV B's home
port was San Francisco. The vessel's final
registration was San Diego. The N B stranded
on San Miguel Island on December 23, 1879.
A brisk northeast wind intensified during the
night and rising seas swept over the decks
until the V B was "tossed up on the beach like
a toy, with which the waters had become tired


California Counter Current, which usually
flows to the south near the islands and north
along the mainland coast. This condition is
common from July through November, a
time that is termed the Oceanic Period.

Ina typical year, the Oceanic Period is
followed by a weakening of the California
Current from November through Vebruary.
‘This results in the surfacing of the Davidson
Current, often manifested as a general
northern flow around the islands and in the
Santa Barbara Channel. ‘The balance of the
year is called the Upwelling Period, with
surface currents similar to those of the
Oceanic Period but generated primarily by
strong surface winds.

Li must be emphasized that these patterns
are not entircly reliable and predictable.
Oceanic Period currents tend to peak in
September and October, whereas — the
upwelling system is often very strong in
May, June, and July and the Davidson
Period is strongest in| December and
January. The situation varics from year to
year.

Navivation and Shipping Hazards

During storms and periods of reduced
visibility, the islands themselves are
navigation hazards, Although many p;
the islands within the park, especially Santa
Cruz Island, are clear of hazards, certain
arcas are extremely foul.

"The most dangerous fisland| to
approach” (Davidson 1889:93), San Miguel
offers the roughest weather, the greatest
number of submerged rocks, and the poorest
visibility in the park and sanctuary. These
superlatives combine with numerous s oal

areas 10 produce the greatest density of

shipwrecks in the park. Many hazards

of

converge in Simonton Cove, a See shore for
coastal shipping vessels allempting to enter
the Santa Barbara Channel and a gigantic
catcher's mitt for those who misnavigate.
Dangers are especially common off the
northwest shore of San Miguel Island,
particularly at Westcott Shoal, which
extends west for 1.5 miles from Harris Point
and generally south to Point Bennett. Castle
Rock is the largest and most prominent of
these hazards (Davidson 1889:95), Wilson
Rock lies 2.2 miles northwest from Harris
Point. Deep water around Wilson Rock and
its associated reefs, and the lack of kelp
growing there, hinders detection of this
rd in foggy weather. Numerous rocks
ff Point Bennett. Richardson Rock, 5.5

northwest from Point

miles
likewise rises from deep water.

Although the south coast of San Miguel
is reasonably clear, Wyckoff Ledge rises to
within 15 feet of the surface about 0.5 mile
olf the south shore. Foul ground lies east of
Crook Point, situated at about the middle of

Bennett,

San Miguel's southern shore. Cardwell
Point, a shoaling sandspit often marked by
spectacular breakers, extends a recf 1 mile
into the San Migucl Passage, Even Cuyler
Harbor, one of the more popular anchorages
in the islands and certainly the most
commonly used anchorage on San Miguel
Island, contains its dangers, most notably
Can Rock and Middle Rock.

Currents around San Miguct generally
conform to the northwesterly winds but
generaic eddies at Point Bennett and cast of
Cardwell Point; cach of these can carry
vessels into danger.

Santa Rosa Island, 3 miles east of San
Miguel, provides somewhat better weather
and fewer hazards, although much of its
shore is exposed and no good anchorages



Shoshoni
1944-1967
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 55 tons
Net Tonnage 19 tons
Length 63.0 feet
Beam 17.8 leet
Depth 8.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 278356
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Shoshoni stranded at Santa Rosa
Island on January 19, 1967 (MVUS 1968).

Eileen D
1944-1967
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 14 tons
Net Tonnage 6 tons
Length 34.3 feet
Beam 11.6 feet
Depth 4.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 261529
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Kileen D capsized and sank off Santa
Rosa Island when a heavy bait tank broke
loose and shifted to one side (VSFP, August
23, 1967). The three aboard the boat were
rescued by nearby fishing boats

142

Warrtor
1914-1967
Vishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 82 tons
Net Tonnage 56 tons
Length 78.0 tect
Beam 17.0 feet
Depth 9.6 leet
Decks one
Official Number 211956
Construction wood

Tlistorical Record

The Warrior struck a recf off San Miguel
Island in heavy fog and sank on October 13,
1967. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the
two crewmen who were Stranded on the island

(MVUS 1970; SBNP, October 14, 1967).
The exact location of the wreck is not
specified
Mary
1891-1968
Fishing Vessel
Gross Tonnage 77 tons
Net Tonnage 47 tons
Length 64.4 feet
Beam 24.0 feet
Depth 5.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 92322
Construction wood

Historical Record

Built in San Francisco and home-ported in
Los Angeles, this vessel had the longest carver


Figure 8.4. Blue Fin at dock 45, San Francisco, January 3, 1936. Photo courtesy of San
Francisco Maritime NHP.

Santa Cruz Island, Calif; 11 on board, none
lost."

Blue Fin
1930-1944
California Fish and Game Patrol Boat

83 tons, later 94.5
43 tons, later 64

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 81.5 feet
Beam 18.7 feet
Depth 9.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 229764
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Blue Fin a Fish and Game patrol boat,
stranded on Santa Rosa Island on September 3,
1944, while under bareboat charter to the U.S.

165

Army. This suggests that the vessel might lie
somewhere in Becher's Bay which was the
usual destination for supply boats for the
Army base on the island at that time. While in
the Army, the vessel was designated J 245. A
200 hp Atlas Imperial diesel engine propelled
the craft. No newspaper account has been
located of this wreck, which was probably
censored for security reasons (Figure 8.4).

Grumman Avenger (Airplane)
Probably WW II Era
WwW II Torpedo Bomber

This plane lies generally north of the gap
between East and Middle Anacapa Island at a
depth of 120 feet. Although well known
among avid local divers around the park, the
NPS did not locate it until recently, despite
sporadic searches extending over the last
several years. Bill Miller and Bill Fox, of




insight that such maierial contains. Many local
organizations work in local history and the
NPS should coordinate its research actively
with them. A study of both commercial and
sport fishing in the Channel Islands, focusing
particularly upon biological impacts of
resource extraction, is needed. Some of the
maitcrial presented in this report should prove
relevant to such a study,

The recording of material from the
Goldenhorn on the shoreline of Santa Rosa
Island indicates that about a kilometer of sea
bottom between the main wreck scatter and the
shoreward coal pile should be examined for
additional wreckage. Wood in the associated
lumber pile should be sampled and identified
to determine whether it belongs to. the
Goldenhorn.

Future field investigations should attempt
to locate the two missing lumber schooners,
the George W Prescott and the Watson A
West. The wreck scatters of the Liberty, the
Santa Rosa, the Kate and Anna, the Isabella,
the N B, and the Josie Lena in Cuyler Harbor
should also be investigated; this is a sizable
collection of late-nincteenth-century work
boats with diverse histories. This fieldwork
could be carried out in combination with
investigations of the nearby lumber schooners
that wrecked on the northwest coast of the
island. The archival record of
the Dante Alighieri If is so detailed that
locating its wreckage should be easy. Work
should focus on the four known bul as yet
unidentified wreck scatters within the park.
As wrecks are exposed by moving beach
sands, the material should be aggressively and
thoroughly investigated. Recent fieldwork on
the Comet shows how much effort can be
required to shovel sand from only small pieces
of wreckage. As wreckage is recognized and
located, it should be recorded, sampled for

192

identification, and tagged in a manner similar
to techniques now being employed elsewhere.

The wreck scatters of the Jane L Stanford
and the Broadbill have been identified and are
worthy of additional study. The wealth of
documentation for the Jane L Stanford,
including the oral history from Carol Jung,
together with the presence of appreciable
material remains, makes further studies of this
vessel appealing. Its study could go well
beyond standard archeological work to talk of
the vessel's cultural role—that is, the
importance of the ship to the people who used
it and who were affected by it. The
disciplines of history, historical archeology,
and ethnohistory should be employed to fully
study the June L Stanford.

Table 10.1 lists small craft that have been
lost in shallow waters and should be relatively
easy to find. They consist of a variety of early
fishing and work vessels, mostly power
craft. Study of these vessels should be
integrated with studies of the shore camps
with which many of them were associated and
with the historical study of fishing in the
Channel Islands.

The wrecks located entirely within the
marine sanctuary provide a challenging
combination of small boats, deep water
indefinite locations. An exceptional prize in
the sanctuary assemblage would be the Mary
(1891-1968), a vessel that would be an
appropriate focus for additional historice
studies in an attempt to more clearly define
the location of the wreckage.

We recommend that more emphasis be
placed on orienting island and boat patrol
personnel to the urces of the known wreck
scatters. These are the Equator and the
Winfield Scott on Anacapa Island; the Santa
Cruz, the Peacock, and the Grumman
Guardian on Santa Cruz Island; the



Historical Record

This short article in the Los Angeles Times
succinctly describes the end of the Adriatic, a
sardine fishing boat.

The San Pedro fishing boat Adriatic, a
sixty foot purse seiner owned by Dick
Perica, struck a log, the seams opened
up, and it sank at 9 A.M. Sunday five
miles off Santa Barbara Island. Perica
and his crew of eight abandoned the
craft in a skiff, rowing for perhaps an
hour before they were picked up by the
purse seiner Georgia and brought to
San Pedro, arriving yesterday

Nets and twenty tons
Nets and twenty tons

morning of
morning. of
sardines also went down with the ship,
the loss being estimated by Perica at
$20,000, most of which was covered
by insurance [LAT, December 30,

1930].

The wreck report gives the location as
"five miles southwest... Santa Barbara
Island.." and attributes the sinking to a
defective pump which was unable to contain a
leak, saying nothing about a log. The Adriatic
was one of the vessels active early in the
development of the fishing industry in Los
Angeles. Merchant Vessels of the United
States, 1930 edition, lists the Adriatic as a
wooden vessel with diesel propulsion. It was
built in Los Angeles in 1920, originally named
the Carl F. Lehmers, and had been powered
by a gas engine.

Tf the newspaper account is accurate, the
wreckage is well outside the boundary of
Channel Islands National Park but lies within
the marine sanctuary. Waters 5 miles out
from Santa Barbara Island range in depth

125

generally from 67 to 657 fathoms, except on
top of Osborn Bank, a popular fishing spot,
where a minimum depth of 19 fathoms barely
falls within normal scuba depth limits.

Emperor
1927-1932
Fishing Vessel
Gross Tonnage 56 tons
Net Tonnage 38 tons
Length 61.6 feet
Beam 17.0 feet
Depth 8.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 226573
Construction wood
Historical Record
The Emperor foundered “off Santa

Barbara Island” on July 15, 1932. The vessel
had been constructed in Gig Harbor,
Washington, in 1927 (MVUS). The wreck
report states the vessel sank 6 miles east of the
east end of Santa Barbara Island while the
vessel was en route to Catalina Island. The
wreck report gives the date of the wreck as
July 12, along with the following narrative:

...began hand pump as soon as water
was discovered (0500) - left vessel at
0630, heading for Santa Barbara
Island - sighted US Coast and
Geodetic survey vessel Virginia at
0830. Virginia sighted crew at 1000;
Virginia picked up crew at 1010 and
returned to Emperor at 1100; Virginia
not equipped to give any assistance
but a light was left at the mast of the
boat, which was left floating at noon
"bow down, stern about three feet


long are the most notable items in the
wreckage. No engines or machinery have
been observed in the wreck scatter, indicating
that the vessel was thoroughly salvaged.

San Francisco
1943-1949
Purse Seiner

Gross Tonnage 128 tons
Net Tonnage 63 tons
Length 78.6 feet
Beam 22.2 feet
Depth 10.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 243764
Construction wood
Histori cord

This vessel burned to the waterline on
October 31, 1949, either “about 2 miles west
of the west end of Anacapa Island, 34° 01’ N,
119° 19' 5" W, southern Calif" (MVUS
1951:940) or “five miles off Hueneme”
(SBNP, November |, 1949), The coordinates
given in the MVUS lie about 2 miles east of
the east end of Anacapa Island, a point some
11 miles west of the newspaper position.
Perhaps the two locations describe the path

133

taken by the burning hulk of the San
Francisco. In any case, the vessel is evidently
not within the park.

Pan Pacific
1948-1950

Purse Seiner
Gross Tonnage 226 tons
Net Tonnage 99 tons
Length 95.5 feet
Beam 26.6 feet
Depth 12.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 254926
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel, often placed on Channel
Island shipwreck lists, sank southeast of
Anacapa Island, about ten miles outside the
sanctuary at 33° 46' 45" N, 119° 10' 20" W.
The crew of four, accompanied by two seven-
year-old boys along for the ride, took to the
skiff as the purse seiner sank. Rescue came
after Point Mugu radar spotted the skiff within
a prohibited area of the test range. According
to reports, the young boys preferred drifting at
sea to returning to school.


PLANKING:

Garboards 7" in thickness and graduated in 3 strakes to thickness of bottom plank, which
shall be 4", wales 5", planksheer 5" in thickness; washboard flush with wales. Bulkwarks 2”
thick, rail 5", monkey chock and rail whole length of vessel.

DECK:

Deck 4 x 4"; quarter deck and housetop 3" x 3”.
FASTENING:

Keel, keelsons, stem, stern post and deadwood to be fastened with 14" and 1%" iron. There
shall be breast hooks and pointers forward and aft; also a breast hook above and below lumber
port. Hooks and pointers fastened with 1" iron. Thick ceiling square fastened with %" iron to
bottom of hanging knees, from thence to clamps %" iron, enough driven from the inside to work
the plank, the balance driven from the outside and clinched.

OUTBOARD FASTENING:

Garboards to be edge bolted to the keel. Planking to be worked with composition spikes to
the wales, thence to plank sheer galvanzied iron. Planking to be square fastened with 14"
treenails, driven through to make square fastening and wedged on both ends. Treenails from turn
of bilge to planksheer Locust. Fastenings for deck, housetop, bulwarks and stern to be
galvanized, all other fastenings used in construction of said vessel, not specified as galvanized, to
be of black iron.

SALT:

Vessel to be salted from lower edge of wales to deck.

231


(MVUS 1959). This position is near the west
end of East Anacapa, but nearly 3 miles north
of the island, in very deep water where
stranding would be unlikely. The Coast
Guard casualty report gives a latitude much
closer to shore.

Coast Guard reports state that the vessel
was anchored on the north side of Anacapa
Island, seeking shelter from a southeast wind.
The wind shifted to the northwest, the anchor
dragged, and the vessel stranded on the island.

Ruth K
1944-1960
Fishing Vessel
Gross Tonnage 14 tons
Net Tonnage 6 tons
Length 34.3 feet
Beam 11.6 feet
Depth 4.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 261271
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel stranded at San Miguel Island
on December 13, 1960 (MVUS 1961), when
the anchor line parted while the crew slept.
The Coast Guard gives the location as "San
Miguel Island, Cuyler Harbor, offshore Prince
Is."

