The purpose of this site is to draw attention to Alaska Shipwrecks. In that effort, I have put together a number of products that shed light into a dark corner of Alaska’s past. I publish books and calendars using Lulu.com. Although the books are available at Amazon, Google, Barnes and Noble and others, discounted versions can be found at Lulu. The calendar and print books are produced on demand from LULU so allow extra time for the process. Scroll down the page to see what is now available. The following link will take you to LULU and a list of what I currently am publishing: https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/captainwarrengood
2022 ALASKA SHIPWRECKS CALENDAR
ALASKA SHIPWRECKS: 12 Months of Disasters is a month to month accounting of all of the major shipwrecks and maritime disasters of the past 265 years in and near Alaska. The book includes information, particulars and names from the most significant 275 tragedies as well as narratives from the survivors and rescue personnel where possible. It compliments the Alaska Shipwreck Calendar as a direct reference to many of the disasters presented there.
ALASKA SHIPWRECKS 1750-2015 is an encyclopedic accounting of all shipwrecks and losses of life in the Alaska Marine environment. Compiled and written by Captain Warren Good with research assistance and consultation provided by maritime historian Michael Burwell this book is filled with a wealth of information for those interested in Alaska maritime history and the multitude of associated tragedies. Included are details of all known wrecks including vessel information, crew member and passenger names, locations, first hand descriptions of events and sources of all information. In addition, comprehensive comments by Captain Warren Good further explain available information on particular vessels.
The softcover version of ALASKA SHIPWRECKS 1750-2015
ALASKA SHIPWRECKS 1750-2015 is also available as an eBook.
Do you have the shipwrecks in an Excel format? I would like to use the dataset as an exercise in my Oceanography class using GIS.
The short answer is unfortunately no. I have all 3,641 Alaska Shipwrecks from my files in an old database file which I find useful for statistical analysis, but for your purposes it is almost useless. I could create such a thing but it would take time. My wrecks sites are all in degrees, minutes and seconds which is not what the GIS system would need. Smooth Sailing…Captain Warren Good
I am looking for information on any shipwrecks from the Russian America days in the Sanak Island area. I have read three unrelated books about this area taking place in the 1800’s. I am retired know and have the time to explore the waters South of the Island. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
I just did a word search of “Sanak” in the digital version of my “ALASKA SHIPWRECKS” book and came up with 27 hits. The significant shipwrecks from the Russian period were the SV Nikolai which was destroyed by Natives in Isanotski Strait in 1764 and the English ship Eclipse which was lost on Sanak Island in 1807. I have no doubt that there were many other less significant vessels that hit the bottom in that area as it is full of troublesome features. So there are two dangers you must heed if you are physically looking at wrecks in that area. The one that I just mentioned and the other comes in the form of assorted agencies of the State and Fed who may be upset if you molest a cultural or national “submerged maritime museum”. That is what many consider very old wreck sites to be. Be sure to check your charts and check your laws. I wish I could come along though. Smooth Sailing.
Are your books and calendar sold in Anchorage at any specific book store by chance?
The short answer is no. This is a first release so the publications are coming directly from the printer.
I’d like to thank you on behalf of the Homer Public Library for the gift of your new book. What an amazing resource! I’m sure it will be well used and much appreciated by staff and library patrons. Your books and website are quite an accomplishment.
Ann Dixon, Library Director
I just wanted you to know that my father Howard Hayes Sr, (1911/2006) from Juneau, and prospecting in the LaTula Bay area, helped to rescue and save those who survived from the HMS Patterson in 1938. Thank you. B. Wilson
Thank you for remembering and sorry for your loss. I would have loved to hear your Fathers stories of his time in that area. Do you know if he was in the Lituya Bay area in 1958 when the largest tidal wave ever recorded hit? If I were a young man, I would be doing just what he was doing when the Patterson was lost. Your Father and I would have gotten along famously.
Looking for info on the WWII era transport ship leaving Excursion Inlet German POW camp and reportedly striking an explosive mine losing all hands at the end of WWII when the prisoners were being transferred for release. I fished at a lodge built on the POW campsite and saw the cabin remains in the woods behind it and heard the tale from the lodge owners. Hard to find more info on the incident.
thanks in advance,
Steve
I did not know there was a POW camp in Excursion Inlet during WW II; I had to look it up. Many of the records of that period were obscured because of the War. I haven’t found the lost vessel you mentioned but will keep looking.
1980 seems to be missing the October sinking of the Prinsendam south of Yakutat, recognized by Coast Guard Historians as second in the ten all-time great rescues conducted by the Service since 1790. 519 passengers and crew went to the boats and no lives were lost. The 35th reunion of the participants is taking place in Seattle October 3-5.
The January sinking of the Gemini was also noteworthy in that it was the first time the CASP, computer aided search program, was used. It allowed us to rapidly locate the debris and raft after four days of freezing storm which prevented searching.
The Prinsendam is in the alphabetical section of this website. It is not in the recent losses because there was no loss of life. Thanks for bringing them up as I am working on the 2016 calendar and will endeavor to include a photo in October of the Prinsendam. The more I hear about that rescue the more amazed I am at the outcome. I will also update my Gemini entries to include the first time use of the CASP. Thank you very much for your contributions. The loss of the Prinsendam may not have been included in some of the early copies of my books. If you would like a newer digital edition, let me know and I will email it over. The work is edited almost daily.
