The Incredible Tragic Story of the SS Clallam
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- In 1904, the Puget Sound Navigation Company's SS Clallam, a small wooden-hulled long-haul ferry, began taking on water in a storm. While she should have been able to survive the situation, a series of missteps by her Captain and Chief Engineer sealed her fate. The situation turned deadly when the panicked Captain ordered the women and children into the lifeboats. The Clallam tragedy would hang over the area for decades with deadly ramifications.
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Sources:
Great shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast by Robert Belyk
Music provided by Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 SS Princess Sophia
1:20 Chapter 1: An Ominous Start
4:30 Chapter 2: The Final Voyage
9:44 Chapter 3: A Disasterous Evacuation
13:02 Chapter 4: A Desperate Struggle to Survive
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me: I'm not superstitious.
BOB: she wasn't christened and the first time she raised the flag it was upside down.
me: Ok that's really bad I'm superstitious now.
If a ship isn't christened that's already a bad omen for the ship and it's crew, but adding the flag mishap, oh baby that's not good
Given how superstitous sailors are, i'm surprised they could even get a crew for that ship.
Too bad this doesn't happen PRIOR to completely building the ship!
( I know. Nothing to Christen "
Personally, I’m not superstitious, but I am a LITTLE stitious.
@@casadilla111😂😂❤
it never ceases to amaze me with shipwreck disasters how a whole group of relatively minor circumstances (like in this instance the Engineer's failure to fix the porthole before departing) come together and doom the vessel and its passengers. And of course its nearly always atrocious sea conditions that exacerbate and turn those minor problems into a disastrous problem.
most of the time it is calm as a millpond between Port Townsend and Victoria, tends to lull a guy into complacency -- oh I'll get that fixed next trip
@@paulpetersen9214 interesting, i'd have always thought those waters would be the opposite. thanks.
Often times the butterfly effect ends in disaster........
The sea is an unforgiving mistress.
i think in aviation this is called the Swiss cheese model. when all the holes in the cheese align, all the small minor things culminate to cause the disaster as a whole. its always a multitude of minor events needing to happen at the same moment rather than 1 single big issue to cause a disaster
Omg, if I'm on a sinking ship with 363 other people and help comes only for our captain to refuse accepting any help he's DEFINITELY getting thrown overboard! 😅
For real, at least I am knocking them out and saying I am not dying because of him. I highly doubt any court would find anyone guilty if them simply knocked out or restrained the captains since it will become clear the captain was incompetent
I actually genuinely agree with you @@historytank5673
“But what happens when we learn the wrong lesson” A very profound statement. This quote can be applied to so many parts of our society. Pretty scary!
I've lived on the great lakes and both sides of the Atlantic and I've been around ships and boats my whole life. My grandfather was a sailor on the Lakers. I've seen several documentaries about maritime disasters in the Pacific northwest/Alaska region now and in basically all of these events there seems to have been an inordinate amount of dumbassery involved.
I have to say it felt a bit unfair to hear the captain survived, after that his inability to handle the situation lead to so many of his passengers losing their lives. Even if he wasn't responsible for the faulty pump, I listened in disbelief at the decisions he made.
He was right in telling the tug to hurry back and warn the towing ship to drop the line or the Clallam would have taken them down too.
@@annabellelee4535 But that was after making all his earlier bad decisions.
The captain was very busy having embarked on a splendid adventure of personal discovery.
The rest became a drag
@@FinnishLapphund True, but he made the right decision there.
It is very easy to judge in leisure what people have had to do in haste.
After that list of everything that went on, the cristening, the flag, the sheep, I'm surprised ANYONE wanted to sail on a ship that is clearly cursed.
Not really, the same has likely happened to thousands of ships over the years that didn’t sink or have any problems. You just never hear about them because nothing bad ever happened to them.
@@conors4430 name me an example then
@@ivangenov6782 I don’t know of any, because nobody keeps records of bottles that didn’t break for ships that didn’t sink. Just like nobody keeps records of all the people who weren’t murdered yesterday
@@conors4430 thats like saying no one keeps a record of all the plane crashes every year
@@Momo_Kawashima yes... that is the point...
I love the style of your videos and the use of old footage. This was an unfortunate tragedy but as for the Princess Sofia, I think the captain was damned either way. If they had launched the lifeboats, people almost certainly would have died due to the stormy seas. Some may have survived.
I had heard the tragedy of the Princess Sophia before but didn't know the details of the wreck that influenced the captain's odd decision-making until now. Unbelievable how appalling the Clallum's captain was in this emergency... and I'm surprised that any mariners would sail on her in the first place, they were incredibly superstitious back then. RIP to all those lost 🤍
That’s such a generalization. Not every seaman was stereotypically uneducated and prone to superstition.