Vineth
1940-1961
Fishing Boat
Gross Tonnage 14 tons
Net Tonnage 5 tons
Length 37.5 feet
Beam 11.0 feet
Depth 5.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 239460
Construction wood

139

Historical Record

The MVUS editions for 1961 and 1962
reveal that the Vineth, built in
Bellingham, Washington, and registered in
Los Angeles, stranded "one mile southwest of
Smugglers Cove, Santa Cruz Island" on
September 1, 1961. The Coast Guard casualty
report describes the event this way: "On
automatic pilot—went below to prepare
evening meal—course about 290T. Good safe
course—After some 15 to 20 mins, vessel
grounded on rocks—Heading was changed by
defective auto-pilot—Clutch must have
slipped—It has done that before. Went over
rocks and then continued on to beach. Vessel
sank in 3 feet of water—Not a menace to
Navigation."

Carol O
2-196
Fishing Boat

Gross Tonnage 13 tons
Net Tonnage 7 tons
Length 37.5 feet
Beam 10.6 feet
Depth 4.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 276479
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Carol O caught fire and sank 5 miles
northeast of Santa Rosa Island (LAT, October
16, 1961) or "approximately 7 miles northeast
of the Santa Rosa Island Channel” (MVUS
1963). The two crewmen aboard were
rescued by a nearby boat. This vessel
probably lies inside the sanctuary boundary
and may rest inside the park.


Vessel Date Grounded

Anubis July 20, 1908
Pectan January 21, 1914
Liebre February 28, 1921
Beulah 1933

Aristocratis December 1, 1949

Patria June 21, 1954

For most of these vessels, fog and storm
contributed to their disaster. ‘They alt
demonstrate the hazards of dead-reckoning
navigation in restricted visibility. Five of the
vessels included stops at the port of Los
Angeles (San Pedro) in the itincrarics of their
fatelul trips. ‘The others were engaged in
coastwise traffic between San Diego, Port San
Luis, and San Francisco. The vessels not
involved with Los Angeles all wrecked on the
outer islands of San Miguel and Santa Rosa.
Outward bound trom Los Angeles, Liebre and
Beulah grounded briefly on Anacapa, while
Patria and Aristocratis made it all the way to
Santa Rosa before grounding in the shoals off
the east end and at Johnson's Lee.

Five of the vessels regularly carried bulk
cargoes. The Goldenhorn and the Crown of
England carried coal, the Aggi carried grain,
mostly barley, and the Pecran and the Liebre
carried oil. The other vessels carried general
cargoes—coffee, plywood, plastic toys, and
the like. The Cuba carried a large
complement of passengers (112), while the
Chickasaw, primarily a freighter, had four
paying customers on its last voyage.

Both the Chickasaw and the Aggi wrecked
as a result of truly bad winter southeasters,
while the Goldenhorn and the Crown of
England van afoul of a combination of strong
Davidson Current conditions and heavy fog
during the fall.

Cargo ‘Tonnage
general 4,763
ballast 7318
oil 7,057
ballast 1,389
coal 7,191
coal 7,217

The losses of these five large ships were
all the subjects of investigations and inquiries,
most of which fixed the cause of the wreck on
sea and weather conditions; in the case of the
Cuba, the wreck was blamed on the actions of
a subordinate officer.

Goldenhorn
1883-1892
Pour-masted Bark, Bulk Cargo Carrier

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

1,914.78 tons
1,838.83 tons

Length 268 feet, 6 inches
Beam 40 feet, 2 inches
Depth 23 feet, 7 inches
Decks two
Official Number 36279
Construction iron
Hi Record
Russell and Company of Greenock,

Scotland, built the Goldenhorn for J. R. de
Wolf and Son in 1883. Home port for the
Goldenhorn was \.iverpool. ‘The Goldenhorn
was the second of three sister ships, preceded
by the Matterhorn in 1882 and followed by
the Silberhorn in 1884. These three vessels
were built to the same plan, with relatively
minor improvements effected m the later
versions. Originally ship rigged, the


BLOCKS:
All blocks custom made. Throat, peak and jib halyards 15" steel rollers, the balance of the

blocks in proportion. Boom tackle, reef tackle, watch tackle and cargo purchase complete.

BOWSPRIT:

Outboard on bottom 19', diam and 16", outer bobstay 164", inner bobstay 19%" and 18%",
athwartships 914" flat.
JIBBOOM:

Diam in cap 14", diam in hounds 13%", from cap to hounds 14'%', from hounds to outer band
15', diam hounds 8%" outside, diam of grommet 12" clear, diam. outer band 744" clear, outer
Jibstay hole 4’, inside of outer band. Topmast stay hole 18" outside of band. Pole 5', sliding iron
9.

FOREMAST:

Diam 24", spider 20%", mast head 11', squares 16%" and 13%", wythes 13%" and 1414".
MAIN MAST:

Length from top main rail to cap 78', diam 23", spider 19", mast head 11', squares 15¥2" and
12%", wythes 12%" and 134".

MISEN MAST:

Diam 214", spider 18", mast head 11’, squares 154" and 124". Wythes 12%" and 13/4".

233




Official Nature of

Ship Name Number Island Year Casualty Ship ‘Type
Zingara 219887 ANI 1931 burned yacht

*refloated after stranding

212


Unnamed Sailboat . .
Englyn
Shamrock .

PEACOCK? Co ee
Srnuggling: The Unspoken Trade
Vessels Mistakenly Placed in the Islands... 2... 0. .0..0.00.00-000000. 181
J F West
Babina
Crescent City oe ee eee 181
Liverpool
Nancy B
St. Anne of the Sunset oe eee 181
SCAROPA oo eee 181
Ix CONCLUSIONS 2.00.00 eee 183
X = MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS ........0.0.0.0 00000000 seus 191
APPENDIX .A: WRECKS LISTED BY ISLAND .........0.000200 0000000005 197
APPENDIX B: WRECKED VESSELS BY NAME ...........-...000000005 205
APPENDIX (2: VESSELS LISTED BY GROSS TONNAGE ...............0.. 213
APPENDIX 1D: VESSELS LISTED BY YEAR .......0....00 0.00000 e ee eee 221
APPENDIX I: COMET CONTRACT «0... ees 229
REFERENCES 200. eect tenes 237


Ship Name
Eros

Trilogy

White Cap
Eileen D
Legend
Shoshoni
Warrior
Black Dolphin
Mary

Nimbus 3

tsland Packer
Marimari
Pinocchio
Rosemund R
Standard Nut
Unnamed Sailboat
Sierra
Liberty
Englyn
Frederick O
Joan

Glady I

Official

Nunber Year island

277869 1966 ANI
292480 1966 Scl

~ 1966 SCI-SM
261529 1967 SRI

281997 (967 SMI-PB
278356 1967 SRI
211956 1967 SMI
290301 1968 SCL
92322 1968 SCI
— 1968 SMI?
251991 1969 ANI
501503 1969 SCL
500951 1969 ANI
260203 1969 SRI
260204 1969 SRI

_ 1972 SCI-SM
262656 1972 SCI
_— 1973 scl
a 1974 scl
260183 1974 SMI
278028 1974 Sci
262071 1975, SCL

226

Ship
Type

yacht

yacht

fishing
yacht
fishing
fishing
tour
fishing

weather
satellite

tour boat
yacht
yacht
fishing
fishing
yacht

fishing,

yacht
fishing
fishing

fishing


Anacapa Island

WINFIELD SCOTT

(1630-1859)

ANACAPA ISLAND
(CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNUA

Wood Gory nk) eenarston
"ol eoate tie

?
Wrecad e Desenber 2, 1853

00g ape.
Ip vet Sen IS

» Le 5
=" FOUL 2

2
6
ode

Dee
‘Mithow asl

Rs foe
5 mf

Y fl
4

Ye “a
&
ww

Enlargement B

Hull Planks and Frames

LEGEND

Enlargement A
ee eee suas ena sRaaies)

Paddle Wheel Arm Fragment cen orc ot wi oye 98945)
al os yee nal bt Coie sees)

SS net ex ian

panes wos
cit Sst Fey
Dome SCALEIA BET
%, CZ wisiog tt oT.
seaumte rest AQ Sass A 7
beeen —_ - TS EE

Figure 3.1, Wreckage-of the Winfield Scott.

a


rocks where the Coleman lay. She
was already inside of the dangerous
Richardson rock, and would soon have
been where the Coleman was if the fog
had not lifted, and a breeze come to
her rescue. She was sound bound
[sic], and managed to get out between
the rocks and into her course again
without accident. ‘The name of this
vessel was not learned. ‘This is
considered one of the most dangerous
parts of the Pacific coast and the need
of a government lighthouse is declared
imperative |LAT, September 10,1905].

Not only could fog and storms present
hazards but the lack of wind also could leave
boats unmanageable im the grip of whatever
current might be running. The common
wrecking of lumber schooners, both in the
Channel Islands and elsewhere along the
California coast, vividly illustrates Basil
Greenhill's assertion (1980:28) that the fast
wooden sailing ship was the "most hazardous
vehicle ever regularly used by man.”

The J M Colman, the Comet, and the Dora
Bluhm, ail of which wrecked within 6 years of
one another (1905-1911) were built by the
same builder, Hall Brothers, within a S-year
period (1883-1888). Their wreck scatters

offer an opportunity for comparative study of
the construction techniques used in these
vessels. Because the wreck scatters of the J M
Colman and the Dora Bluhm ave not well
documented, such studies would — also
strengthen the identifications advanced here.
Matthew Russell is currently conducting this
work,

While the losses of the cargoes of these
vessels represented financial losses to the
vessel owners and consignees, _ they
represented a bonanza for ranch operators on
the islands. ‘The construction of the Lester
ranch house on San Miguel [sland resulted
from impromptu lumber deliveries before
1911 (Roberts 1978:113). Roberts's
description of "a crude house built partially
from railroad tics" suggests that the 1879
cargo of the G W Prescott was utilized as
well. Certainly the clear redwood fence posts
standing on the island today, some notched
and mortised from previous uses, look quite
different from the usual mainland fence
material. On Santa Rosa Island, oral tradition
(ranch foreman Bill Wallace, personal
communication) holds that lumber from a
schooner, probably the Dera Bluhm, went into
the earliest fences on the island, which were
board fences, not barbed wire.

able 5.1. Summary of Lumber Schooner Wrecks in Channel Islands National Park

Vessel Year of Wreck Masts

G W Prescott
JM Colman
Dora Bluhm
Comet

Watson A West
Jane L Stanford
George EF. Billings

1879 2 masts
1905 3 masts
1910 3 masts
1911 3 masts
1923 4 masts
1929 4 mas

1941 5S masts

106


Ship Name

Sea Lion

Sea Lion

Sierra

Swan

Trilogy

Lyphoon

Onity

Unnamed Sailboat
Vineth

Wanmpus aka Grey Ghost
Yukon

White Cap

G W Prescott

Josie Lena

Leader

NB

Nimbus 3

Ruth K

Sea Foam (fragment)
Surprise

W. T. Co. No. 3

Official
Number

262656

230938

292480

218553

239460

219965

85329

239867

15216

18388

261271

115499

171619

Gross
Island Year ‘Tonnage
SCI 1906 -
SCI 1956 -—
SCI 1972 13
SCL 1932 20
SCI 1966 7
SCI 1931 —
scl 1922 40
SCI 1972 —
SCI 1961 14
SCI 1926 9
SCI 1938 43
SCI 1966 —
SMI 1879 112.97
SMI 1962 27
SMI 1876 9.96
SMI 1879 17.6
SMI? 1968
SMI 1960 14
SMI 1907 a
SMI 1881 14.65
SME-PB 1935 264

200




FOREWORD

The Channel Islands National Park and
National Marine Sanctuary encompass more
than a thousand square miles of submerged
lands. Close cooperation between the National
Park Service (NPS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S.
Navy and the State of California have been
necessary to the successful management of
this diverse marine protected area.

Shipwrecks and other underwater
historical sites were soon recognized as major
components of the public values needing
attention by managers. Scientific diving
operations were undertaken to evaluate and
protect these sites in association with efforts
to document and monitor the area's rich
natural resources.

This work by Don P. Morris and James
Lima lays a firm foundation for future
research and protection of the submerged

xvii

cultural resources of the Channel Islands. The
authors systematically discuss what's known
about the submerged archeological sites from
their own field work and that of their
colleagues. They then foreshadow the
potential for future finds as suggested from
archival research.

Morris and Lima have articulately
presented an historical and prehistoric context
for understanding the maritime archeology of
the area and offer managers strategies for

resources next

nurturing these into the next
millennium. That, after all, is what parks and

sanctuaries are all about.

Daniel J. Lenihan, Chief
Submerged Cultural Resources Unit
National Park Service



V VESSELS OF THE LUMBER TRADE 2.6.00. 0 eee 69

GW Prescott ee 70
JM COWMAN oo eee beeen 7
Dora Bluhm oe ee bee 2. 78
COMED ee 86
Watson A West oo ee 93
Jane L Stanford oe 95
George FE Billings oo eee 105
VI SEALING IN THE NORTHERN CHANNEL ISLANDS .....00000.00.... 107
Leader 109
NB eee 110
SUPPVISE eee 111
CONVOY oo ee 112
Isabella. ee eee 112

POAT ee 113

VII VESSELS OF THE FISHING INDUSTRY ...0.00.0.0.022000 00000000 0e 117
Chinese Junk oes 120
Bell oo ee 121
SEA LION Co ee 121
NQWOMA 2 ee 122
THEY ee 122
Eagle oo eee 122
OBR ee eee 122
TION ee 123
LQDOP eee 123
Maryland 00 eee 124
Blue SEQ ee 124
AAPIANC Co eee 124
Emperor oo ee Se ee 125
Imperial oe 126
LOWMISE RAY ee 126
YUKON eee 127
Dante Alighieri. eee 2. 127
Emil... 00.00. Pee . 129
Nancy L€@ ee . 130
BAIDOG oe 130
Santa Clara oe ee Lee ee 130
Equator es 131

vi


© Seaten. wiocks

Scale Fat”

¥igure 7.1. Deck plan of a purse seiner. By S. S. Whitehead, 1931.

, MOST may
Pipe guard rating

- om cages | | cay |I/

: Festa

Captams 9
cabin

Wonbark fender

TES
Scale-reer

Vigure 7.2. Generalized sketch of a purse seiner (after Scovill, 1951).

