What's along the coast?
Storytelling of 'unseen' ocean history
As a feature of the Russell J. & Dorothy S. Bilinski Fellowship, I partnered with Sonoma Coast Historical & Undersea Nautical Research Society (SCHUNRS) to distill & translate archival shipwreck data for the general public. An abundance of data are available because of the passion and dedication of John Harreld and the SCHUNRs team (volunteer based), over many years of scuba diving explorations, coastal surveys, and mining of archival records.
Learn more about their active projects & opportunities to get involved.
the power of story telling
Images from John Harreld
How can we share the magical history that exists under the treacherous conditions of the Sonoma County coastline?
I am by no means the first, nor will I be the last, to share stories about coastal shipwrecks. But every story we tell has the potential to form a positive connection with others; when we learn together, we can gain new nodes of community.
Similar to the influence of ‘unseen’ chemistry in shell forming species, the seafloor adjacent to the coastline is littered with evidence of past human use that is unobservable to those above the water. These stories are for the present and potential nautical enthusiasts. Read them and then share them aloud with a stranger--you may be surprised by the small joy that arises from storytelling connections.
I am not a nautical nor historical expert, but I can be a storyteller for those who are.
Want to jump to a specific section? Feel free!
Map of Sonoma County shipwrecks
Introduction to the Maggie Ross steam schooner
Stories about the Maggie Ross:
i) introduction,
ii) investment,
iii) wrecking, and
iv) final resting place.
Sonoma Coast Shipwrecks
Although ship damage and wreckage were not uncommon along the coast of the US, and specifically along the treacherous Sonoma Coast (CA), we have yet to find and map all that have been publicly reported. An initial map created by SCHUNRs's board member, John Harreld, was modified to depict which of the wrecks have been documented (black triangles) and which remain indicated (oftentimes via newspapers) but unfound (grey triangles).
〖site〗 Ship name, (reported wreck date)
〖a〗 Klamath, (1921 Feb)
〖b〗 Albion, (1913 Mar)
〖c〗 Norlina, (1926 Aug)
〖d〗 Windermere, (1883 Sep)
〖d〗 Acme, (1889 Jun)
〖e〗 Pomona, (1908 Mar)
〖f〗 Monterey, (1880 May)
〖g〗 Joseph S Spinney, (1892 Oct)
〖g〗 Whitelaw, (1893 Feb)
〖h〗 Maggie Ross, (1892 Aug)
〖i〗 Albion River, (1903 Apr)
Image adapted from map from John Harreld
The Nuts & Bolts of Maggie Ross
... the ship
Image from Fort Ross Research Library
- size: 115 feet long,
32’ beam, and
10’6” draft.
- weight: 253 tonnes (gross) or
174 tons net (gross)
- power: steam engine 150 HP
- size: ~ 25 standard school buses
~ length of 2 parking spaces
6 in taller than NBA basketball hoop
- weight: blue whale or large commercial aircraft
~ 35 adult male African elephants
- power: ~ outboard on ski boat
compares to...
Google satellite map overlaid with hand drawn map of wreck site by John Harreld
Image from Sonoma County Historical Society collection
... the wreck(s)
- Built in Coos Bay, OR 1888
- First trip in early 1889
- Bad reputation (legal, crew turnover, maintenance) by late 1889
- #1: Leaking and beached on a mudflat (Sept 1889)
- #2: Leaking and boilers flooded from bar strike (Jan 1891)
- #3: severe storms cuts from a load of lumber, carrying away deckhouse, killing one passenger on board; crew rescued by various ships (Dec 1891)
- #4: hits rock near Russian Gulch after attempting to use anchors to reduce drag toward shore and is beached (Aug 1892)
- unsuccessful attempts to float her after repairs; stranded wreck
A "hoodoo" ship lost in plain sight
As they spoke of her intermittent uncovering beneath the sands of Russian Gulch, just north of Jenner off the coastal highway 1, my mind engaged. How could there be a massive ship buried under the sands of a beach that so many of us walk along, without any of us knowing it?