Can we appreciate the effort that goes into this??
Absolutely! And I'm humbled to find the author and I share a last name.
@@gretchenlittle6817 It's a common British, surname.
No.
Jokes aside, these vids are great!
Absolutely fascinating!!!🙏😢⚓
That’s what she said
What an incredible run of mistakes and bad calls that lead to a horrible tragedy. It's true, every disaster like this helps us to get better at avoiding them in the future, and such well made and researched content like this also allows us to remember the souls lost towards the relative safety we benefit from today. Thanks for all the hard work on these.
Would transfer of passengers to rescue tug or 2 nd boat be possible with lines?
For those able to survive a hearty drag in fierce storm waves, rope or line rescue?
@@robertknowles2699 I think you meant to ask the channel owner that - not me. Though if you want my opinion - not very likely. Tugs are basically big engines with boats wrapped around them. They don't really have a lot of capacity for people, so even if they got some hardy folks onboard by dragging them with ropes, they could only do a handful at a time, have to go drop them off, and come back again.
While that is true, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to avoid questionable people in leader ship roles who grow complicit and lazy. People like Captain Francesco Schettino who still has 10 years left on his prison sentence comes to mind.
@@AnthonyBlamthony Arg... that is a darn good, and kind of terrifying, point.
But hey, look at the bright side - the company probably saved a lot of money from cutting back on maintenence and crew training!
Issuing an abandon ship order is a tricky one. You can either issue it too soon and the crew would abandon an otherwise salvageable ship or issue it too late that barely any lifeboats could be lowered.
There are countless instances of ships continuing to stay afloat long after they are abandoned by their crew. There are cases when people were able to board their stricken ship and took it under control. (this cases are mostly merchant ships and warships damaged during the war)
There is even a case of a Japanese destroyer staying afloat for a few days after she was abandoned and was later towed back to a port for repairs.
On the otherhand, there are countless cases of ships taking down with it more lives than necessary due to the order to abandon ship not coming early enough.
The Pacific North West can definitely be a scary and dangerous place. Staying inside inner channels always seems to breed complacency in late 19th and early 20th century shipping companies.
Another very informative video as always, thanks.
'....despite her popularity, the ship started slipping down the spill way early....." ? ??? ? lol. so now even physics has to bow down to the popular kids?
Whaaa? Elaborate more, please.
@@rogerrendzak8055 ???? because she was popular, the boat should have NOT slipped down the slipway?
@@kevinquist Why, she wasn't anyone special!! No one really, is. And physics bow, to NO ONE!! You must be from a country that recognizes, fake monarchies.
@@rogerrendzak8055 jeez dude. I was commenting on a comment made. Probably by mistake. In the vid that I though was funny. Time to move on. Thanks for the time but I'm done with this silly thread.
What a story, never heard of the SS Clallam till today---thanks. Your narration is spot-on and the black & white footage you used really moved the story along. Sea travel is safer than ever, but ships are still at the mercy of a wild and unpredictable ocean. Thanks for posting.....
It is a shame how many absolute GEMS like this channel exist on TH-cam with no where near the recognition they deserve. I’m bummed I only just came across it recently :( keep it up man. You’re videos are amazing
William Gibbons is/was my Great Grandfather. He perished in the sinking of the Clallam. His wife and daughters were not aboard the Clallam. They were living in Tacoma at the time. Gibbons was a musician, an organist, and was having a church organ transported to (we think but can't confirm) St.John the Divine Anglican Church. His trip to Victoria was in preparation of the delivery of the church organ.
In a sense our family is both a victim and survivor of the wreck of the Clallam.
A sad, sad story, one which I'd not heard before. Using the old movie clips and archive films (from the fashions they date from the early 1920's) enlivens the telling, and somehow brings the terrible human cost to life. Well done.
Fantastic video! Having written an article on the wreck (and currently in the middle of a much bigger project) this was a great overview of the Clallam disaster, and I'm glad it's getting more attention.
The hurricane deck and some of the superstructure floated off and was towed back to Victoria a few days after the sinking. It ended up being sold for 25 dollars at auction with the goal of being a morbid tourist attraction, but ended up being sent off for spare parts for a BC cannery a few months later.
Also there may have been a connection to the 1906 Valencia disaster, where a Mr. Ross drowned. According to some 1906 articles, Mrs. Ross had drowned on the Clallam. There's almost no way to verify this, and descendants have never heard of the existence of a wife.
Thank you! Glad to hear there are others out there researching and sharing these stories!