118


Figure 5.26. Captain Sorensen on deck of the Watson A West, location unidentified. Photo
courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

1923, breaking apart immediately. Fog,
restricting visibility to "less than a
boat length," once again was a factor. “She
struck so hard the men in their berths were
thrown out and instantly she broke and began
to fill with water” (SBMP, February 25, 1923).

The crew scrambled into the ship's boat
and rowed for the next 18 hours, finally
reaching Santa Barbara "exhausted, hungry,
thirsty, half-clad." Captain Sorensen had time
to secure only a chart, chronometers, and a
compass during the hasty evacuation.

The wreck scatter of the Watson A West
has not yet been located, although it lies

95

somewhere near Point Bennett.

Jane L Stanford
1892-1929
Trans-Pacific Lumber Carrier
Four-masted Barkentine

Gross Tonnage 970 tons
Net Tonnage 861 tons
Length 215.5 feet
Beam 41 feet
Depth 17 feet
Decks one
Official Number 77070

Construction wood, iron fastened



very near the unattended navigation acetylene
fight.

‘The Liebre had a long career, remaining in
Merchant Vessels of the United States as late
as 1952. he vessel was scrapped in
November 1953, Original tonnage tigures for
the vessel were 7,444 tons (gross) and 4,590
tons (net).

Cuba
1897-1923
Cargo-passenger Liner

Gross ‘Tonnage
Net Tonnage

3,168.8 tons
1,862 tons

Length 307.7 feet
Beam 42.2 fect
Depth 24.7 feet
Decks two
Official Number 215771
Construction stecl

Tlistorical Record

The famed German shipyard of Blohm and
Voss, which also built the World War I
German battleship, Bismarck and the Coast
Guard training ship Lagle, among others,
launched the Coblenz, the ship that was to
become the Cuba, from its Hamburg shipyard
in 1897. Of steel web-frame construction, the
Cuba {featured cight watertight bulkheads,
water ballast tanks, and a double bottom.
Three single-end Scotch boilers provided
steam, ‘The twin tiple-expansion engines
drove twin propellers with cast-iron hubs and
detachable bronze blades.

The Cuba was a well decked ship, with a
combined poop and bridge deck 200 fect long
and a forecastle deck 47 fect long. Between
these (wo constructions lay the main cargo
hold, or well. ‘The amidships bridge deck and
steering station were open. Most of the

passenger accommodations Jay aft. By the
early 1920s, the Cuba featured a high
technology wireless radio, clectric lights, and
“ce d electrical apparatus" (RAPS 1922)
that included auxiliary batteries with some 59
cells (Figure 4.17).

The Cobleng was in a Philippine port
when the United States entered World War I.
The vessel was seized as a war prize and

Figure 4.17. View aboard the Cuba, looking

sternward. The deck machinery in the
foreground is prominent in the wreckage
today. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History


Goldenhorn, the Crown of England, the
Chickasaw, the Dora Bluhm, the Broadbill,
the Aggi, and the Jane L Stanford on Santa
Rosa Island; and the Cuba, the Comet, and the
J M Colman on San Miguel Island.
Interpretation of these wrecks should be
developed both for the general public and for
scuba divers. Significant material from at
least six wrecks, as well as the four “mystery
wreck scatters," is available to hikers walking
the beach, especially on Santa Rosa Island.
Wreck-focused interpretive diving trips should
be promoted and expanded.

Interpretive talks can use the rich
anecdotal accounts presented in this report and
should also employ living history techniques,
videotapes, and other innovative ways of
developing the themes stressed in this
publication. These themes are,
predominantly, the rise of the Los Angeles
ports from their inception to their status as the
most important shipping-port complex in the
nation, the rise of the fishing industries in the
Santa Barbara Channel and their effects on the
present environment, and the role of local
small craft in accessing and developing the
islands’ resources.

It is no longer adequate for an archeologist
to prepare only a technical report for the

edification of professional colleagues. The
material in this publication should be
reworked to reach the public, which shows a
high degree of interest in shipwrecks. After
all, they have paid for the research.

None of the efforts we recommend need
cost a large amount of money. The most
expensive study contemplated—that of the
Cuyler Harbor wrecks and the nearby lumber
schooners—is proposed in the current resource
management plan for Channel Islands National
Park with an estimated cost of $26,000. This
cost could be reduced considerably through
cooperation with the U.S. Navy and the state
of California. Wreck studies should continue
to emphasize staff involvement, volunteers,
and cooperation with other agencies.
Coordinated, sustained effort can provide
more informed management of the park's
maritime resources than occasional,
intermittent, lavishly funded projects.

Revisions and changes as a result of new
findings continued up to the instant that we
delivered it to the printer. By the time it
appears, we will undoubtedly have new or
revised information on many of these vessels.
In order to communicate, new information
will be posted to Channel Islands National
Park's home page on the World Wide Web.

Table 10.1. Important Unlocated Small Craft

Vessel Location

Labor S side, ANI

Blue Sea NW side, SBI
Imperial S side, SCI

Louise Ray ANI

Chappo China Harbor, SCI
Helene Forney's SCI
Dawn Frenchy's (?), ANI
Gypsy Q Middle ANI

Magic

Rancho Viejo, SRI

Features

1920s purse seiner
early fishing boat
1910s sport-fisher
1920s fishing boat
1890s utility boat
1890s utility boat
1880s utility boat
original Coast Guard
1880s small boat


CHAPTER II

Overview

A chain of four islands—Anacapa, Santa
Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel—together
with Santa Barbara Island, forms the nucleus
of Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
The park consists of these five islands and
their offshore waters for a distance of 1
nautical mile, while the marine sanctuary
comprises the waters offshore from these
islands for a distance of 6 nautical miles.

The four islands lie off the coast of
southern California at a distance that varies
from 11 miles at the eastern, or Anacapa,
end to 26 miles at the San Miguel, or
western end; together they form the southern
boundary of the passage known as the Santa
Barbara Channel. North of San Miguel
Island on the California mainland is Point

Conception, which marks important
biological, geological, and cultural
boundaries. To the east of the islands lie

Santa Monica and San Pedro bays and the
Pacific Rim hub of Los Angeles.

Today, bold magenta markings on
nautical charts show the official shipping
lanes that funnel commercial vessels from
Point Conception eastward to Los Angeles.

These lanes, used by coastwise and trans-
Pacific vessels alike, bring ships past the
four northern islands to the ports of the Los
Angeles basin, the largest ports on the West
Coast. Vessels that failed to find the
entrance at the west end or that misnavigated
along the way contributed to the shipwreck
record of the park and provide the greater
part of the subject matter of this report. As
an informal sample of the vessels that have
plied these waters, the wrecks of Channel
Islands National Park reflect the
development of Los Angeles from a sleepy
pueblo into a major maritime center.

From very early prehistoric times, the
Santa Barbara Channel (Figure 2.1) and the
islands have seen a variety of watercraft,
from Chumash plank canoes (tomols), reed
rafts, and dugouts to the increasingly diverse
craft that characterize recent, cosmopolitan
cultures—a range that spans Spanish
galleons and modern aircraft. These vessels
either transited the channel en route to
distant Pacific ports or West Coast
destinations or voyaged to the islands to
profit from their rich resources. Because the
topography, weather, and natural



safe aboard the boat the line was
hauled back by the fishermen on the
beach, thus by shuttling the ring buoy
back and forth in this manner every
man was taken off this treacherous part
of the island safely. The job was
completed at 1530. Valuable
assistance was rendered by two or
three skiffs manned by fishermen from
nearby fishing vessels who stood by.
They helped to pull the men out of the
water and acted as translators in giving
directions to the stranded men, who in
most cases spoke only Italian. Medical
assistance was rendered those cut by
sharp rocks and barnacles and all men
were furnished dry clothing and hot
food aboard the Aurora.
then proceeded to Los Angeles Harbor
with 12 members of the fishing boat
crew aboard (including 3 who had
come aboard upon arrival of this
vessel) arriving at 6:30 p.m. 1845
Moored at Coast Guard dock. The 12
survivors of the purse seiner Dante
Alighieri left the ship [USCG Records,
National Archives].

The Aurora
The Aurora

Lieutenant Commander Niels Haugen,
commanding the Aurora, received a letter
expressing:

The sincere gratitude and thanks of our
selves and our families for the highly
courageous [sic] and commendable
rescue. . . . The conditions under
which this rescue was enacted and the
manner in which the officers and men
of the Coast Guard Patrol Boat
"Aurora" conducted themselves during
the rescue is a very shining example of
why your splendid service holds such

129

a high position in the esteem of the
citizens of our country, particularly
among those men who go to sea and
their families who await them at
home.

The letter has 15 signatures, including
those of all 12 men rescued by the Aurora.
Probably equally appreciated was the formal
memorandum Haugen received from his
superior, which — stated: “Headquarters
appreciate the excellent judgment exercised by
you on this occasion, and the skill and
resourcefulness employed by you in
accomplishing your objective’ (USCG
Records, National Archives).

This is the only vessel definitely known to
h

I ¥ upon S .
First licensed in September 1937, the Dante
Alighieri IT did not last long enough to be
listed in MVUS. The abundant and clear
documentation of the crew's rescue should

allow the wreck scatter to be located.

Barbara Is

Archeological Record

A Park Service team has located the
propeller, winch, and the four cylinder Atlas
Imperial diesel engine of the Dante Alighieri
at Santa Barbara Island.

Emil
1926-1938
Fishing Vessel
Gross Tonnage 48 tons
Net Tonnage 33 tons
Length 62.1 feet
Beam 16.0 feet
Depth 7.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 230776
Construction wood


Ship Name
Corsair
Adore
Cape Argo

Grumman Guardian
(plane)

Patria*
Gypsy Q
Louise D
Ruth E
Sea Lion
Dorothy M
Marie
Ruth K
Santa Cruz
Carol O
Elaine
Vineth
Chickasaw
Dolphin IV
Josie Lena
Georgia
Broadbill

Cinnamon Bear

Official
Number

208712
228159

253429

73062
254596
252516

250964

248634
253652
261271
116559

276479

239460
241993
233428

239867

215227

260737

1953

1954

1954

1954

1954

1955

1955

1955

1956

1958

1960

1960

1960

1961

1961

1961

1962

1962

1962

1964

1966

1966

225

SRI

SBI

SCI

SRI

ANI

SCI

SCI

ANI

SCI

SMI

SCI

SRI

SCI

SCI

SRI

SCI

SMI

SCI

SRI

SCI

Ship
Type

yacht
yacht
fishing

government

freighter
fishing
fishing

fishing

fishing
charter
fishing
is] sup boat

fishing

fishing
freighter
fishing
fishing
fishing
fishing

fishing


8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
9.1

Field sketch showing Grumman Guardian ..........0000 00000 ccceveeeeeees 169
Specifications of Grumman Guardian. ........ 170
A pair of Grumman Guardians in flight ... 17
Santa Cruz underway near Santa Barbara. August 14,1929 .......0........4 174
Wreckage attributed to Santa Cruz oo. ccc ccc cee ee ee enes 175
Knees and deck planking of an unidentified wreck, San Miguel Island ......... 188

xiii


Anacapa Island, Mexico [sic] Nov. 4 1937,
10:45 P.M. Total Loss. No lives lost."

A strange collision with the California I is
involved in this sinking. The skipper of the
California H stated in the wreck report,
"Stanovich deliberately steered the vessel
directly into my _ vessel...making other
threatening and insulting remarks." The
wreck report for the Louise Ray states simply
“the man at the wheel went to sleep."

Yukon
1920-1938
Diesel Fishing Boat
Gross Tonnage 43 tons
Net Tonnage 29 tons
Length 61.4 feet
Beam 14.6 feet
Depth 7.3 feet
Decks one
Official Number 219965
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Yukon sank after a collision at Chinese
Harbor, Santa Cruz Island on January 6, 1938
(MVUS 1938). The Yukon miscalculated
while fishing, striking the purse seiner Long
Island. The Yukon sprang a leak and the crew
of eight abandoned when unable to keep the
boat from sinking. As they reached the Long
Island, the Yukon exploded and burned, nets
and all. The Yukon was fishing for sardine
and mackerel.

127

Dante Alighieri If
1937-1938
Purse Seiner

Gross Tonnage 97 tons
Net Tonnage 53 tons
Length 70.1 feet
Beam 20.6 feet
Depth 8.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 236704
Construction wood

Historical Record
This vessel crashed into the southwest
coast of Santa Barbara Island during a heavy
fog on November 30, 1938. Nine crew
members left the boat for a narrow ledge on
the island. Late in the day, the Coast Guard
cutter Aurora (Figure 7.3) rescued these men
as well as the six crew members who had
remained aboard the Dante Alighieri I. No
injuries occurred to any of the crew (LAT,
December 1, 1938).
The cruise report of the Aurora gives
further details of the operation:

Wednesday, 30 November, 1938: On
trailing duty, Los Angeles Harbor.
At 0324 received word from the purse
seiner Sea Rover via radio telephone
that the purse seiner Dante Alighieri
had gone aground on SW end of Santa
Barbara Island in a dense fog and nine


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werster
Point

aS).

Shag hack 4

Santa Barbara,

“ 1 Sigoal Peak

Arch Poin

—

x

Lidlomseters

ales

Figure 2.6. Santa Barbara Island.

receives the full force of the
northwest winds and swell, and in
summer, fogs envelop it more than
half the time. Even if the weather
clears off in day-time the fogs settle
over it at night. When we were
encamped for more than three
months at Poit Conception, we did
not sec it and the other islands for
several weeks on account of the fog
[Davidson 1889:93].

‘The persistent fog results primarily from
the upwelling cffects of the California
Current as it sweeps down the coast and
around San Miguel and Point Conception,
bringing cool, deep water to the surface,
where, if the air is warmer, it causes
moisture to condense, creating fog. A land
breeze may also blow warmer surface waters
out to sca, which brings cooler water to the
surface with the same result. Fog can form


“iy
Byyy

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CALIFORNIA Wy
Zi
SAN MIGUEL ISLAND cc Al
CUYLER'S ARBOR a
Seale 200M s
SOUNDINGS IN FATILOMS:

Surveyed from 1HSE to 1896

eae"

Figure 8.1. Cuyler's Harbor, 1858 to 1896.

152


missions, operating together with an AI'-2S, a
version of the same plane that carried
armament for destroying targets located by the
AP-2W. One feature of the AF-2W we were
not able to see during our dives was the
prominent radome located below ihe wings
and the forward cockpit.

