Events Leading to the Shipwreck

Events Leading to the Shipwreck. Princess Sophia 1912-1918. , Skagway was the starting point for the fateful voyage of the SS Princess Sophia on Oct. 23, 1918. After the arrival of the last train of Yukoners bound for southern ports, the Sophi left Skagway a few hours late. This delay was the start of a series of events as the Sophia steamed in the dark of Lynn Canal in a snowstorm headed right for Vanderbilt Reef…,

Construction Details. Company: British Columbia Coastal Service, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , Shipbuilder: Bow, McLachlan and Co. in Paisley, Scotland , Date of Commission: May 1911 , Date of Launch: November 8, 1911 , Maiden Voyage: June 7, 1912, Particulars , Tonnage:2320 , Length:245' (75m) , Beam: 44' (13m) , Draught: 12' (4m) , Depth: 24' (7) , Propulsion: Single Screw, Triple Expansion Steam Engine , fuel Type: Bunier Oil, as refitted in 1912 from Coal-Burning Propulsion , Tank Capacity: 29,000 Oil Barrels , Maximum Speed: 13-14 Knots , Capacity: 250-350 Passengers; Maximum Capacity 500 Passengers with special permission.

, October 1918 , Residents who wish to leave interior Alaska and Yukon Territory for the winter prepare to leave on the last steamer of the season., October 21-23, 1918 White Pass and Yukon Route trains arrive in Sakgway with passengers for southbound ocean steamers., October 23, 1918 (5:30 PM) , The last White Pass and Yukon Route train destined for the Sophis arrive in Skagway., October 23, 1918 (5L30 -10:10 PM) , U.S. Customs and Immigration officials clear all passengers, 24 horses, and 2 tons of household goods entering from the Yukon territory., October 23, 1918 (10:10 PM) , Sophia leaves Skagway, 3 hours late., October 23, 1918 , (approximately 11:00 PM) Sophia rounds Battery Point near Haines and is thrown off course amidst 50-knot winds, fog, and snow., October 24, 1918 , (approximately 2:00 AM) Sophia wrecks on Vanderbilt Reef., October 24, 1918 , (8:00 AM) Captain Locke of the Sophia sends a dispatch to the Canadian Pacific Railway office in Juneau assuring that the ship was not taking water, but that the seas were too rough to transfer passengers., October 24-25 1918 , Storm intensifies and rescue ships are driven back from the reef. October 25, 1918 , Sophia sinks on Vanderbilt Reef between 5:30-6:00 PM , Skagway and the region mourned the loss of life on the SS Princess Sophi, an event that affected the north for decades. As a result, modern navigational aids were placed on Vanderbilt Reef and other hazards to make travel safer between ports.,

"Impossible to get passengers off tonight as the sea running too strong." , "Taking water and foundering. For GOD's sake come and save us!" final SOS dispatch 5:20 p.m. October 25, 1918

, John Fraser "Jack" Pugh , While no one from Skagway was on the SS Princes Sophia, victim Jack Pugh was a former resident and was very well known here. Pugh was the Collector of Customs for the District of Alaska and was stationed in Juneau, the capital., Pugh's parents came to Skagway in the early spring of 1900, and their son and his wife Venetia, arrived in December., Pugh was first stationed with U.S. Customs in Ketchikan in 1902 and then transferred to Skagway in 1905, and Juneu in 1909. President Wilson appointed him Collector of the district in 1913., Jack Pugh came up to Skagway in October 1918 to assist local Customs officers in clearing the large number of passengers arriving on the trains from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. After his work was done, Pugh boarded the Sophia on the night of October 23 and was due to get off the ship in Juneau on the return voyage., In her memories retold by grandson Karl A. Hahn Jr. of Skagway, Pugh's widow remembered following the dispatches on October 24-25 as the ship sat perched on Vanderbilt Reef. and then went to sleep. Sometime during the night she awoke, seeing the image of her husband at the end of their bed and heard him say, "Take care of our baby," before he disappeared. The next morning she learned that the Sophi had foundered during the night., Their baby, Venetia Elizabeth Pugh, had just turned 14 on Oct. 24th. Soon after graduating from college, Elizabeth married Karl Hahn, son of long-time White Pass and Yukon Route railroad superintendent V.I. Hahn. The Hahn family lived in Skagway until 1947., The adjacent memorial and this storyboard were made possible by major funding from the Municipality of Skagway, the Margaret Frans Brady Fund, and the White Pass and Yukon Route, with additional contributions from Fraternal Order of Eagles No. 25, Alaska Shoppe, Steve Hites, Alaska Fjordlines, Alaska Christmas Store, Jan Wrentmore, Steve Jaklitsch, Chris Song, Kristin Cyr, Robert and Monica Carlson and White Pass Lodge #1 F and AM., Thank you, SS Princess Sophia AD-Hoc Committee (2016-2018); Carl Mulvihill, chair, Jeff Brady, Vice-chair; Cody Jennings, Secretary, Jacqui Taylor-Rose, Susannah Doeds, Steve Hites, Karl Gucke.