Those were the thoughts I had of Maggie Ross as we walked along the path to where the Russian Gulch Creek greets the sea. A ship so massive, yet slowly flipped completely over her hull, by the annual shifting of sands at the mouth of the creek. I approached attentively, as to not disturb the light-weight, silty sediments that had settled from low flows of a closed river mouth. At first, not seeing the hull for more than woody debris, semi-buried within the sands. However, as I started to study the grains and patterns of the woody ship that remains today, tides of emotion swept through me. First, awe and wonder of the integrity of materials used in her creation and that they still resist degradation. Then, gratitude for the chance to lay eyes on a ship that only appears “when conditions are right”. And finally, an immense curiosity for all of the mystery and stories buried with her final resting.
Image: blah blah
Image from John Harreld
The magic and mystery of the Sonoma Coast is embedded within these shifting sands and the quickly changing coastline, with coastal shipping vessels historically at the mercy of the seas. For one ship in particular, Maggie Ross, it appears that the sea and luck were never on her side throughout her years of operation, between 1888 and 1892. Commissioned at Captain Ross’ shipyard in Coos Bay and named after the daughter of her builder, Maggie Ross was just one of many ships that represented a dramatic increase in coastal sea traffic that began with the Gold Rush and continued throughout the following half century of settlement along the coast.
Image from John Harreld
Similar to other steamer ships built during this time, Maggie Ross was commissioned for transportation between San Francisco Bay and smaller coastal ports, shipping manufactured goods to rural areas in exchange for large hauls of lumber and produce back to the Bay—a “wetter”, marine version of the current “Highway 101”. Although technology enhanced the efficiency of coastal trade, variability of the sea still presented a dangerous risk to schooner pilots. Sudden gale winds and thick fog mixed to lure ships into wrecks along hidden, nearshore rocky reefs. In addition to consistent seaside dangers, Maggie Ross’s crew also collided with danger on land. In an unfortunate “accident”, Captain SS Jordan, the Master of the vessel, failed to survive a run-in with a train while walking the railroad tracks with owner, Captain John Ross, on New Year’s Eve 1888. Due to his unforeseen death he therefore would not be able to tell the successful beginning ventures of Maggie Ross in 1889. His misfortune only added to the compiling of her eventual nickname of a “Hoodoo Ship”, or cursed vessel. Schooner ships during this time were robustly constructed to withstand the severe weather conditions of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and Maggie Ross was no exception. But alas, luck never appeared to be on the side of her physical dimensions.
Pacific Rural Press 1884
I have since gone to visit the final burial place of Maggie Ross, however, I have yet to see her exposed hull in the riverbed since my first encounter. Is this how the crew felt after her first year? Did they wait in anticipation for her to rise up past her bad luck? As I sit in the sand and look toward where she is hidden I too wonder, will she ever rise up again and overcome the sands and sea?
A steep investment to end in heartbreak
Author Abbi Doan
Standing at 115 feet long, and weighing 253 tonnes, the steam schooner known as the Maggie Ross was as large as a modern commercial aircraft, and as heavy as a blue whale. Despite her size, Maggie Ross traversed the west coastline with only 150 horsepower. Imagine moving a vessel as long as a Boeing 737 and as heavy as the largest animal on earth with only the power of a Prius engine, and you will have the Maggie Ross.
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The turn of the 19th century saw a shift from masted cargo ships to steamers and steam schooners and, being constructed in 1888, the Maggie Ross seems to be one of the earlier steam schooners that popped up during this shift. Perhaps this might be an explanation for the Maggie Ross’s reputation of “being the most unfortunate vessel on the bay”. During her active period of four years, she had her boilers replaced at least three times, which is not all that surprising for a steam-powered vessel created during a time when steam-powered engines were fairly new technology. What is curious, however, is why the Maggie Ross was damaged, repaired, and put back into action so many times during her life. She was a relatively small schooner, with large problems, and there were many other vessels out there that could do her job, so why continue to put her back in the water?
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The shipping industry at this time, capitalized on the need for transport to make money, and a lot of money was sunk into not only the construction of the Maggie Ross, but also the settlement of multiple libel and intervention suits in her first two years alone. By ‘throwing in the towel’ and retiring the vessel, they would have lost a lot of the money spent on her construction. However, the Maggie Ross was a cargo ship transporting lumber in the Bay Area, put into action right around the time that San Francisco was making its transition into a major city. With all of the construction underway to build up the city, lumber was a valuable resource, and lumber transport was a valuable service. Some may justify repairing her so many times because she had only been active for two years, and had only completed three successful voyages in those two years. If they could just keep her active and in good shape for a few more voyages, they may have been able to at least make enough money to break even on their invested expenses.