The AF-2W first saw service in October
1950, following prototype flights in November
1949. Production ceased in April 1953 after
387 Guardians were built, 153 of which were
the AL-2W version. August 1955 saw the last
military service of these planes, although at
least one Al‘ served for 20 years as a civilian
forest fire bomber. Only one of these
S, remains in flyable condition

planes, an A

today (Lois Lovisolo, personal
communication, 1985).
On March 30 1954, this Grumman

Guardian was not hunting submarines but was
searching for a missing jet aircraft, a Banshee
piloted by Lt. Albert McHenry, when the
Guardian developed engine trouble. Lt. John
W. Miller set the plane down and the crew,
Bill Burris and Walier G. Brown, all exited
the craft. Swimming to Santa Cruz Island, the
three spread out a parachute and activated
distress flares, A helicopter plucked them
from the island the same day (LAT, April 1,
1954). The Guardian formed part of a 60-
plane fleet scarching for the lost jet, which
disappeared while on a routine training
mission from the Point Mugu Test Center.

The Grumman Guardian was one of the
last propeller-driven combat aircraft that the
navy flew. While relatively recent in years,
the plane is quite old in terms of technology.
A relatively rare military plane, this specimen
near Gull Island is apparently one of the few
that has escaped the melting pot and is in any
condition for direct, firsthand study or
evaluation (Figure 8.7).

Adore
1928-1954

Yacht
Gross Tomage 27 tons
Net Tonnage 25 tons
Length 56.0 feet
Beam 16.0 feet
Depth 7.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 228159
Construction wood

Historical Record

E. B. Schock and built by
Wilmington Boat Works, this vessel carried a
100 hp Buda diesel engine. Previously known
as the Zaca, the Adore sprang a leak 5 miles
cast of Anacapa Island and sank in deep water
on May 24, 1954. ‘The owners, Mr. and Mrs.
J. L. West, were rescued by a Coast Guard
patrol boat (VSFP, May 26, 1954), Merchant
Vessels of the United States records that the
vessel “grounded and broke up in surf
approximately 3 miles east of Anacapa
Lighthouse, Calif coast," which seems
unlikely since there are no shoals at that
location. Flowever, this location is confirmed
by Coast Guard casualty reports. Unusually
strong tidal currents might conceivably cause
rough seas in this area.

Sea Lion
)-1956
Sea Scout Cruiser

Historical Record
This vessel sank in 150 feet of water about

one mile west of Pelican Cove on November
19, 1956, alter a salvage attempt by the Coast


Figure 5.8. Well weathered wreckage fragment, Cluster Point. This
material most likely pertains to the Dora Bluhm. NPS photo by Don Mortis.

Figure 5.9. Overall view of Cluster Point, Santa Rosa Island, looking
southwest. Most wreckage is concentrated in the midground of the photo.
NPS photo by Don Morris.

83



above water, mast partly visible above
water." When we arrived at the scence
of the accident the next day in the
salvage vessel "Peacock" found only
the turn table of the “/mperor"
floating a few boxes. There were no
trace of the boat.

Imperial
1914-1936
Sport-fishing Boat

Gross Tonnage 22 tons
Net Tonnage 15 tons
Length 54.2 feet
Beam 15.0 feet
Depth 4.9 leet
D one
Official Number 212356
Construction wood

Historical Record

Strong storms beached the sport-fishing
boat Imperial, a converied tug, at Alamos
anchorage (present-day Willows anchorage),
Santa Cruz Island. After receiving a call for
assistance through the Anacapa Lighthouse,
the Coast Guard dispatched the cutter Calypso
to aid the beached vessel. The Calypso
removed Captain Edward Gorman and three
crew members from the vessel, returning them
to San Pedro (LAT, November 1, 1936).

The tug A & Williams, of the Red Stack
Line, steamed to Santa Cruz Island to pull the
Imperial from the beach, The vessel was
actually reported under tow to Los Angeles
(LAT, November 4, 1936). The salvage
attempt apparently was successful, although
the vessel is reported as lost in MVUS (1937)
and was described as a "total loss" on the
vessel's final certificate of registry. Records
in the National Archives indicate the vessel

was reconstructed retaining the same official
number and sold to Mexican owners in 1939.

Louise Ray
1927-1937
Purse Seiner

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

52 tons
27 tons

Length 63.8 feet
Beam 16.7 feet
Depth 7,7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 226822
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Louise Ray was built in Los Angeles
in 1927 and was owned by the Italian Food
Products Company of that city. In 1937, the
following incident occurred:

The sixty-five foot San Pedro purse
seiner boat Louise Ray yesterday was
reported ashore on litthe Anacapa
Island, sixty-five miles from here.
Wer crew of nine, including the
owner, Antone Stanovich, were safe
aboard the Coast Guard patrol boat
Aurora, which was standing by.

The salvage tug Retriever under Capt
Kdison Brown, was dispatched to the
vessel's aid yesterday forenoon and
was expected to patch and refloat the
craft, which was said to be pinioned
on her port bow [LAT, November 6,
1937).

Despite the optimism expressed in the
article, the Louise Ray sank, according to its
final license, which states: "Vessel stranded


The schooner Ellen, Captain Vasquez,
left for San Miguel Island yesterday
for a load of lumber from the
abandoned lumber schooner Coleman.
Captain Vasquez has been engaged in
the salvage work for some months
past, and has taken a large amount of
lumber from the wrecked vessel, but
the Coleman is breaking up fast and it
is not thought he will be able to make
many more trips [SBNP, November 7,
1906].

A later article stated that the Ellen had
recovered 50,000 board feet of the J M
Colman's cargo, and that another 100,000
board feet of salvageable lumber remained.

A photograph taken in 1914 and
reproduced here as Figure 5.3, is labeled as
"Comet wreckage" in the Channel Islands
collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of
Natural History. The woman in the photo had
been photographed earlier at the newly
wrecked Comet, farther north along the coast
at Simonton Cove. The background of the

Figure 5.2. J M Colman at anchor, San Pedro, California. Photo courtesy of San Francisco
Maritime NHP.

73


APPENDIX B

WRECKED VESSELS BY NAME

Official Nature of
Ship Name Number Island Year Casualty Ship Type
Adore 228159 ANI 1954 sank yacht
Adriatic 223392 SBI 1930 sank fishing
Aggi 102136 SRI 1915 stranded freighter
Amie — _ 1884? _ -—-
Anacapa Plane - ~ _ _ ~~
Anubis* _ SMI 1908 stranded freighter
Aristocratis* MCE1006 SRI 1949 stranded freighter
Aurora 239980 SCI 1952 burned other

(rebuilt)

Babina aka Babinda oa — -— -- —
Balboa 235502 —_ 1949 burned fishing
Bar-bee _ ANI oad —- rum runner
Bell ~ Sc 1901 capsized fishing
Beulah* 15639 ANI 1933 stranded freighter
Billcona 251907 Scl 1952 stranded tug
Black Dolphin 290301 Sel 1968 stranded tour
Blazenka B 557740 SCI 1977 burned fishing
Blue Fin 229764 SRI 1944 stranded government
Blue Sea 217149 SBI 1928 stranded fishing
Broadbill 215227 SRI 1966 stranded fishing

205


not included in the summary tables for
this report.

This partial list records some of the
vessels, mostly small yachts, which were lost
in this storm on November 27 and 28, 1976.
None of these vessels have official numbers.

April IT

Ava K Four
Evening Star

Gail

Galadriel

Gennie M

Gypsy Angler

Had To

Loch Ellen
Narragansett

No Name (Nov 28)
Peregrine

Sea Rat

Shanty

Skippy (Nov 28)
Unknown (Nov 28)

Shamrock
1976-1977
Yacht

Gross Tonnage 20 tons
Net Tonnage 18 tons
Length 50.0 feet
Beam 21.5 feet
Depth feet
Decks one
Official Number 571693
Construction fiberglass

Historical Record

The Shamrock had a short but eventful
life, having been the object of a Coast Guard
search in April 1976 (SBNP, April 19, 1976),

179

before burning and sinking on the south side
of Anacapa Island on March 12, 1977 (VSFP,
March 12, 1977). The 1978 MVUS gives the
location as "4 mile offshore from the south
side of Anacapa Island, CA."

Peacock?

The very name of this ship, as well as the
circumstances of its sinking, are unclear, but
the large vessel lying 60 feet deep at Scorpion
Bay, Santa Cruz Island, provides an
interesting dive. Historically, it is one of the
most recent of the large wrecks in the Channel
Islands.

Today the vessel is referred to as either
the Peacock or the Spirit of America. Several
stories exist about the wreck; in general, the
ship was being salvaged in Scorpion Bay, and
through either storm or intentional sinking,
came to rest at its present location.

A coastal minesweeper (MSC) of the
"Bluebird" class was launched as the Peacock
(MSC 198) in June 1954. The vessel was
decommissioned in 1975. The Peacock was
370 tons and 133 feet long, with a 28-foot
beam. The vessel was driven by two engines,
turning twin shafts, and was "constructed
throughout of wood and other materials with
the lowest possible attraction to attain the
greatest possible safety factor when sweeping
for mines."

These specifications in general fit the
vessel on the bottom near Scorpion Bay,
which is one of the more popular recreational
dives near the islands. On the beaches at both
Smugglers Cove and Scorpion Bay, one can
find large pieces of similar wooden vessels
constructed with yellow metal fastenings and
laminated beams, which have been sawn
through deliberately in an apparent salvage
operation.




CLUSTER POINT SITE
CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK
SANTA ROSA ISLAND, CA

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
SUBMERGED CULTURAL RESOURCES UNIT

FEET
Lea a nS
0 50 100 150

x oO
RT
* 22
Re "
Fel 4 FS
TEs F.1 2248 feet @ 78 degrees from Datum A
Ra
2 st
. gents
°
‘SITE DATUMA
CLUSTER POINT

Figure 5.7. Probable Dora Bluhm wreck scatter. Drawing by Matthew Russell.

81



Guard failed. Skipper Ernest MacRostie, his
wife, and four others were taken to Santa
Barbara.

Marie
1943-1960
Charter Boat

Gross Tonnage 13 tons
Net Tonnage 7 tons
Length 40.1 feet
Beam 10.7 feet
Depth 4.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 253652

Construction

Historical Recor

Apparently engaged in defense-related
research, the Marie disappeared Tuesday,
June 9, 1960, while crossing the Santa
Barbara Channel to Smugglers Cove on Santa
Cruz Island. The Raytheon Corporation had
chartered the vessel, placing four of its
employees on the vessel, along with three
crew members.

The Coast Guard searched through the
following Sunday, recovering the bodies of
two of the seven aboard the vessel, as well as
life preservers. Articles in the Los Angeles
Times give the impression that most of the
material recovered came from east of Santa
Cruz Island. The 1961 MVUS gives the
location of the sinking of the vessel as 34°
12' N, 119° 35' W, which is well out of the
sanctuary. Although the vessel carried
sophisticated electronic gear, it carried no
marine radio.

173

Santa Cruz
1893-1960
Two-masted Supply Schooner
for Santa Cruz Island

Gross Tonnage 45 tons
Net Tonnage 43 tons
Length 64.0 feet
Beam 18.6 feet
Depth 6.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 116559
Construction wood

Historical Record

The above statistics reflect the vessel's
status as recorded in MVUS 1930 (Figure
8.8). Santa Cruz was built by Matthew
Turner, Benicia, California, and is the only
vessel from the yard of this most prolific of
West Coast builders to have wrecked within
the park. A gas engine was evidently installed
after 1906, since the license for this year
refers to the Santa Cruz as a schooner, while
the 1907 and succeeding papers mention a gas
schooner. New gas tanks were installed in
1927. In 1937, Dr. Stanton replaced the gas
engine with a Buda diesel, which was replaced
in 1942 with the Caterpillar diesel. A year
later the mainmast and bowsprit were
removed.

The following article gives a brief picture
of the service of the Santa Cruz and its
kindred vessel, the Santa Rosa.

Trade with the islands is in full swing
at the present time, notwithstanding
the rough weather. This morning
unless there is a turn for the worse in


Cove. In contrast to the good fortune of other
crews whose ships wrecked in the park, one of
the Comet's crew of eight, a hand from
Germany, perished. Captain Borgenson stated
that a faulty chronometer, borrowed while the
ship's vegular instrument was being adjusted,
put the vessel 8 miles out its course.

Heavy surf in the area rendered salvage of
the cargo impossible. It seems highly
probable that at least some of the 500,000
board feet carried by the Comer ended up in
the new ranch buildings constructed during
this period on San Miguel Island by Captain
Waters.

Archeological Record

For several years, a large anchor has been

xposed

(Figures 5.17, 5.18 and 5.19), just north of
the range poles denoting the boundary of the
San Miguel Danger Zone. In 1977 and again
in 1984, the beach around this anchor lost
enough sand to expose the numerous items
associated with it. These included a large
capstan (Figure 5.20) and a great deal of
timber from the bow. The series of
photographs taken just after the vessel
wrecked identify this wreck conclusively as
that of the Comer. Particularly important is
the background of Figures 5.21 and 5.22.
The distinctive ledge shown here can easily be
identified just northeast of the anchor stock.
Also crucial is a photograph of the capstan
near the anchor, which was taken by park
ranger Reed McCluskey in 1984. Note how

precisely it compares with the the
precisely it compares with the capstan on the

Figure 5.14. Schooner Comer docked at San Pedro, California, with a load of lumber. Photo
by William Phelphs, courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

87



Ship Name
Liebre*
Lion
Liverpool
Lotus
Louise D
Louise Ray
Magic
Manila Galleon
Marie
Marimari
Mary
Maryland
Milmar
Natoma
NB

Nancy B aka
Nancy Lee

Nellie

Nimbus 3 (satellite)

OK
Pacific

Pan Pacific

Official
Number

221073

215807

141723
252516
226822

141068

253652
501503
92322
214495
256076
209087

18388

130865*

227246

254926

ANI

ANI

SRI

SCI

SCI

SCI

Sci

OUT

SBI

SMI

ANI

SCI

SMI?

SCI

OUT

OUT?

209

Nature of
Year Casualty Ship Type
1921 stranded oil tanker
1924 stranded fishing
1922 burned passenger
1955 burned fishing
1937 stranded fishing
1899 stranded lob sup boat
1960 sank charter
1969 stranded yacht
1968 sank fishing
1927 burned fishing
1950 burned fishing
1919 burned fishing
1879 stranded sealer
1946 sank fishing
1912 stranded tour
1968 sank weather
satellite

1923 oa fishing
1951 sank fishing
1950 sank fishing


Santa Rosa Island and actually was not sealing
in the area at all. Of all the local trades,
sealing was distinctive in that many vessels in
this activity were related to northern ports,
with the exception of those operated by Rogers
Brothers of Santa Barbara. It would be
tempting to attribute the wreck pattern of
sealing vessels to a heavy concentration of
pinnipeds on San Miguel Island, like the
present day distribution, but the historical
record is clear that animals were taken on
Santa Barbara and Anacapa islands as well.
The concentration of wrecked sealers on San
Miguel must be due to the combination of
small boats and heavy weather, the trap that is
Cuyler Harbor, and, perhaps, the unfamiliarity
of northern-based crews with the local
hazards.