The main reason the Princess Sophia's loss of life was due more too corporate greed than any thing else. The CPR had forbid the transfer of passengers to other vessels due too loss of revenue. They had sent another CPR ship from Vancouver to retrieve the passengers and any transferable cargo of value. But by the time it arrived the ship was on the bottom of the sound with no survivors. One ship had managed to connect a line to the Sophia, but Captain told the crew to unhook the line after assuring passengers the ship was not going to sink. Then to add insult to injury, the ship carrying the dead arrived in port on November 11 1918 during Victory day celebrations. A sad ending all around.
A lesson as to why it's CRITICAL to stay calm. Easier said than done, I know. Excellent video! 👍🏻😀
3:11 Roasting her 61 YEARS later?!! Harsh! Even that sheep picked up on the bad vibes enveloping the ship.
I've heard several stories about the SS Clallam, but this is the most detailed. It's a common story in my area, being that Black Ball is 10 blocks from my house. Still sailing to Victoria daily.
I grew up on Point Partridge, Whidbey Island within sight of where this tragedy occurred. The story of the Clallam is one I grew up with. Spent many years working on coastal and ocean going tugs out of Seattle. The weather in the Straits of Juan de Fuca is something I’m well acquainted with. You can have ocean swells rolling in from the west up the strait where the depths are over 100 fathoms piling into shallows and banks to the center and east. An opposing ebb current coming out of Puget Sound and wind atop it all will stack the seas up and turn that area into a raging tempest.
Can’t wait for it! Can you do a video on Cunards intermediate liners of the 20s? They are forgotten, despite the fact that they carried Cunard to a dominant position during the White Star merger.
True.
As I always say, the larger superliners may be the cream de la creme of a shipping line, but more often than not, it's the numerous smaller vessels which aren't as featured in the spotlight, who help make up that company's base, and in turn, make their vast success possible.
I hate to sound callous, but those passengers would have been better served by placing the sheep in command of this voyage.
wow it's amazing how this disaster led up to Princess Sophia disaster. great video and storytelling!
Thank you!
I’ve Ben listening to big old boats for six months or so . I turn it on and close my eyes and let my imagination take off thank you
I like your compassionate and factual deliverance of the story. Your research and time spent to present this fascinating, yet little known tragic tale is greatly appreciated, indeed.
Dear Big Old Boats,
I've subscribed to your channel for a few years. Right now I'm recovering from Lyme disease and not able to do much. Your videos are really helping me and lifting my spirits. Thank you very much and God bless you!
Thank you for the kind words and I hope you feel better soon!
@@BigOldBoats Thank you!
Did they actually have any proof the engineer messed up, or was it just “more water was coming in somewhere, so it must have been his mistake”? Could it have been a design flaw, or a building flaw, or even just more sheer bad luck puncturing the hull with debris or shifted cargo at some point? Or did they actually have wreckage/survivor testimony of the pump being set up wrong?
The worse thing would have been separated from your love ones and trying to either find them or watch them drown. If you were alone on board then at least might have been some comfort, knowing they were safe ashore.
There is a wooden steamship similar to the clallam that sank in the 1980s close to shore that divers go down and make regular underwater repairs to, in hope of keeping the ship in decent enough condition to be raised since it is fresh water, with little to no currents I think the ship's name is Atlantic.
They tried once but it sank back and bend the propeller shaft, which dented their hops of draining the ship and sailing the ship under her own steam to whatever place they might berth the ship. The wreck is closely monitored.
When the ship's sheep mascot has more 'smarts' than the ship's captain!
Horrifying disaster, great video, and an incompetent captain!
What a great video, and a tragic story 👍🏻
Another fantastic, albeit eerie, documentary. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it
Holy Hannah Montana do you have a great voiceover voice! Your eloquence combine with incredible editing (which isn't just the same footage over and over or on the screen for minutes at a time) make these videos such a treat to watch! I get sucked in and can't focus on work when watching Big Old Boats; which isn't a bad thing 😉
Thank you! Always happy to provide distractions from work
The beatification of H. Montana is debated by some theologians
Ooo that’s great pillow talk.
Ask him on a date!
It's a shame how much panic can kill hundreds
Yes, but likewise how people can die from poor equipment, lack of training, failure to practice safety & lifeboat drills, and simple things like Flares , pumps that don’t work , etc..
Perhaps that there were no modern , reliable Weather Warnings, no radio, or teletype key, etc
all contributed to this and other like sea tragedies of this time period .
I had no idea the Princess Sophia was owned by Canadian Pacific. The more you know.
