The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-02-11
WYNN GIVES VERSION OF
 SEA TRAGEDY
Juneau Man Says Pas sengers Were Calm
 Praises Rescue Work

Praises keS(ue W0Tk
 Bill Winn of Juneau, son of Mrs. Bess Winn. and one of the 435 survivors of the wrecked Yukon, arrived here on the steamer Alaska, safe and sound and glad to be on land again. He had a thrilling story to tell.
 Vim lost suit, a box of cigars, and numerous other personal items but he mentioned them with mere wave of his hand. The ex- perience of waiting hourly for al- most sure death made their loss ridiculously trifling.
 This is his story of the wreck:
 "It was showing when the Yukon left Seward at, 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday, week ago yesterday. Weather conditions were not good at the beginning and by dinner time the ship was pitch ing badly. Besides the roughness of the water the snow storm was lit- erally merging shoreline. sea and sky" he said. Since the ship was not outfitted with Fathometer, the route was indefinite. After cir cling 6 or hours. the ship cut her speed and the pilot proceeded on dead reckoning through the storm. Apparently deciding that the course had been properly reckoned, the ships officers allowed the Yukon to resume her speed as she passed through Johnstone Bay. It was then that the ship struck the beach. .Scrapfug Noise T was asleep at the time, as were most passengers. First l thought we had hit reef. Then hearing the crashing. scraping noise I realized we were on the rocks"
 Vim and other passengers pro- ceedsd to the deck immediately. Facing them was sheer bluff of rock; waters of the bay churned fiercely around the ship. There was no panic. Passengers walked around the deck in orderly fashion. A few minutes after the ship struck lights went out all over the ship except in the dining room. Dam- age to the boilers cut off the heat.
 Attempts to put down life boats were futile. Winn said. The Yu- kon was not equipped with power boats. Her life rafts were the type , that would have to have been row. ed away from the ship. Even If they had been successfully lowered, waves and breakers would have wrecked them in motion
 i Passengers Calm Passengers on the deck surveyed the situation with amazing calm They chatted. smoked, several, MT. Winn among them. returned to their cabins for warmer clothing. Many of the staterooms were already flooded but top deck rooms were clear.
 i The loud speaker system was also knocked out by damage to the low fer quarters of the ship Crew mem bers and officials circulated among the passengers answering questions and doing what was possible to in- sure redimentary safety precautions.
 It was announced that Coast Guard rescue ship would arrive at | II a. m and the Yukon passengers settled down in the social hall and on the embarkation deck to wait for dawn and the coast guard.
 Ship Settles By late morning. the Yukon had began to settle. During the night she had taken a terrific beating from heavy seas.
 Not Ftrnt On Rocks By 8 o'clock 1t became clear to many passengers that all the ship was not firmly embedded on rock. The aft was free and it's sides were 1 pounded constantly by waves on the outside and heavy equipment loose on the inside.
 Tt appeared to me MT. Winn said, that when the aft came off las it was sure to do. it might well pull the entire ship with it. We watcher the swing of that portion of the ship with almost fascinated interest during the morning"
 MT. Vim does not agree with published statements from persons who felt that with modern ship, the accident of the Yukon could not have occurred
 The ship was strongly built" he said. T do not believe modern ship could have withstood half of what she went through before breaking up.'
 ! The Yukon was built in 1899 in