For local vessels, Cuyler Harbor on San
Miguel Island has been a very effective trap.
At least six vessels wrecked there, as
ineffective anchoring failed to stop their
progress toward a lee shore. ‘The bizarre
sinking of the Liberty by a landslide is a
curious exception. With at least two
additional vessels wrecking in Cuyler since
1980, the area is a prime location for
archeological survey.

Since storms were a prime cause of
wrecks, it is not surprising that December and
January were common months for wrecking.
The fewest wrecks occurred in April and May,
which are still rather breezy months around
the islands. Although some storms are
certainly vicious, the Santa Barbara Channel is
a relatively calm body of water, lacking the
persistent dangers and storms of regions such
as the North Atlantic, the English Channel,
Cape Hatteras, or the Columbia River
entrance. The wrecks discussed in this report
demonstrate that any ocean can prove
hazardous for a mariner.

187

The types of vessels wrecking in the
islands changed through time, and wrecks
became more frequent. The decade of the
1850s was distinctive in witnessing the wrecks
of two passenger steamers and one small
schooner. A subsequent 18-year hiatus ended
when a number of vessels, primarily sealing
ships, sank during the mid-1870s. Fairly
regular wreck events have occurred ever
since.

The year 1923 was pivotal. Not many
fishing vessels wrecked before that year, but
after 1923, over half the vessels in the wreck
assemblage were engaged in fishing. The last
working lumber schooner wrecked in 1923,
and only one of the large commercial vessels
wrecked after that date, Before 1923, wrecks
occurred jess than once a year. After that
date, the rate doubled, with roughly two
vessels wrecked every three years. Sinking
through burning occurred primarily after
1923, reaching a peak in the 1950s.

During 1923, in a period of a little over
six months, the fishing vessels Eagle and OK,
the lumber schooner Watson A West, and the
steamer Cuba all came to grief in the islands.
This variety of sail and steam vessels
characterized the vessels in use in this region
during the last portion of the nineteenth
century and the first quarter of the twentieth
century. These vessels have all left physical
evidence for study within the park. On the
other hand, several significant types of
shipping are absent from the shipwreck
assemblage represented within the park; there
are no steam schooners or coastwise passenger
steamers of the type prominent before the
1930s. Nonetheless, the sample does indicate
the wonderful variety of vessels that worked
the seas during the opening years of this
century. Consider that all the following
vessels could have been seen at work in 1903:


Alan Barii, was picked up by the cabin cruiser
Maribond and transported back to the
mainland by a Coast Guard cutter (VSP,
August 17, 1969).

Island Packer
21969
Tour Boat

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage oe
Length
Beam

Depth

Decks
Construction =

Historical Record

The Island Packer, built in Los Angeles in
1943, had formerly been the J580 (U.S. Navy)
and the Verna F, The vessel wrecked at
Anacapa Island in December 1969, The crew
had anchored to repair the engine when the
anchor line snapped. The vessel quickly
disintegrated as it pounded on the rocks.

Unnamed Sailboat
1972
Sailboat

Historical Record

An unattributed newspaper article dated
March 27, 1972, reports the swamping of a 22
foot Star class sailboat at Scorpion
Anchorage, Santa Cruz Island. One of the
crew, Charles A. Kern, drowned in the
incident.

178

Englyn
1936-1974
Yacht

Gross Tonnage _
Net Tonnage —

Length 36 feet
Beam 13 feet
Depth _
Deck one
Official Number —
Construction _

Historical Record

This vessel, a converted Block Islander
ketch formerly used for fishing built in New
England, wrecked January 11 in a Santa Ana
at Forney's Cove, Santa Cruz Island. Fred
Gamble pointed out the single cylinder engine
of this vessel on the beach and kindly
provided the above information.

The Thanksgiving Santa Ana
Storm of 1976

Lured to the islands by beautiful
weather, approximately 35 to 40
recreational craft were sunk in a
violent Santa Ana windstorm that
erupted over Thanksgiving weekend,
1976, No detailed account of this
disaster has been located yet, but local
yachtsmen remember this as the most
destructive Santa Ana storm = on
record. Because specifics on the
vessels have not been found, they are


wate

229)

SKUNKPORNT, SANTA ROSA SLAND
(CHANNEL. ISLANDS NATIONAL. PARK, CALFORNGA

JANE L. STANFORD

ot
YB

i

eg 290 dee

Plan View 1 fe to Recon se A

pr

Fragment III - Frame esac
1
Rese oe

Profile View

“Al APAG Ab a8

=o.
N, /
Fragment Il - Kelson
moro

shag ster

Figure 5.33. Map of the exposed wreckage of the Jane L Stanford. Surveyed by Don Morris,

1989, and drafted by Carol Vesely, 1990.

103



Figure 4.12. Aggi anchor. NPS photo by Steve Barksy.

Society in 1967 (SBNP, December 17, 1967),
where it remains on display today. There is a
notable lack of brass around the wreck, due to
the activities of thieves.

Archeological Record

The wreck lies in 20 to 60 feet of water
near the shallowest portion of Talcott Shoal.
The wreckage of the Aggi is more scattered
than that of any of the other major wrecks
known in the park (Figure 4.11). In 20 feet of
water on top of the reef, a massive anchor
chain at the bow stil! connects a windlass, a
hawsehole and pipe ripped free of the bow,
and a remaining anchor (Figure 4.12). The
bow, which once contained this hawse pipe,
has been carried off and deposited to the east
over 200 feet away in deeper water. ‘The steel

48

frames visible in the central portion of the
wreck are noticeably less massive than those
of the Goldenhorn.

The main wreck scatter extends into
deeper water in a southerly direction, A large
piece that is nearly the entire hull bottom,
containing the keelson, side keelsons, and
deep floors, leads directly to the stern, the
deepest portion of the wreck, The extant
keelson, one massive I-beam, is more than
200 feet long, and the associated piece of hull
bottom is intact out to the turn of the bilges.
Mast steps for the mainmast and mizzenmast
are 76 feet apart. The foremast step remains
unlocated. The keelson has twisted over to
the east, or starboard, side uniformly
throughout its length. The keelson is flanked
by side keelsons 6 feet distant and bilge
keelsons a similar interval toward the turn of




than 5 or 6 miles, and in a0 case later than
3:00 A.M. in order to take soundings,
Second Officer John Rochau did not call
the captain, even though he estimated visibility
at 4 miles while on watch. When First Officer
Wise arrived to take the watch at 4:00 A.M.,
he immediately awakened the captain. In the
words Of the radio operator, "the captain was
already on the bridge, his shocs mercly
slipped on, with his suspenders hanging over
his hips, and was taking charge of the vessel"
(LAT, September 10, 1923). Holland directed
an immediate turn to port (west), and at that
time the vessel struck rocks about one-quarter
mile off Point Bennett, San Miguel Island,
Holland ordered reverse engines and the
Cuba briefly refloated, but was swung around
by the seas and ran onto the rocks stern first,
demolishing the propellers. In rough seas, the
vessel listed to port, causing complications in
launching the starboard lifeboats, which had to
be dragged across the vessel to the port davits.
Captain Wolland, the purser, the steward,
and eight crew remained aboard to guard the
cargo, an important part of which was silver
bullion, while the rest of the crew and
passengers took ~—s tothe lifeboats.
Consternation and near panic among the
second-class passengers on the lower deck was
handled capably by Stewardess Lottie Brown.
While most of the lifeboats reached the beach
at Point Bennett, the lifeboat of First Officer
Wise voyaged east along the south side of San
Miguel Island and entered the Santa Barbara
Channel through the San Migucl passage.
Afier a brief encounter with some troublesome
whaics, Wise and his crewmen hailed the
Standard Oil tanker W F Miller, which
transported them to San Francisco. ‘Those
who had arrived on the beach gave out stories
of vessel wreckage and human remains that
littered the area. Three fumber schooners
known to have wrecked in the immediate

vicinity certainly contributed to the wr eckage,
while the abundant archeological sites at Point
Bennett provided the human skeletons,

Two other lifeboats, one commanded by
the luckless Second Officer Rochau, traveled
due west, owing to a compass reversal, and by
great good fortune encountered the havy
destroyer USS Reno in thick fog. This vessel
turned to Point Bennett and removed the
people from the beach, returning them to San
Pedro, ‘The Reno also sent the first radio
messages concerning the disaster to the
outside world. On September 9, or a few
days later, the USS Selfridge reached the
wreck and removed the silver bullion, as well

most of the crew that had remained behind.
Passengers and bullion eventually reached San
Francisco aboard the steamer Venezuela. A
court of inquiry later fixed the blame on
Second Officer Rochau, whose license was
suspended tor 90 days (SBMP, September 29,
1923).

The wireless traffic resulting from the
notification of authorities about ihe Cuba's
fate has been suggested as a contributing
factor to one of the worst peacetime disasters
ever suffered by the U.S, Navy, the wrecking
of a flotilla of destroyers near Point Argucllo
about five hours later. The naval board of
inquiry that investigated this mass wrecking
apparently considered the possibility but
rejected it.

Captain Holland and six crew members
remained with the Cuba until September 14,
staying in the fisherman's hut at Point Bennett
and removing “money, bullion, passengers
baggage and other valuables" from the
s cen ship. ‘Two watchmen were left
behind (SBMP, September 15, 1923), but ihey
were evidently not effective, being mentioned
later only for selling some deck chairs for
$75. Frenzied salvage of borderline legality



chronicled in the historical record. People of
Italian, Slavic, Portuguese, Japanese, and,
most recently, Vietnamese origin were
particularly prominent in the fleets frequenting
the islands. Fishing and small boat operations
were an entry level occupation for recent
immigrants to southern California.

The social milieu surrounding boat use
was complex. Informal — arrangements
governed the crew of a fishing boat, for
example, often dictated by familial or other
important obligations (Scoficld 1951) that
varied among ethnic groups. Arrangements
ran the gamut from the formal enrollment of a
crew member aboard the Cuba and the
employment of a hand by a lumber schooner
captain and his wife to the handshake that
welcomed a crew member aboard his father-
in-law's purse seiner.

A shore camp system was often associated
with the trades in which these local craft
participated. Chinese-American abalone
harvesters, lobstermen, and general market
fishers all lived at suitable localities on the
islands, particularly on Santa Cruz, using
boats for gathering the catch, transporting it to
market, and resupplying the operation. Most
of these individuals = were probably
opportunistic nautical entreprencurs, willing to
make money from whatever opportunity
presented itself—transport of tourists, salvage
of wrecked vessels, and perhaps even illicit
activities.

The literature suggests that many of these
vessels were locally constructed. Details of
the local types are not well known. The
history of many of these smaller vessels is
surprisingly complex, replete with rebuilding,
conversion from military to civilian usage, and
changes in methods of propulsion. Fishing
vessels and their material remains, often
tacitly scorned in the past, will yield lo the

186

thoughtful researcher a rich record of human
endeavor,

Local small craft wrecked for somewhat
different reasons from those of large craft.
Sealing and fishing vessels alike wrecked not
only in storms but also by dragging anchor,
by being blown ashore in Santa Anas, and by
suffering on-board fires—a very different
profile from the transient vessels. Fire at sea
has been a common problem for small craft in
the islands, several of which have sunk well
offshore. Burning vessels tend to be
concentrated toward the eastern end of the
islands. lor all vessels in this category,
wreck locations must be regarded as
imprecise.

Storms have wrecked many small craft in
the islands. Santa Ana conditions and strong
northeast. winds have been particular
problem for local small craft, especially off
Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands. Such
weather provided ideal conditions for the
larger schooners transiting the Santa Barbara
Channel, which were easily handled in 30-
knot winds ona beam reach. Vessels wrecked
during storms generally lic close to shore and
can be located more precisely than vessels that
sank offshore. Many shoreline wrecks
probably have been thoroughly salvaged.

Local small craft have wrecked primarily
on Santa Cruz Island, which was the scene of
none of the transient vessel incidents. This
paticrn reflects the large number of
anchorages on this island and the high level of
commercial fishing and recreational boating
that occurs in the island's offshore waters.
Most of the yachts identified in the written
records considered in this report wrecked in
the vicinity of Santa Cruz Island.

Most sealing vessels wrecked on San
Miguel Island, with the exception of the Ella
G, which wrecked while taking refuge at

a



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The work reported here has been
undertaken primarily by volunteers, including
many people working at Channel Islands
National Park, who could have found easier
things to do than dive on shipwrecks. Very
little would have happened without the
generous contributions of many people. The
participants in the first wreck cruise in 1985,
Charles Farabee, Dale Barnett, Jim Loach,
Mike Dixon, Art Tracey, Jim Koza, Steve
Cottrell, Bill Burke, Beverly Perry, Brian
Sutton, Armando Quintero, Martin Mayer,
Glen Fuller, ard Tom McGrath initiated work
on the Goldenhorn. Dr. Roger Kelly,
Western Regional Office, Superintendent
William Ehorn, and Sanctuary Manager Carol
Pilsbury supported shipwreck investigations in
the beginning, while logistical support and
advice came from Gary Davis, Frank Ugolini,
Christina Horton, Peggy Broersma, Karen
Johnson, Norma Della Betta, Kim Glass, and
Audrey Wagner. Superintendent C. Mack
Shaver and Chief of Resources Management
Katherine Faulkner have not only supported
maritime investigations, but have also gotten
wet and actively participated in field work.
Sanctuary Managers Steve Jameson and John
Miller, along with Todd Jacobs, have
enthusiastically participated in many phases of
field work. Captain John Carpenter,
Executive Officer Kathy Andreen, Lieutenant
Theresa Otsubo, and Jim Anthony of the
Fairweather supported early remote sensing in
the Park and Sanctuary waters.

Channel Islands staff members who have
assisted with field work include Dan Richards,
Don Unser, Tom Cox, Stacy Kim, James

xix

Martin, David Stoltz, Ed Elson, Jim Hutton,
Yvonne Menard, Mark Senning, Corky
Farley, Robert Danno, Ian Williams, Diane
Green, Kim Slinninger, Earl Whetsall, Dave
Forcucci, Jack Fitzgerald, Craig Johnson,
Marc Linder, Paul Shattuck, and Kym
Leggett.

Divers and archeologists don't visit wrecks
without boats and the support of those who
run them. Charles Bird, Randy Bidwell, Pat
Given, John Provo, and Diane Richardson
ay hours to pull off successful
cruises. Dwight Willey, in particular, cranked
up the Sea Ranger at 4 A.M. one June
morning, resulting in the first Park Service
dive on the Cuba in the demanding waters off
Point Bennett.