The SS Clallam. Another of the countless shipwreck tales that I have never heard of. The ship moving down the slipway before the girl could swing the champagne at her, missing thrice, is one thing. Not every ship that had an inauspicious launch were met with oblivion at some point in their lives: some were able to go on to have long and successful careers. But when you hoist the flag of the United States of America _(or any other flag depending on where the vessel is registered)_ on a new ship for the first time *UPSIDE DOWN??* How do you pull that one off? That's screaming something serious at you. Couple that with the ship being an underpowered craft - although her seakeeping abilities to her credit weren't bad, given how long she lasted in the storm - with a company that was cutting corners in some areas, and I could already tell from the start she was doomed. Even the animals - sensible beings they are - recognized this when refusing to board for the last voyage. And all the other warnings and premonitions leading up to it. You couldn't have paid me enough to sail but once on that ship even if I had to. My biggest question about the whole ordeal is how and where the flooding in the engine room started. The steward who saw this and didn't bother to say anything thinking the situation was under control was downright stupid. Even if everything was alright, it'd be nice to at least let someone know.
As for the captain, he basically sounds like another Schettino to me, minus the cowardly part. Uncertain, in denial, foolish mistakes, and overall, not in control of the situation. Rest in peace to the minimum 56 women, children and men who were lost. At least some people made it out with their lives. I notice you are doing an equally fantastic job telling the story of the people as you are with the ships. Good on you. :)
Flooding in the engine room came from pumps set incorrectly letting water in not out
I love this channel. Your voice is so soothing, yet I'm experiencing so much anxiety as the story unfolds. This one about had me in tears. Seeing film of some passengers, learning their names and stories, brings a personal touch...the poor souls...😥
Sir, you are the master of maritime disaster! 😘
RIP to all those souls lost. Great work Big Old Boats.
Thank you, nice videos and appreciate you don't sensationalise the stories.
Thank you, glad to hear you enjoy them!
Keep up the great work! I find all these videos so fascinating
Glad to hear it, thank you!
Thank you, your videos are incredible. It is not just all your knowledge about these boats and their history what amazes me but also your calm and compassionate way of presenting these horrifying accidents. It‘s a big difference compared to some other channels (and many comments). Your closings are full of wisdom and often make my eyes wet, I have to confess. You are the right person to tell these stories. Thank you again and stay well! Greetings from Berlin, Harry (and pardon my bad English).
Brilliant episode ..Many thanks from London UK .
Thank you!
Many thanks great video. You must work exceptionally hard to find footage to fit the story , I look forward to the next one.
Thank you for the kind words!
Dude, I really dig the music on this video. Albeit the video itself is quite sad.
Dude the opening paragraph just gives me chills mannn! One man's lesson is another man's failure. This is just tragedy at it worst!!!
Another great story, well researched and narrated. Thanks.
I love this channel!! There is nothing like this in the media or TH-cam. I have always loved and been fascinated by these gorgeous ships and this channel has provided me with an education. Thank you! 😊👏👍
U think this ship is ‘gorgeous’?
Do you also like bbw?
That ship should never been allowed to set sail under any circumstances with all the problems that had arisen from her initial launch attempt. Thank you for showing this travesty.
Well done once again, thank you.
It’s astounding that your channel hasn’t grown more swiftly. Compared to the mindless drivel that occupies the vast majority of TH-cam’s storage space your content is superior by many orders of magnitude.
The Captain is a disgrace, his poor judgement doomed the passengers and crew
This is extremely well done, not just the investigation and story, but the way the video is put together and the music as well.
I so look forward to your videos. You have that rare skill of capturing my full attention and transporting me right there for the entire length. Thanks so much, from a happy subscriber :)
I appreciate your stories. Keep up the good work.
Dude, you have a great artistic flair to your videos while still very clearly laying out a narrative or information. Good work.
The Black Ball Line still runs a ferry between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria, BC. They ran all the BC coastal ferries until they were nationalised in 1960 and made into BC Ferries.
I look forward to these uploads the same way I’d be shaking waiting for a new Better Call Saul- I love these videos so much. Thank you for having a beautiful editing style, and thank you for being an amazing narrator.
I love your work, thank you so much!
Thank you too!
Love your production thank you
Nice video, allot of great shots of paddle wheelers in the Yukon.
Excellent episode Sir, kudos!!!🙏😢⚓❣️
Thank you! 😀
Just found your channel.. this content is exactly the content I love ! Great channel!
Welcome aboard!
Great work 👏 very great voice over! I loved all ur vids I watched all of ur vids while eating dinner
Great video! I'm glad I subscribed. I have been a Great Lakes history buff for many years but thanks to your vids I am finding new interest in other types of boats. And look at 4:41 with that sneaky old Thomas Alva Edison. :D
Dying off loading a stranded vessel sounds better than waiting to drown on a stranded vessel.
