Credit River - Shipwreck Series
Sechelt
March 24, 1911
There are many shipwrecks around the world. Some very famous and others not so. Each however has it’s own story to tell. As you travel along the Credit River doing this series of caches, we have highlighted a number of these shipwrecks. During low water levels on these parts of the Credit River, you need to be careful in a canoe or kayak so as you don’t wind up in your own shipwreck. Besides the many large rocks along the way, there are also some other obstacles such as dams which should be avoided. All of the geocaches in this series have been placed by tubing, inflatable boat or on foot by walking in the water along the Credit River. Whichever way you choose to search for these caches, use caution and common sense.
More information about this series can be found here: Credit River - Shipwreck Series
The steamship Sechelt operated from 1893 to 1911 on Lake Washington, Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia. For most of her career, she was called Hattie Hansen. She became well known following her unexplained sinking with no survivors near Race Rocks Lighthouse in 1911.
Later in 1893 Hattie Hansen was brought out to the sound through the Duwamish River, which at that time connected to Lake Washington. Her new owners, the Hansen family, put her on the route from Seattle to Dogfish Bay, (or Liberty Bay as local residents prefer.) Capt. J.J. Hansen served as her master. In 1898 she was switched over to the Hood Canal mail route for a time, later returning to the Seattle - Poulsbo route, where she stayed until 1902. Her last master on the Poulsbo run was Capt. Alf Hostmark (1875–1953). J.F. Curtis and Sons bought Hattie Hansen in 1903 and put her on the Everett - Coupeville route, under Capt. A.H. Curtis, where she ran until the ferry Whidby was placed on the route, and she was sold to a Canadian firm.
The new Canadian owners renamed the vessel Sechelt, a town, peninsula and inlet in British Columbia, all ultimately named after the Shishalh people, one of the First Nations of British Columbia. Sechelt was first placed on the Vancouver – Sechelt route up the Strait of Georgia, under the command of Captain Robert Reginald Clarke. Capt Leopold Arther Bernays also commanded Sechelt from June to about the end of September or October.In 1910 Sechelt had some difficulties on this route; striking a reef at the Vancouver harbor entrance in August, and going ashore at Bowen Island in November.
In January 1911, Capt. H.B. James, of Victoria, together with his lifelong friend and former shipmate Harold Gray Jarvis, a marine surveyor[ bought Sechelt at Vancouver, formed the Sechelt Towage Company, and then brought the vessel over to Vancouver Island. Although he had had experience as an officer on oceangoing vessels, Captain James had not long operated inland steamships, having arrived in British Columbia in only about late 1909. James and Jarvis then set up business as the British Columbia Steamship Company. In 1910 or early 1911, they chartered the small steel-hulled twin-propeller steamer Tasmanian for a month to run on the route from Victoria to Sooke as test to see if the business warranted the purchase of a larger vessel. Both James and Jarvis had licenses as master mariners. They then put Sechelt on the Victoria - Sooke route, and she made her first run on March 1, 1911, under Capt. Caral Stromgren.
Sooke was a town with a sheltered small harbor near the southern end of Vancouver Island, and the route there from Victoria required Sechelt to cross the eastern part of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a notoriously dangerous body of water, which had then recently (in 1904) claimed the then-new steamboat Clallam, a much larger, newer, and stronger built vessel than Sechelt, Clallam's sinking in nearly the same waters was well known in shipping circles and there was talk that Sechelt was not fit for the route. The vessel ran in the narrow passage between Race Rocks Lighthouse and the mainland, which was often hazardous in any conditions, but particularly on an ebb tide. Still as a condition of her insurance, just before James and Jarvis bought the vessel, her underwriters had required a through overhaul out of the water, which cost $6,000, the entire vessel having an insured value of $9,000.
First run to Sooke
On her first trip to Sooke, on March 1, 1911, Sechelt carried only four passengers and two tons of freight. The weather was good and all went well. On her return on March 2, she was laid up for some alteration work to her cabins. Also, it appears that she had lost a propeller blade on the trip to Sooke. Although in theory Captain Stromgren was the "regular master" of Sechelt, in fact he made only one trip in Sechelt (her first one on March 1, 1911 to Sooke) and, due in part to Stromgren's illness, James made 18 trips on the Sooke run in Sechelt,
Loss of vessel
Last run to Sooke
On Friday, March 24, 1911, with Capt. H.B. James in command. Sechelt departed Victoria harbor at 2:30 p.m. Aboard were her crew of four, an estimated 33 passengers, mostly workers on the Canadian Northern, and about 12,240 pounds of freight, including steel rails.[1][3] She reached the government quarantine station dock at William Head, discharged about 13 passengers and freight, then left the quarantine dock at 3:58 p.m.
Vessel in distress
As she steamed around Beechy Head she was hit by high wind and seas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Just what happened next is uncertain. Either her engine or steering gear failed, or Captain James decided to turn back.
Sinking
The only witnesses to the sinking were Henry Charles and his wife Anna Charles, people of the First Nations living on Beacher Bay Reserve. Henry Charles had substantial sea experience working as a fisherman and on schooners. In later testimony, he described the sinking as follows:
“A week before last Friday (March 24th) about 5 p.m. I was sitting in my house looking out of the window to seaward when I saw a small steamer coming around Church Point going west. It was blowing hard from the west and big sea on into which the steamer was bucking. There was a strong ebb tide and heavy tide rips. The steamer was about 500 yards (460 m) off the small island when she was going southwesterly (South Bedford Island). When she had passed about 100 yards (91 m) west of the island she changed her course towards the American side about south straight. She was rolling then the sea being on her side. She still kept on going off for about five minutes. Then the first big sea struck her on the side (the right side) and made her lie on her left side about that much (indicating about 45̊) She still kept going towards where the big seas were, big breakers, when the second sea struck her and laid her over more. Then a third sea struck her and laid her over on her side. About two minutes after she came back on an even keel. I could only see the house then, I could not see any of the black part of the steamer's hull. She was then heading to westward. About a minute after that she sank down and I did not see any more of her, she sank quick. ...I have been here all of my life and know the waters well in this vicinity. A strong gale and the rips are very dangerous. The last I saw of the steamer was her smoke stack as she went down. I ran 2 ½ miles to the post office and told of the disaster by telephone.
From the evidence of Henry Charles, given at his house, the examiner concluded that Sechelt had sunk about 11⁄1/2 miles southeast of South Bedford Island (a bare rock) in 40 fathoms of water. All aboard were lost.
Rescue efforts fail
Having seen the disaster, Henry Charles ran to Rocky Point, where there was a telephone link to the quarantine station at William Head. The quarantine station received the call at 7:56 p.m. They blew the emergency whistle, and five minutes later Captain Thomas Riley took out the government steamer Madge to go to the scene (Madge as the quarantine vessel always had steam up, because they never knew when a ship might arrive.) When they got there, they cruised around in the dark for about two hours looking for bodies or wreckage, but found none.
The station also sent a launch to Victoria. The tug William Joliffe went out to the wreck scene, but could recover only one or two bodies. (This is according to McCurdy; Jarvis in testimony given shortly after the event, stated no bodies were ever recovered.) Wreckage washed up on nearby beaches, including both her two life boats still in their davits All aboard were drowned, an estimated 20 people.