Civilian volunteers who have contributed
to the work include Mark Norder, who has
spearheaded computerization of some of the
wreck maps, Patrick Smith, and Robert
Schwemmer, who located extremely important
information on several vessels. Harley
Martin, Bruce Hector, Steve Barsky, Shirley
Bowersmith, William Grimes, Matthew
Russell, Adriane Askins, and Michael
Marzolla all assisted with often arduous diving
tasks. The members of Channel Islands
Marine Archeological Resources (CMAR)
have recently provided support and
inspiration, particularly in accomplishing
beach surveys throughout the park.

Michael Von Alvensleben and Gerald
Clouser of Santa Barbara City College spent a
memorable, and very rough, week scanning
key localities for wreck scatters using their
institution's remote operated vehicles (ROVs).

have put
have put



Blazenka B
1974-1977
Fishing Vessel?

Gross ‘Tonnage 26 tons
Net Tonnage 16 tons
Length 35.5 feet
Beam 14.3 feet
Depth 6.7 feet
Decks one
Official Number 557740
Construction wood

Historical Record

According to MVUS (1979), the Blazenka
B burned "in Scorpio [sic] Harbor Santa Cruz
Island Ca" on March 27, 1977. The vessel
had previously been known as the Avanti.

Chelan
1935-1978
Fishing Vessel

34 tons
18 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net ‘Tonnage

Length 46.8 feet
Beam 13.9 feet
Depth 5.6 feet
Decks one
Official Number 233743
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Chelan collided nearly head on with
the 35,633-ton Sansinena Hf on February 26,
1978, in the shipping lanes about 2 miles off
Santa Cruz Island. All crew were rescued,
although the Chelan sank within a matter of
minutes. Several other vessels were in the
area at the time (VSP, February 28, 1978).

Jana Dawn
1958-1978
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 59 tons
Net Tonnage 40 tons
Length 57.0 feel
Beam 18.3 feet
Depth 8.4 feet
Decks one
Official Number 277143
Construction wood

Historical Record

This vessel was destroyed in a storm at
Santa Cruz Island on February 28, 1978
(MVUS 1979). The Jana Dawn had formerly
been known as the JM and the Madelyn M.
According to a newspaper article which named
the boat Juna Lee, the vessel was destroyed at
Chinese Harbor.

Sea Wanderer
2-1979
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage -—
Net ‘Tonnage -—
Length 30 feet
Beam --
Depth —
Decks aaa
Official Number --
Construction -

Historical Record

This vessel sank 1.5 miles off San Pedro
Point on Santa Cruz Island on August 22,
1979, leaving the four-person crew bobbing in
their life jackets. A Coast Guard helicopter


Ship Name Tonnage Island
Patria* 7217 SRI

Pectan* 7318 SMI

* These vessels were refloated after grounding,

The following vessels’ tonnage are unknown or are irrelevant to the report:

Grumman Avenger (plane) —- ANI
Grumman Guardian (plane) os scl
Eagle — SCI
rene _ scl
Nancy Baka Nancy Lee a ANI
OK SCI
Sea Lion ~~ SCI
Typhoon _ SCL
Amie _

Anacapa Plane

Babina aka Babinda — =
Bar-bee _ ANI
Bell — _—
Crescent City - =

Elaine _ SCI

Englyn _ SCI
Fishhook _ _
Friendship = —


survey over this location with negative results
on August 10, 1985. An additional
magnetometer survey in 1989 and exploration
dives centered on the appropriate depth in
1988 and 1989, searching the area completely
around Bee Rock, failed to disclose any
wreckage.

Shoreline surveys near Cluster Point have
proven more successful. Considerable
material exists in the vicinity of Cluster Point
and along the shoreline toward Bee Rock and
south toward the Chickasaw and South Point.
While Cluster Point snares debris of all
kinds and periods, timbers of a wooden,
iron-fastened vessel are quite prominent in the
clutter. Several of these are illustrated in
Figure 5.8. These timbers all show a similar
and rather high degree of weathering and all
are fastened with large iron bolts and other
fastenings. Largest among them is a Douglas
fir timber with fastenings set in parallel
staggered rows, similar to timbers in the
keelson assembly of the Jane L. Stanford. No
fastenings remain in this piece, although rust
stains in association with the fastening holes
indicate that iron material was — used.
Fastening size, as best determined from empty
holes, was 1.25 inches. Other scattered pieces
recorded in the area are illustrated in Figure
5.9. The construction contract for the vessel
specificd " son 16 x 16 inches, sister
keelson 12 x 18 inches," and further stipulated
"keel, keelson, stem, and stern-post to be
fastened

At China Camp, just south of Cluster
Point, a mast band with an internal diameter
of 21.5 inches now serves as a campfire ring
(Figure 5.10). This item has clearly been
moved overland from whatever beach it
washed up on, but it is likely that this beach
was near China Camp. The interior dimension
of this piece shows on the Dora Bluhm's
contract as both the heel diameter of the

84

Figure 5.10.

Mast band recycled as a
fireplace ring, China Camp, Santa Rosa
Island, Measurements of this piece indicate
it would be compatible with the masts of
the Dora Bluhm. NPS photo by Don Morris.

foremast and the diameter of the mizzenmast.
This piece is of an appropriate size for the
Dora Bluhm. Farther south along the beach
an iron hawse pipe, 41 inches long and 9.5
inches outside diameter, is firmly wedged in
beach boulders (Figure 5.11).

Near South Point, a single-hole lignum
vitae deadeye, or heart, was collected above
the high tide line in October 1988. ‘The
construction contract for the vessel specified
"standing rigging 7 1/8 inches of hemp, four
shrouds on each side to fore and main mast
and three on each side to mizzen inas'
indicating that this fitting might be consistent
with the rigging of the Dora Bluhm. This



resources.) — Unfortunately, the principal
finding of the project was that side-scan sonar
was not an effective search tool in the thick
kelp and rough, uneven bottom characteristic
of the most interesting potential wreck areas.

Later that summer, a week-long cruise put
NPS divers on the wrecks of two ships, the
Goldenhorn and the Aggi, and an airplane near
Gull Island. ‘This study was followed by two
week-long saltwater workshops that mapped
the Goldenhorn and began a reconnaissance of
the Aggi. All the work in 1985 received
substantial support from NPS's Submerged
Cultural Resources Unit in Santa Fe, New
Mexico. Concurrently, Steve Haller and
Roger Kelly (1987) and James Delgado of the
San Francisco National Maritime Museum
additional information — and
documentation from primary archives and
sources in San Francisco. ‘Their work laid the
basis for historical understanding of the ships.

Wreck cruises during succeeding years
located and mapped the Cuba, conducted
additional mapping of the Aggi, and carried
out investigations at various other locations,
laying the foundation for a fong-term
monitoring program. During this period,
shipwreck investigations began to include
wreckage on the beaches and in the intertidal
zone of the islands, as well as systematic
examination of local newspapers.

Of great value to this report were the
efforts of students in the first class in maritime
archeology at California State University,
Long Beach, under the direction of William
Lee. These students provided valuable leads
to documentation of many wrecks within the
study area, clearly demonstrating the need for
further examination of primary — wreck
documentation,

In 1992, the junior author, who had been
a volunteer diver for several seasons, was

D tet
provided

N

funded by the U.S. Navy to do additional
work in the Point Mugu Test Range, which
includes nearly all of Channel Islands National
Park. He focused on record sources in
southern California and brought
documentation on more than 40 additional
vessels into this report.

By this point in the study, the authors were
attempting to examine every edition of
Merchant Vessels of the United States to
obtain wreck dates and locations. We secured
further information from newspaper accounts
and ship logs, certificates of enrollment,
wreck reports, and other documents on deposit
at the National Archives and — other
repositories. This material has been copied,
assembled, and filed at Channel Islands
National Park, where key information has
been assembled into a dBase III file.

It had become clear by this time that much
of the secondary literature on southern
California shipwrecks was inaccurate. As a
result, citations in this report are usually from
primary, or at least from contemporary,
sources, to avoid perpetuation of errors.
Several vessels that lie outside our study area
are discussed simply because they have been
listed as island wrecks in the secondary
sources, This study gives evidence indicating
otherwise.

The fieldwork for this study, ideally
preceded by careful documentary searches,
employed very basic techniques. Local
knowledge and historical photographs proved
more useful than magneiometers and side-scan
sonar arrays, which were often thwarted by
kelp and other environmental factors. Manual
mapping, photography, and videotaping were
the principal means of documenting the wreck
scatters reported here. A great deal of
material has been found on the beaches and in
the intertidal areas of the park islands and has



and the Ruby had returned with three anchors,
ropes, and sails from the wreck. Some of the
procceds of the sale of these items were going
to help the unfortunate Captain Dunn. Soon a
salvage tug from San Francisco blew up some
of the bull with powder and presumably
salvaged the scrap. ‘The Santa Barbara
Morning Press yveported on November 2,

1892, that the vessel had "completely
collapsed."
Although the vessel was abandoned

quickly, the published sources clearly show
that the wreck was visited on numerous
occasions and that many items were removed,
mostly those that were easily recovered and
broadly uscful. We can be sure much
equipment came off the wreck that was not
mentioncd in the newspaper accounts.
Structural matcrial may have been removed in
1894 when the San Pedro worked the wreck
of the Winfield Scott and the Gosford at Point
Conception.

Archeological Record

The wreck scatter of the Goldenhorn
(Figure 4.3) lics in relatively shallow water
off the southwest coast of Santa Rosa Island,
surrounded by rocks and shoals that pose a
significant hazard for vessels attempting to
anchor directly over the broken vessel. Wave
action has flattened and shattered the vessel's
hull and ground it down into prominent rocks.
When mapping of the wreckage began in
1985, Bill Yznaca, captain of the ruth at that
time, commented that what the charts show as
a wash rock in the vicinity of the Goldenhorn
may have been a portion of the wreckage that
was among the last to be flattened.

{i is clear that portions of the wreck have
slipped away during the years. Absent arc
brass and other yellow metal fittings in places
where such items should occur, such as the
cap of the anchor capstan near the bow of the

vessel. Glenn Miller, who discovered the
wreckage in the 1960s, recovered bre
nameplaies from the vessel that gave its
identily (Don Coelho, personal
communication). © Much anchor chain is
missing, among other items. Yet a great deal
of all parts of the vesscl remains, including
quantities of the wire rigging.

‘The largest single piece of the vessel ts an
83-foot section of bottom hull, which is
virtually flat, with no noticeable deadrise.
The hull is broken at the turn of the bilge on
both sides. ‘There is an I-beam centerline
keelson, two side keelsons of ‘l-bulb bar
stock, and two bilge keelsons constructed of
the same material as the side keelsons. ‘The
side keelsons have intercostal plates; the
centerline and bilge keelsons do not. The
floor frames ("igure 4.4) are on 2-foot
centers, and hull stanchion sockets are located
on every fourth frame, either between the
centerline and side keelsons or between the
side and bilge keelsons. A mast step,
probably for the jiggermast (Figure 4.5), is set
on the centerline keelson.

To the west and farther offshore in
slightly deeper water are fragments of the
stern. The stern section lies on its starboard
side with the jiggermast step and hold
stanchion on the centerline keelson. Floor
frames remain below the keelson, still fixed to
the solid keel of the ship. The presence of the
mast step indicates this section of the vessel is
from that portion of the hull forward of the
deep floors that are just forward of the
sternpost. The rudder post with the bow of
the rudder, rudder wunk, stuffing box, and
tiller attached lie near the stern hull section.
‘The rudder was apparently wood with an iron
frame (Paasch 1901).

Close by is the patent steering gear, minus
the wheel, which is said to have been removed
by divers, In the cost book, this is described



Figure 5.6. An additional view of driftwood at Northwest Cove, Point Benneit, San Migo

ee

ae]

Island. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Dora Bluhm
1883-1910
Three-masted Coastal Lumber Schooner

330.44 tons
315.51 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 133.7 fect
Beam 33.3 feet
Depth 10.5 feet
Decks one
Official Number 157091
Construction wood

Historical Record

“Henry K. Hall, master carpenter" built
the schooner Dora Bluhm at Port Blakely,
Washington, and launched the ship in 1883 for
a group of nine owners, predominantly from
San Francisco (certificate of registry, April

18

30, 1883). ‘The Dora Bluhm may have carried
a donkey engine because the first certificate of
registry deducts 5.66 tons for "engine room
and galley" as well as crew space of 9.27
tons. With William G. Bluhm as master (ihe
ship was named for his daughter {Forster
1989]), the vessel was initially regis at
Port Townsend, Washington. Last registered
in that port in 1897, its home port was
primarily San Vrancisco. The Record of
American and Foreign Shipping, \907 edition,
also records that the Dora Bluhm carried a
center board and gives the vessel a fength of
127 feet. According to the Record, the Dora
Bluhm was built of yellow fir (Douglas fir)
and was iron fastened. ‘lhe vessel had been
recaulked in August L889 and salted in May
1898.

According to a register of voyages for the
years 1903 to 1910 at the Porter Shaw



Official Ship

Ship Name Number Year Island Type
Louise Ray 226822 1937 ANI fishing
Dante Alighieri H 236704 1938 SBI fishing
Emil 230776 1938 SCl fishing
Yukon 219965 1938 SCl fishing
George E Billings cone 1941 ANI lumber
City of Sausalito 235380 1941 SCI other
Blue Fin 229764 1944 SRI government
Nancy B aka Nancy Lee _ 1946 ANI fishing
Aristocratis MCE 100 1949 SRI freighter
Balboa 235502 1949 — fishing
Equator 257143 1949 ANI fishing
San Francisco 243764 1949 ANI fishing
Santa Clara 1949 SCI fishing
Milmar 256076 1950 our fishing
San Giuseppe 234348 1950 ANI fishing
Pan Pacific _ 1950 ANI fishing
Pacific 227246 1951 our fishing
Seaborn 259656 1951 -- tug
Aurora 239980 1952 SCI other
Billcona 251907 1952 SCI tug
Del Rio 234477 1952 ANI fishing
Golden Gate 246308 1952 scl fishing

224


anchorage (Peter Howorth, — personal
communication). Although Davidson
(1889:96) stated that the holding ground in
the anchorage was not good, many captains
today consider it quite suitable. Perhaps this
change in perception relates to the
development of new anchors that work
better in hard sand, the prevailing bottom in
Cuyler Harbor, than the traditional forms.
The bottom in Cuyler Harbor may have
changed considerably since Cabrillo’s time
due to widespread erosion in the last 150
years. Cuyler arbor becomes a lee shore
during southeasters and extremely strong
Santa Anas, Even under the prevailing
northwesterlies, a vessel dragging anchor

wreck quickly
southeastern end of the bay. Several have
done so.

