EAGLE (1922) The wooden gas screw Eagle departed Nome June 30, 1922 never to return. The Eagle and her crew of four set a course for Kolyma, Siberia loaded with 30 tons of general merchandise. On Tuesday, August 15, 1922 at 11:30 p.m. an ice floe drifted in and crushed the Eagle against the ground ice 14 miles east and five miles off shore from Cape North, Siberia. The crew survived and was assisted by the gas screw Chukotsk. The Eagle, valued at $10,000 and her cargo, valued at $14,000 were lost with no insurance.
Mapping and Location: Siberia
Additional Information: Tonnage 23 Gross 15 Net, Built 1913, Registered Seattle, ON 211110, Master Ludwig Hansen of Seattle, Owner Charles T Muessler of Seattle
Source: U S Coast Guard Report of Casualty filed at Nome August 29, 1922 by Hansen
ELISIF (1929) The Norwegian auxiliary schooner Elisif was caught in the ice and lost August of 1929 while on an Arctic trading expedition off the coast of Siberia. The crew reached Little Diomede Island in two launches and were picked up by the U S Revenue Cutter Northland and taken to Nome. The Elisif had departed Puget Sound in July of 1928 with Captain Edwin Larson at the helm and a crew of 20. The vessel was owned by Swenson Trading Company of Seattle.
Mapping and Location: Siberia
Source: The H W McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest (1966) Pg 403
ELLEN J MCKINNON (1879) The 70 ton trading schooner Ellen J McKinnon departed San Francisco March 20, 1879 on a 180 day trading voyage to Unalaska and the Arctic and disappeared. She was chartered by J.C. Merrill and Company and carrying 100 tons of merchandise with a crew of 10. On April 21, 1879 the ship Otaga spotted a wreck 500 miles northwest of San Francisco. Only one survivor, 46 year old seaman Victorino Lopes of Portugal was barely alive. The Ellen J McKinnon had keeled over and been severely damaged in a storm six days out of San Francisco. Some of the crew survived many days after the wreck, but Lopes was the only one left when the Otaga found the hulk 22 days later. Lost were mate and acting captain Thomas O’Brien, pilot H. Ravens, seamen Charles Manuel, seaman Robert Thomas, Peter Joseph, George Allen, John Curry, Pedro Lerina and John A. McLaughlin cabin boy.
Mapping and Location: Unknown North Pacific
Comment: The E J McKinnon was to have met the trading brig Timandra March 31, 1879 to split up a cargo of rum, fire arms and ammunition for the Arctic trade. The Timandra was wrecked at Nunivak Island May 20, 1879.
Additional Information: Tonnage 69.84, Built Port Ludlow Washington Territory 1874 at a cost of $11,000, Registered San Francisco, ON 135017, Construction wood flat bottomed schooner, Insurance $4,500
Sources: 1. Cincinnati Daily Enquirer (June 16, 1879) “Saved From the Sea” Pg 2, 2. Alaska Appeal of San Francisco (August 30, 1879) Pg. 5, 3. Alaska Appeal of San Francisco (May 6, 1879) Pg 6, 4. Merchant Vessels of the U S (1875) Pg 93
ELSIE (1950) The 33 foot gasoline powered wooden fishing vessel Elsie disappeared March 17, 1950 on a trip from Seattle to Alaska with two persons aboard. Lost with the Elsie were the vessel owner William Barrett and Thomas Selph. The Elsie was home ported in Sitka.
Mapping and Location: Alaska Unknown
Additional Information: Tonnage 8 Gross 6 Net, Length 33.5, Breadth 9.3, Depth 4.3, Built 1919 at Seattle WA, Owner W A Barrett, Registered Sitka, ON 218122
Sources: 1. BOEM Alaska Shipwreck List (2011), 2. Merchant Vessels of the U S (1949) Pg 158