The Black Ball Line?
Ha!
Very good video, thank you.
1:13 in and I already love this video!
your best work yet.
even though i havent watched it, i know that its gonna be a good video
I'm such a big fan of your work. Where do you get the videos that almost match the story your telling about the ships? Are they old movie scene or are some of the clips actually ship in distress? Great work!!
Until this video- I had forgotten, or maybe not fully understood, the important role of superstition and omens in the shipping/boating/marine industry.
Few channels have the production values of Big Old Boats. Fabulous footage sourcing too. 👍
Many thanks!
Tell me your cursed WITHOUT telling me your cursed. RIP to passengers.
I knoq a lot of people already expressed how sad it is for all the people that died, but I need to do my part and tell that I'm sorry for them but I'm also sorry for the innocent and vulnerable animals that were on board. People can try to escape, but small children and animals depend on others to help them, and I get that no one would risk their lives to save livestock when they are trying to save themselves, but it's still sad to think about how those poor animals were doomed from the start and how much they have must suffered =/
Thanks!
Thank you, Paul! Really appreciate it!
Interesting, I didn't know about this ship. Please consider making a video about the Empress of Ireland. Thanks!
Tragic story, although I’m not one for superstition. For every ship that sank whos bottle didn’t break there are dozens more who never sank or had any problems. We just remember the ones that did. There are always people on ships or planes who are scared and feel like something bad is going to happen, nine times out of 10 nothing bad happens, and then the one time that something does happen, we use their fear as claim of a premonition when we dismissed the nine other times everything was fine even with the same premonition
It's called confirmation bias, just so ya know.
You just need a justification for your atheism. You don't believe in anything, cool leave the rest of us alone then. I don't feel the need to shit on people who believe in aliens and flat earth theory because... I don't believe in it.
@@bmccay6999 cool to know. Thanks.
This happened here in my neck of the woods! (Pacific Northwest, Seattle area now but always within 50 miles from Port Townsend, Clallam County, Whidbey Island, Port Angeles, and the Puget Sound.
No matter where I've tried moving to, from Idaho, Nevada, Louisiana, Florida and even North Carolina, I've _always_ been uncontrollably compelled by some magnetic mysterious force to move back to the Puget Sound region of Washington State.
Between the Sea and the Mountains, I feel safe, and there's nothing like seeing Seattle again coming over the hills after being away, it's the most beautiful place on earth to live, no question. (For me, anyway.) ✌
nice well done video
Big old boats are the best boats. ❤
You’re amazing at what you do. I could listen to you read the phone book.
Good God. Excellent video on human hubris. A cursed ship if there ever was one.
Nah, not cursed... mistreated. I have to wonder if the loud crash of the cargo falling over may have cracked the hull enough to leak. you really should not abuse ships like that. It NEVER ends well.
If I saw the sheep not even wanting to board I would turn around and walk home😂😂😂
Superb work. Thanks so much
And how ‘bout that sheep!
Black ball still has a ferry that runs to Victoria. Only been cancelled once due to weather once since 1959 and that was due to a snowstorm and crew being unable to make it to the ferry. That ferry named the coho can handle her own very well in the rough waters. The clallam wreck is only a few miles north from my house in clallam county. Grew up in port townsend. Never even heard of the sinking
I was asleep, and I kept thinking I was hearing "SS Clown." I was thinking- "well there's the first mistake- and having a hull made of "fur," it was doomed! "
Ok, we've totally seen these passengers before. Time to pony up for more period footage!
B.O.B. I would really like to see you do a video on The Edmund Fitzgerald. I am sure a lot of people know the story, but we haven't heard how you would tell it. Give it some consideration
The mascot sheep knew something!
Missing the champaign bottle twice and flag unfurling upside down....come on, that is beyond unlucky
There are so many of these that end with every woman and child losing their lives
Love your vids. And sometimes in this video it sounds like youre saying SS "Clown" and I think thats appropriate.
Videos on both RMS Oceanics. Very interesting ships.
It is almost unbelivable how often omens are right in terms of ships and sea buisness. Well, with safety features like this, disaster was literally invited, but still.
Roberts was one of the most inept Captains I have ever seen. People debate Captain Smith's actions which have been either overdramatized or false, he did not cause more deaths in attempts to save lives on the Titanic. I feel bad for the guilt he must have felt so I temper my judgement with a prayer that he found some respite from the guilt. We make bad heat of the moment decisions at times, his came at the worst possible time. God rest those who perished that horrid night and the survivors since deceased.
So tragic. RIP to all.