Santa Rosa Island contains remarkably
few anchorages, the best two being
Johnson's Lee and Becher's Bay. Becher's
Bay provides shelter from northwest scas,

ca on the beach at the
can on the beach at the

but the headland of Carrington Point, if

anything, accelerates northwest winds.
Although Becher's Bay is relatively wide,
Skunk Point provides a lee shore under most
conditions. Johnson's Lee, which also
provides better protection against seas than
against winds, at least offers ample sea room
to leeward. A strong southern swell can

complicate anchoring here the
summer months,

Santa Cruz Island, in contrast, provides
numerous bays and inlets, a small-boat
sailor's delight. Davidson (1889:86-88)
discussed 16 anchorages on this island, and
modern cruising guides, catering to the
needs of smaller recreational sailors, know
of still more. Although these anchorages
now serve recreational necds, many of them
were the sites of small fishing or lobster
camps in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. Changing weather or a
strong southerly swell can turn any of these
into traps.

Anchorages on Anacapa and Santa
Barbara are marginal; landing coves and
docks on both islands have been modified
and improved in recent years, but neither
istand is capable of providing unattended
shelter for long periods of time.

The larger vessels that wrecked on the
islands, engaged in voyages to and from the
major ports of San Francisco or San Pedro,
had no need of island anchorages. ‘The
Channel Islands were no more than
complications to be dealt with in reaching or
leaving port. Vessels engaged in sealing,
fishing, or island support, however,
habitually employed these various harbors
around the islands for shelter from storms.
and periods of rest.

during



Historical Record

The Santa Barbara Morning Press of
December 13, 1898, reported:

The Yacht Helene a Total Wreck

Sent Ashore in Forney's Cove, on
Santa Cruz

Result of Last Weck's Wind

The yacht Helene, built a few years
ago by J D Axtell, and owned by
Edwards and Company, is a total
wreck in Forney's Cove, on Santa
Cruz Island. Captain Ramon Vasquez,
who was in command, is seriously ill
at his home on lower De La Vina
street, the result of the drenching
received in escaping to the shore, and
the exposure in the cold during the
following day and night. The rest of
the party escaped with their lives and
clothes on their backs, but nothing
more.

The Helene had been collecting guano at
San Miguel [sland and sailed from there on
December 8, 1898, A strong northeaster
came up and the vessel “moved to an
anchorage in the NE harbor of the cove." ‘The
wreck report states that the Helene was
carrying 2 tons of guano when the vessel was
beset by a “strong gale, rough sea, dark night"
that resulted in parting of the anchor chain.
‘The vessel drifted into breakers, stranding on
a little rock where the crew spent the night.
The next morning the crew crossed to Santa
Cruz Island and broke into a Chinese camp.
Later, Captain Burtis of the schooner Santa
Rosa returned the crew to Santa Barbara.

154

The newspaper article goes on to mention
the involvement of Rosaline (sic) Vasquez in
two previous wrecks on the islands, the
Andine (1892) and the Fishhook (1893).
Andine is probably Undine which actually
wrecked in 1890, but perhaps there is another
wreck of Andine. If so, how did he survive?

Magic
1889-1899
Two-masted Gasoline Schooner, Lobster
Camp Support Boat

Gross Tonnage 24.3 tons
Net Tonnage 23.08 tons
Length 46.3 feet
Beam 13.2 feet
Depth 3.8 feet
one
141068
wood
The steam schooner Magic, former!

known
lobsters from the islands to a small cannery in

as the Lizzie Belle W, delivered

San Pedro. {ts demise off the east coast of
Santa Rosa Island was covered in a series of
articles in the local newspapers.

The Catalina Conserving Company's
schooner the Magic, Capt O'Brien, is
lying a wreck in the rocky channel
between Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa
islands. The schooner Santa Rosa
arrived today bringing over Edward
Duffy, engineer of the lost vessel, and
two of her crew, one a boy. Duffy and
his companions had an exciting
experience during the accident. Duffy
was below at the engine when signaled



roundhaul net that could be handled more
effectively than early purse seines by a smaller
crew (Scofield 1951:10, 28). This type of net
had been introduced to the area about 1905,
and it reigned supreme in sardine fishing from
1915 to 1925, when improved purse seines
became more popular (Scofield 1951:30).

The typical purse seiner was about 65 feet
long, with a high bluff bow, a pronounced
sheer, an open afterdeck with a turntable for
handling the nets and a cargo hold, and a
prominent wheelhouse containing galley and
quarters for the captain and crew. Through
the 1930s and 1940s there was a tendency
toward the production of ever larger purse
seiners, culminating in 1948 in the Santa
Helena, an all-steel vessel over 135 feet long,
costing $500,000. Although larger vessels
offered attractive returns when catches were
large, greater losses were also possible when
harvests fell off (Scofield 1951:41).

Harvests of sardines, especially, have been
highly variable in coastal California in the
past. Discussions of sardine fishing in
California waters invariably speculate about
the possible causes of the disappearance of the
sardine and implicate natural factors as well as
the possibility of overfishing. Of great
interest for this issue would be studies
comparing the presence of fish populations in
prehistoric middens with their occurrence and
fluctuations in recorded history. Were
sardines consistently available —_ before
European fishing began?

In Santa Barbara, commercial fishing
began with fresh fish, abalone, and lobster,
starting with near-shore operations from small
boats. Fishing developed as Italian-Americans
from the San Francisco area developed the
market fish potential of the area after the gold-

119

rush era (Payne 1982:117). Andre Larco,
who developed a company long dominant in
the Santa Barbara area, sold his catch daily
door to door beginning in 1876 (Kahn
1982:99). His concern, along with the fish
processing of the Castagnola family,
dominated commercial fishing in the area
throughout the Great Depression years. Over
time, fishing expanded to the Channel Islands,
and larger boats, often constructed locally,
came into service.

After the Civil War, Chinese immigrants
developed the abalone fishery, which had
expanded to the Channel Islands by the 1880s.
Rogers Brothers, prominent in the sealing
trade, also used the schooner Surprise to
transport Chinese-American crews to shore
camps on the islands (Payne 1982:118). A
recent archeological survey on Santa Rosa
Island has located several of these camps.
Originally sought for meat that was dried and
exported to China, the abalone eventually
became more valuable for its shell than for its
flesh. By 1900, Japanese-Americans entered
the trade as ordinances prohibiting shallow-
water harvesting drove the Chinese out.
Anglo-American divers entered the industry
during the 1930s, and the internment of
Japanese residents during World War II left
Anglos in control of what became a declining
fishery after the 1970s.

The individual wreck accounts that follow,
again presented chronologically by time of
accident, show vividly how vessels that were
harvesting the resources of the ocean around
the islands got into trouble in very different
ways from those of the larger vessels that
passed near the islands. Not surprisingly, far
more sailors died in the wrecks of these
smaller vessels.


The senior author delayed his contribution
to maritime studies until late in his career and
has benefited enormously from the lance
generously provided by Dan Lenihan, Larry
Murphy, Michael Eng, James Bradford, Larry
Nordby, Ken Vrana, Toni Carrell, and Jerry
Livingston of the Submerged Cultural
Resources Unit, Santa Fe, New Mexico
James Delgado, then Maritime Historian, San
Francisco National Maritime Muscum, gave
the senior author helpful hints in handling
small boats in surf at Point Reyes and
provided a demonstration of expert witness
testimony in connection with a court case
involving the Goldenhorn. He provided the
Cost Book for the Goldenhorn and directly
encouraged the development of this study
Peter Howorth shared his knowledge of the
islands and their wrecks in a most gencrous
fashion, as did Fred Gamble.

The staffs of the National Archives Offices
in Washington, DC, San Bruno, and Laguna
Nigucl provided tremendous assistance in
obtaining critical records for this project.
Dean Painter gencrously provided the records
supporting the story of the "Grey Ghost.”

Special thanks go to Jenny Dugan, Dave

Bunnell, and Carmen Lombardo, who
reported significant wreckage on park

beaches, and to Al Fieldson, who walked
many miles of beach with the senior author.
Reed McCluskey, Island Ranger for San
Miguel Island, took — several crucial
photographs of the wreckage of the Comet
when it was last exposed in 1984, before an
archeologist was assigned to the park.

Dr. William Lee, Director of the Los
Angeles Maritime Museum, taught a very
important class in maritime archcology at
California State University, Long Beach,
which resulted in significant contributions by
his students George Barksdale, Stephen
Forster, William Fouts, Monica Reed, Dan

XX

Wamba, and Stan Whitman, Dr. Sheli Smith
read the draft manuscript and made several
helpful suggestions.

Archeologist Steven Schwartz, Point Mugu
Test Range, provided funds which allowed
archival research jointly beneficial to the
preparation of this manuscript and the
development of a data base for the Point Mugu
Missile Test Center. This significantly
improved the quality of the archival research
presented here.

Jane Kepp edited the manuscript and
Frances Day prepared the manuscript for
publication. ‘They have our heartfelt thanks
for shaping up the rough manuscript we sent
them

Dr. Sheli
C. Patrick Labadie gave us many thoughtful
comments in their peer reviews of this
publication.

To everyone mentioned above, and to
anyone we may have inadvertently omitted,
we extend our thanks for their help in
preparing this study. Errors and omissions in
this work are the sole responsibility of the
authors,

and

Jack

Smith, Hunter,

Don P. Morris
Archeologist

Professor John Woolley of the Ocean and

Coastal Policy Center, Marine Science
Institute at the University of California at
Santa. Barbara (UCSB) encouraged and

supported the efforts of then-UCSB students
Jim Lima and Matthew Russell to assemble
data on area shipwrecks in conjunction with
the cffort just getting underway at the park.
These cooperative efforts provided much of
the initial information on vessels lost in the


San Francisco. Years later, bearing the Italian
registry and name Lucania, the vessel was
sunk by a British submarine in February 1942.

The descriptions and photographs of the
I's situation Clearly show that the Pectan
grounded in Adams Cove, which, while still
sandy today, is hardly devoid of rocks. A
factor that may have aided the Pectan was the
copious quantity of sand on the beaches of San
Miguel, supplied by the extreme erosion on
the island. Indeed, the Los Angeles Times
(February 12, 1914), in discussing this
incident, states, "The once green island is now
a white bleak stretch of sand eight miles long
and a mile and a half wide, with only a few
green places where the grass as yet exists." In
recent years, the beaches on the island have
shrunk as revegetation has ~— slowed
erosion,

Although the Pectan did not wreck on San
Miguel, there may be considerable debris in
the area where it lay grounded for [8 days,
cither from deliberate altempts to lighten the
vessel or from inadvertent losses

Aggi
1894-1915
Three-masted, Full-rigged Ship

1,898 tons
1,756 tons

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 265 feet

Beam 39.1 feet

Depth 23.3 feet

De one

Official! Number 102136 (as Aspice)
Construction steel

44

Historical Record

Under the Norwegian ownership of B. A.
Olsen and Son since 1911, the steel-hulled
Aggi (formerly named Seerose, Sant’ Erasmo,
and Aspice) had been built in Glasgow,
Scotland, by Mackie & Thomson in 1894
(Figure 4.9), As the Aspice, it had been
owned by R. J. Swyny of Liverpool and by T.
Law and Company of Glasgow; as the Sant’
Erasmo, its home port was Genoa, Italy,
where it was operated by Nav. Gen. Italiana;
and as the Scerose, was operated by ‘T. and F,
Eimbcke of Hamburg, Germany. The Lloyd's
rating was "+100A1," indicating eminent
scaworthiness (Figure 4.10).

Constructed 11 years after the
Goldenhorn, the Aggi was built of steel rather
than iron. Steel offered a better weight-to-
strength ratio and increased cargo capacity at
the expense, some said, of lessened durability
and longevity in salt water. Steel, being
lighter for a given strength than iron,
produced a more efficient cargo carrier with
stronger masts and spars, and its use improved
the economic position of sailing vessels. ‘The
same improvement in metallurgy — that
produced cheaper, stronger stecl for sailing

essels also led to the development of higher
ure boilers, the triple-expansion steam
engine, and the perfection of steamships that
eventually eased sailing ships out of
commercial service (Greenhill 1980:43-44).

The Aggi departed San Francisco on April
29, 1915, under tow by the sicamer Edgar H
Vance for the Panama Canal, with the plan of
sailing independently from the canal to



hi e
Frederick Q
Carol O

Eileen D

Vessels Which Were Refloated, or are Construction Losses

Beulah
Liebre
Aurora
Imperial
Anubis
Pectan
Aristocratis

Patria

Seaborn
Zingara
Lotus

Nimbus 3

Babina aka Babinda

Crescent City

Official
Number

260183
276479

261529

15639
221073
239980

212356

212911
MCE 1006

73062

SMI

SRI

SRI

ANI

SMI

SMI

SRI

SRI

In
le
Is
e

1974

1961

1967

1933

1921

1952

1936

1908

1914

1949

1954

Wrecks Whose Locations are Indefinite

259656

219887

141743

ANI

ANI?

SMI?

1951

1931

1921

1968

Wrecks Which Did Not Occur Within the Study Area

Gross
Tonnage

24

14

1389

7057

i)
is)

22

4763

7318

7191

7217

36

23

115


Figure 6.1. A hull section partially exposed near the pier, Becher's Ba

Santa Rosa Island, in

the general area where the Ella G wrecked. NPS photo by Don Morris.

chainplate, a centrifugal pump fashioned of
ferrous metal, and a %-inch drift. Directly
beneath the piers set of wood pilings was
another hull fragment comprising four frames
and a stuffing box for a 3-inch diameter shait.
The ferrous drive shaft exhibited heavy
wear.

116

Systematic search of the beach to the north
toward Carrington Point has yet to reveal any
additional material. Although the material
described here is in a plausible location for
wreckage of the Zlla G, the presence of the
drive shaft does not accord with current
knowledge of the vessel's equipment.



Figure 5.30, Cabin of the Jane L Stanford. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Maritime NHP.

fishing barge, first at Los Angeles and later
near Santa Barbara. At this time, the masts
and rigging were removed.

On August 30, 1929, the steamer
Humboldt rammed the anchored and lighted
Jane L Stanford while entering Santa Barbara,
plunging “more than eight feet into the
Stanford's side" and creating a gaping hole.
The wreck report of the Humboldt claims the
Jane L Stanford carried no lights. "Because of
its wooden construction and the fact that it has
no engine, it is not expected to sink, marine
authorities said" (LAT, September 1, 1929).
This proved to be a distressingly apt
prediction. During this time, personal effects
of the crew that had been on board were
salvaged by divers.

