S.
S. Valencia Shipwreck Monument
100
years ago on January 22, 1906, the ship S. S. Valencia,
with 173 onboard, wrecked off Beale Point, Vancouver Island
on
its way from San Francisco to Seattle. Strong currents in deep
fog pulled the ship onto the rocks after a 250 foot sounding
just three hours prior. 136 were killed--tragedy as rescue
boats could not get close to ship as they too would wreck on
the rocks.
Nine survived in one lifeboat which escaped. Many
men and all women refused to go into lifeboats after seeing
one
capsize as it was being loaded, tossing all in to the sea. There
were only 37 survivors; two officers, 23 crewmen, and 12 passengers.
All
of the women and children perished. The
found
unknown are
buried here in Mt. Pleasant.
Closeup
Photo of the Monument (showing text)
The Valencia shipwreck
was a tragic loss of life--as a result of it many reforms
were undertaken regarding lifeboats
and ship
safety. Here are some links to more detail
about the
Valencia.
Seattle
Times Jan. 2006 Folklore
Heritage The always excellent HistoryLink |
The
photo above shows the monument in
context. Click on it for a large version of the photo.
The
photo below shows the back of the monument--there is no
additional text on the rear or sides.
|