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Through all of her successes and failures, she paved the way for the journeys of many more steam schooners to come as the second Industrial Revolution prompted the transition to steam-powered engines.
damage along a wreck-prone coastline
They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice, or at least if it does, maybe not in the same calendar year. Enter the luck (or should I say misfortune) of Maggie Ross, whose third year of shipping started and ended with a stroke of disaster. Many of the schooner shipping vessels during this period were being challenged by the sea throughout their voyages. Unsurprisingly, fast changing weather conditions along a rocky shoreline could end in damage or wrecks. However, some of the most difficult conditions occurred as ships departed the bays and harbors of departure. Here, many were confronted with changing depths and flow conditions over the ‘bar’, a shallower area of sediment deposition located at the entrance.
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Schooner ships balanced the opportunity to navigate through shallower passages, thanks to a shallower ship draft, with weaker power and less stability. If a crew missed the mark, ships ran the risk of bar collision, or worse, being overtaken by breaking waves or running aground. In January of 1891 the Maggie Ross struck the bar at the mouth of Coos Bay, OR enroute to San Francisco, CA with a full lumber cargo. The strike flooded the boilers (i.e. killing ship power) and created a leak, disabling the ship’s ability to carry on without assistance. Following a common procedure at the time, they off loaded her lumber cargo, pumped out seawater, and with the aid of another ship (Emily), towed her back to her home port for repairs.
​
Image from Sonoma County Historical Society collection
Once a schooner ship successfully departed the bay, a whole other set of challenges could arise as they navigated their way to their destination. Along the northern CA coast, they were often confronted with weather conditions that made navigation and visibility difficult, like rapidly changing weather conditions that could bring strong winds/storms or dense fog. Putting a blindfold on navigation heightened the risk of not only running aground, but also of running into one of many submerged rocky outcrops (or other ships) along shore. At the end of 1891 (Dec), after successfully clearing challenging bar conditions in Coos Bay, OR the Maggie Ross was defeated by a storm and towed by the port shortly after departing (by another ship, Willamette). Extreme conditions resulted in the load of lumber being cut free, carrying away a deckhouse and crushing one crew member and sending another overboard in the process. Accounts suggest that two anchors were deployed to increase drag in order to prevent her from running ashore, however, the strength of the sea continued to break over the deck. Due to limited communication channels, accounts of the accident slowly trickled in as the surviving crew arrived safely back to the Coos Bay port.
When I read the accounts of treacherous shipping conditions, a phrase that my grandmother used to tell me seems to fit well, “if it isn’t one thing, it will definitely be another”. A battle that begins before leaving the harbor makes a strong sea-person, if they can arrive safely at the destination port. For the surviving crew of Maggie Ross in 1891, making it to the end of the year likely felt like they had won the battle.
Image from Sonoma County Historical Society collection
what happens to 'the rest', when a ship is laid to rest?
It can be hard to let go of a dream or promising potential of a schooner ship, especially after dedicating financial, physical and emotional investment. Not forgetting, that it can be equally challenging to dismember and disperse the value that remains in an efficient and responsible way, so as to do as little damage to the surrounding environment and crewmembers as possible.
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Image from John Harreld
The final voyage of Maggie Ross ended on Aug 23 1892, north of her attempted destination (San Francisco), at Russian Gulch in Sonoma County, CA. No lives were lost when she collided with rocks offshore of the gulch, apparently due to the negligence of the officer in charge to notify the ship captain of running in the wrong direction. It was not immediately apparent that her wreck location would be her final resting place, with wrecking parties first coming to offload and salvage cargo and stores that were onboard. After lightening her cargo mass, they attempted to patch the hole in her hull with no success. They then tried to float her at high tide with empty casks, similar to putting water-wing floatation devices on a person who cannot swim. In the end their efforts did not succeed, and so she and her cargo were put up for auction while she slowly succumbed to the sea.
Through time, she was buried in the ever changing sands, being rotated, such that the bottom of her hull is what becomes visible when the sands allow. She spends most of her time unseen to the naked eye, but remains a permanent fixture along the coast, similar to countless others that remain to be found. She may not have found success as a cargo transportation vessel, but she has found purpose here in sharing stories about the tragedies and danger of nautical voyages.
Image from John Harreld