After floating, decks awash, for two weeks
(LAT, September 21 and September 29,
1929), the damaged wooden hulk was towed
to Santa Rosa Island by the Coast Guard for

99

destruction on September 15. The crew of the
Coast Guard cutter Tamaroa placed 12 94-
pound TNT high-explosive mines in the hulk.
The resulting explosion "hurled parts of the
barge over a space of more than two miles,
scattering pieces of the wood and metal along
the beach" and "caused some alarm among
housewives [in Santa Barbara], who kept
police busy answering telephone calls" (LAT,
September 19, 1929). This article mentions
that a "huge boiler" blew more than 20 feet
high in one blast, indicating that the Jane L
Stanford retained its donkey engine until the
end. It must have been a noisy morning, for
the article notes that the battleship West
Virginia was at target practice in the vicinity
as well.

The log book entries of the Tamaroa give
many details pertinent to locating additional
wreckage from the Jane L Stanford. The
initial step in demolishing the hulk was to fire



Mission: As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has
responsibility for most of our nationally-owned public lands and natural and cultural resources. ‘This
includes fostering, wise use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife,
preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and
providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. ‘The Department ass s our energy
and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our
people. The deparunent also promotes the goals of the ‘Take Pride in America campaign by
encouraging stewardship and citizen responsibility for the public lands and promoting citizen
participation in their care. “Phe Department also has a major responsibility for American [ndican
reservation communities and lor people who live in [sland ‘Territories under US Administration.

246

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1996~777-055/45077


10 1-pound charges to “pierce tanks aboard."
A charge also "blew out section on exhaust
side of throttle valve chest on anchor windlass
engine. Found chest badly deteriorated." On
September 15, the crew ran a firing cable
from the Zamaroa to the beached wreck,
about 1,000 feet away. Two mines were first
detonated in the after hold, starboard side,
blasting the keel and part of the hull.
Additional charges placed beneath the after
cabin blew out the stern and rudder post.
Two more mines in the after hold, stern side,
"severed the stern which commenced drifting
toward the beach." At noon, work stopped
because of weather and did not resume until
September 17, when six additional mines,
exploded sequentially amidships, beneath the
forward deckhouse, and in the forecastle,
completed the first round of demolition. The
log noted that "all wreckage drifted up on the
beach." On September 18, inspection
"showed considerably more damage than
could be ascertained yesterday... . Her
midships section separated from the fore part,
both parts well on the beach and completely
destroyed."

On September 19, 10 more mines arrived
on board the Tahoe. Nine of these were
exploded, "demolishing fore and midships
sections." Five additional charges were fired
the next day “to complete destruction, parts of
wreck now high on beach and do not
constitute a menace to navigation." All
together, "twenty-six naval wrecking mines,
twenty-four detonators, four blasting caps and
other miscellaneous gear incident to
discharging mines" were employed to
demolish the Jane L Stanford (Final Report,
Commanding Officer to Commandant).

Nonetheless, while proceeding to San
Pedro that same day, September 20, Captain
John Hansen of the Captain A F Lucas, a
Standard Oil tanker, reported _ partly

101

submerged wreckage from the Jane L Stanford
at latitude 34° 15' N, longitude 119° 56' W,
a mid-channel position nearly 16 nautical
miles from Skunk Point (LAT, September 21,
1929). The Tamaroa received word that a
piece of the Jane L Stanford 40 feet long and
protruding 3 feet above the water had been
sighted. This was thought to be a piece of the
upper part of the starboard quarter, which
must have drifted away during the stormy
night of the fifteenth, The Zamaroa
immediately searched the channel for two
days, but the wreckage was not found (Trip
Report, Commanding Officer to
Commandant).

After experiencing a collision and "sixteen
[sic] TNT bombs" (LAT, September 27,
1929), the Jane L Stanford came to rest in the
sands of Skunk Point, where fragments remain
for study today. The location of the 40-foot
remnant is unknown. The vessel fragments
were widely distributed by the explosion at the
outset, in addition to whatever scattering has
occurred since as a result of waves and
current. Heavy material from the Jane L
Stanford—the “huge boiler," the anchor
windlass engine, and other gear—must rest on
the sea bottom or within the beach hard by the
demolition site.

Archeological Record

Material attributed to the Jane L Stanford
occurs at three localities on the north shore of
Skunk Point, Santa Rosa Island. The
westernmost wreckage is a piece of hull with
five knees protruding from the sand (Figure
5.32). These are connected by members
buried beneath the sand. Fastenings are iron
bolts, peened over rings, with a diameter of
1% inches. The knees are Douglas fir
and have naturally curving wood grain
selected for optimal support and strength.



TOP MASTS:

Fore topmast length $1’, diam in cap 13", hounds [0'%" and 7", grommets 9" and 54", pole 8
tS 13)

Main and mizen topmasts length 51', diam in cap 12", hounds 10" and 6%", grommets 814"
and 5%", pole 8+5=t3'
BOOMS:

Boom for jib 37’. diam $%", topping lift 7%" outside, clew 8", outer end 7%", sheet 8 Ys".

Fore and main booms length 39' 6", diam 104", topping lift 9%" outside, shect 10", clew
10"

Spanker boom length 50', sheet 114", clew 94", topping lift 8" outside.

GA}

Fore and main galls 37’, diam 8%", bands 8%", 8", 6%" and 5".

Spanker gaff 34', diam 8%", bands 8%", 8", 6%", and 5".

HEEL HOOPS
Heel hoops 22%", 21%", 20". Fore sheet ring bolt 14%" W & W.

Main shcet traveler 18" x {8" to key fore and aft.

RAKI:

Fore and main masts rake %".

Misen masts rake “".
SAILS:

Sails to be of cotton duck, spanker, mainsail, foresail and jib to be No. 1, the balance of sails
to be in proportion to their size and use.

234


San FrancisCO 0 eee 133
Pan Pacific
Milmar oc eee

San Giuseppe ....

PACHIC ee ee
Golden Gate
Del Rio... ..
Cape Argo...
RuthE .....
Gypsy Q
LouiseD ....
DorothyM...
Ruth K
Vineth
CarolO...
Josie Lena ......

GOOFBIA eee
Dolphin iv .
Broadbill . 00.0 ee
Cinnamon Bear
SHOSMONL 6

Eileen D occ eee
Warrior oo ee
Mary
Rosemond R
Standard Nut
Sierra
Liberty oes
JOAN ee
Frederick Q
GladyI oo... ..6.
BlazenkaB.......
Chelan ......
Jana Dawn... .
Sea Wanderer . .
Patrick
Summary oe ne

VIL OTHER TRADES AND PURSUITS ...... 600-2 ee eee eee 149
San Buenaventura
Undine oe
Fishhook . 00 0

vii


NORTHWEST COVE

Northwest Cove Site
Channel Islands National Park
San Miguel Island, CA

National Park Service
Submerged Cultural Resources Unit

FEET

Figure 5.4. Probable J M Colman wreck scatter. Drawing by Matthew Russell
75


that has left no documentation whatever, and
this wreckage could very easily relate to the
period before the gold rush,

Gold Rush

The historical events of the California
gold rush and its impacts are discussed at
length in Kemble (1943). In terms of the local
area around the Channel Islands, the hide and
tallow trade, which provided raw materials for
leather goods manufactured in New England,
was augmented by a steady stream of steamers
plying the Panama route, easily the most
popular way to reach California's gold fields
before the completion of the _ first
transcontinental railroad in 1869. Operations
on this route by the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company had begun in 1848. As. this
company and its competitors grew, ships’
captains emphasized speed: it is no great
surprise that shipwrecks occurred in this trade.

One ship, the Winfield Scott, is known to
have wrecked in the Channel Islands during
the goid-rush period, and debris from another,
the Yankee Blade, may have washed up on
island beaches,

Winfield Scott
1850-1853
Side-wheel Passenger Steamer

Gross Tonnage 1,291 tons

Net Tonnage -—~

Length 225 feet

Beam 34 feet, 8 inches
Depth 29 feet, 2 inches
Decks three

Official Number

Construction wood, metal bracing

19

Historical Record

James Delgado (1982) has fully researched
and reported the historical events surrounding
the last voyage of this vessel, a National
Register property. The following is a short
summary of Delgado's work.

The New York firm of Westervelt and
MacKay built the Winfield Scott in 1850,
naming the vessel for the commanding general
of the U.S. Army, hero of the Mexican War,
and presidential nominee. The Winfield Scott
was launched on October 27, 1850, and began
operations on the route between New Orleans
and New York. With the beginning of 1852,
the Winfield Scott became part of the recently
formed New York and San Francisco
Steamship Line. The Winfield Scott's transit
from New York to San Francisco via Rio de
Janeiro and Cape Horn—less than 49
days—set a record for that route (Delgado
1982:8). The vessel embarked upon the
coastal run between San Francisco and
Panama in April 1852, usually traveling
overcrowded. The loss of the Tennessee, a
Pacific Mail Steamship Company vessel,
caused that company to purchase the Winfield
Scott in July 1853.

The Winfield Scott departed San Francisco
upon its last voyage on December 1, 1853,
with a full load of passengers and a shipment
of gold bullion. Selecting the Santa Barbara
Channel rather than a passage outside the
islands in an effort to save time, Captain
Simon F. Blunt entered the Passage as a fog
developed. Evidently intending to steam
between Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands, the
Winfield Scott piled into Middle Anacapa
Island at full speed, probably around 10 knots,
at eleven o'clock that evening (Delgado
1982:14). Amid general confusion, a boat was
launched and located a nearby
landing place. The entire ship's company,


Standard Nut
1950-1969
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage
Net Tonnage

14 tons
7 tons

Length 36.7 feet
Beam 12.9 feet
Depth 4.2 feet
Decks one
Official Number 260204
Construction wood

Historical Record

The Standard Nut, previously known as
the Texan, stranded at Santa Rosa Island on
September 9, 1969 (MVUS 1972).

Sierra
1944-1972
Fishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 13 tons
Net Tonnage 6 tons
Length 34.3 feet
Beam 11.6 feet
Depth 4.0 teet
Decks one
Official Number 262656
Construction wood

Historical Record

This diesel-propelled vessel stranded at
Smugglers Cove, Santa Cruz Island, on
October 24, 1971 (MVUS 1974:1637). No

144

newspaper account of this incident has yet
been located.

Liberty
1948-1973
Vishing Vessel

197 tons
TOL tons

Gross ‘Tonnage
Net Tonnage

Length 90 feet
Beam 25.4 feet
Depth 12 feet
Decks _
Official Number 156332
Construction wood
Historical Record
This vessel flooded and sank due to

undetermined causes “about 20 miles south of
Santa Barbara" (SBNP December 11, 1973).
‘The Coast Guard returned the crew to Santa
Barbara. The indeterminate location is well
within the sanctuary, and could be within the
park, probably in waters at least 40 fathoms
deep.

Joan
1947-1974
lishing Vessel

Gross Tonnage 12 tons
Net Tonnage 5 tons
Length 29.3 feet
Beam 12.3 feet
Depth 5.1 feet
Decks one
Official Number 278028
Construction wood


of playing." The N B must have been
anchored somewhere on the northeast side of
San Miguel Island to have been driven ashore
by a northeast wind. This account strongly
implies that the vessel wrecked in Cuyler
Harbor. If the vessel occupied the normal
anchorage, its remains should lie considerably
west of most of the other vessels that have
stranded in this anchorage.

Rogers Brothers had sold the N B to
"Ledbetter and Jackman" a few weeks prior to
the wreck, although the final license of
November 8, 1879 listed A. C. and H. A.
Rogers as each owning one-sixth of the N B.
James Ledbetter of Santa Barbara owned "3/6"
on this license.

Surprise
1870s-1881
Sealing Schooner

Gross Tonnage 14.65 tons
Net Tonnage —

Length 39.8 feet
Beam 12.2 feet
Depth 5.0 feet
Decks one
Official Number 115499
Construction wood

Historical Record

Little is known about the Surprise. In
addition to sealing, the vessel also carried
crews of Chinese-American abalone fishermen
to the islands. The day of March 13, 1881,
when the ship wrecked, was very windy
(SBDP, March 16, 1881).

it

The schooner Surprise was anchored
at San Miguel Island on the 13th inst.
and during the windstorm parted both
cables and went ashore. The Captain,
Charles Brown, together with John
Haskell and Ramon Mesa, and Mr
Muller [Mullett??] who had the vessel
chartered, arrived here last night and
gave the particulars. The vessel is
now lying high and dry, and it is yet
uncertain whether she can be got off,
or whether she is a total loss. The
schooner belongs to Rogers Bros. &
Co. of this city [SBDP, March 22,
1881].

Rogers Brothers, who engaged in the

their interest in NV B just before she wrecked in
December 1879; otherwise, the Surprise
would have been their second vessel Joss in
less than 15 months.

The firm of Rogers Bros and Co.
deserves great credit for having
established such a large and important
business. As general merchants, they
have won a prominent position among
the firms of Southern California.
Their stock is full and complete, and
comprises everything in the line of
groceries, provisions, glassware, etc.
They do an immense business in the
way of buying and selling country
produce. The farming community, as
well as all heads of families, are
especially requested to read their new
advertisement [SBDP, March 22,
1881].


Figure 5.11. Hawse pipe in the rocks, about
two statute miles southeast of Cluster Point.
NPS photo by Don Morris.

Figure 5.12. Rudder post and yoke on the
beach northwest of Cluster Point. The square
hole in the post may have accommodated an
emergency tiller. NPS photo by Don Morris.

85

Figure 5.13. End view of the rudder yoke.
NPS photo by Don Morris.

type of artifact, however, can drift a long way
from its original wreck site and is hardly
unique to this vessel, so any association must
remain extremely tenuous.

On the coast north of Cluster Point, the
unusual fitting illustrated in Figure 5.12 and
5.13 appeared in the summer of 1988.
William Olesen of the Los Angeles Maritime
Museum identified this fitting as a rudder post
and yoke typical of diamond-cut steering gear.
The construction contract specified that "hard
wood" was to be used for the rudder post,
among other pieces of the vessel. The wood
in this fitting is described in the senior
author's field notes as "open porous wood,
similar to oak" and is almost certainly a
hardwood species. This fitting is of an
appropriate size and type for the Dora Bluhm.

Standard tables in Record of American and
Foreign Shipping (1907) and in Desmond
(1984) specify dimensions and sizes for many
of the foregoing items, usually related to a
vessel's gross tonnage. Although it would be
naive to assume that any builder necessarily
adhered to these specifications, the tables
allow us to develop a general model of the
vessel from which these individual pieces
might derive, and perhaps to determine


Vigure 3.2. Crosshead from the
Winfield Scott. NPS photo by
Dan Lenihan.

Figure 3.3. Brass drift
projecting from hull fragment
near keel on the Winfield Scott.
NPS photo by Bob McKeever.

nN
oO