I would like to no if u can help me I was on a ship that wrecked in 1994 the all Alaskan I would like to no if u had any arrivals or pics or anything of the sort thank u T.parker
The only “All Alaskan” I am aware of was the cannery ship lost March 20, 1987 when she grounded on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea. All 142 passengers and crew were safely removed and the vessel later demolished. For pictures search “ship All Alaskan photo” on the internet and some will come up.
Looking for a picture of fishing vessel Nedra, her crew? Nedra burnt near Kodiak Alaska September 13 1956.
Thank You
Shelli
I will look into it and see what I can find.
Your information on the wreck of the Umnak Native is incorrect:
https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-by-area/south-west-alaska-shipwrecks-2/south-west-alaska-shipwrecks-u-v-w/
Four people survived, including Afenogin K. Ermelov and Bishop Antonin Pokrovsky.
A first-person account by the former, and another account by Sergei Sovoroff, tell the story. These can be online, at the Alaska Native Language Archive (ANLA).
In addition, there are printed versions by Jay Ellis Ransom, a PDF copy of which is also on the ANLA site, and a book titled “The People Remember”.
I’ve spent many hours researching the story for a project on the language of the people of the Aleutian Islands.
Thank you for the information. I only had several news accounts and they were in conflict. I will research the sources you have provided and edit this site and my book accordingly.
Do you have any info on a vessel ‘Sergei’? it was on the beach at Ouzinkie village, Kodiak Is. during the 1950s and 1960s. As I recall, it had the lines of a tug, but maybe was a seiner. I am also seeking info on small seiner called Popeye II of Kodiak. It looked like a harbor tug, I assume military WWII vintage. It was abandoned near Port Baily. These vessels probably had no loss of life, so may not be in your records. Thanks for any help, James Sandin, Kodiak
I don’t see any vessel from the period you mentioned that was registered as the Sergei. Could there be a different spelling? The closest I could find was a Sargif out of Wrangel back in the 1950’s. The Popeye II was built at Aberdeen, Washington in 1943 as the towing vessel MT-317 (U.S.A.), and in 1950 was owned by Wilfred L. Feek of Cordova. The official number was 255786, tonnage 11 gross 7 net, Length 31.2, Breadth 11.1, Depth 3.9.
Your entry for the Al-Ki ends with ” In a final twist of fate, the Mariposa which had brought in the crews from both lost vessels, struck a reef and was lost on the next voyage” but the entries on the Manhattan and Mariposa (and other sources) state that that the Mariposa was lost with both rescued crews aboard.
This is a WONDERFUL site with excellent history.
I suggest that you add the story of the Al-Ki and Manhattan crews to the Wikipedia entry for the Manhattan with a reference to this site. I was amazed that such a great story wasn’t already there. It might generate some traffic and sales for this site.
I was thinking of doing it, but I’m sure you’d rather do it in your own form.
Great site. Already sucked down two hours. I’ll be back!
Even more interesting, many of the crewmen going south from the wrecked vessels Al-Ki, Manhattan and Mariposa, took passage on the steamer Spokane which also wrecked. On the way down the Spokane crashed on Idol Point in Mill Bank Sound and they were rescued by the Princess May and taken to Prince Rupert, where they were taken over by the Princess Sophia and brought south.
The final sad note to this string of coincidences is the fate of the Princess Sophia a year later. It was a terrible time with many lost in WWI and Alaskan villages being decimated by the Spanish Flu pandemic.
Thank you “captaingood” I came here looking for 1 boat and see so many others I’m familiar with from the Juneau area and crabbed in the early 90’s. Thank you Captain for all you do. Brought back a ton of memories. I’ll be checking back in as I plan on writing a book myself about those experiences.
My grandfather was on the Silver Wave that went down in 1924.
I have a photo of it laying on its side on the beach
If it is a sharp picture I may be able to put it on next years calendar.
Dear Captain Good,
Your shipwreck list says ‘The wooden gas screw Duxbury was crushed in the ice and lost June 5, 1925 about a half a mile NE of Cape Halkett. The crew of six escaped …’
Where did they escape to? There’s nothing there. How long was it before they either got to habitation or were rescued?
George D Schofield of the Nome Navigation Company (who owned the Duxbury) filed the accident report for the loss of that vessel on August 10, 1927, more than two years after the wreck. The vessel had originally been trapped in the ice in February of 1925 about 30 miles east of Point Barrow. She had been on her way to Flaxman Island and Demarcation Point on a trading voyage. Her cargo and all those on board were transported to shore over the ice with dog teams. The ice entrapped vessel was declared a total loss June 5, 1925 near Cape Halkett. It appears from reports and news articles that there had been no one aboard the vessel since she had been trapped in the ice in February.
Greetings. I am looking for info on the f/v Sea Spirit out of Homer. It was lost off of Chignik in the early 1980s. It was a navy surplus landing craft outfitted to tender salmon. It was on charter to Whitney Fidalgo Seafoods out of Homer, and was on the way back to Homer from Bristol Bay. It went down early in the morning, the two on board were rescued by a boat traveling with them (the Donna Marie.)
I do not have this loss in my files. I will do some research and see if I can find anything. I have records of more than two dozen of these converted landing craft that were lost including at least six or eight during the 1980’s. I will let you know what I am able to find…
Hi. The Donna Marie fished out of homer in the mid 70 s It was a converted landing craft About 50 feet long.It was owned by Tracy
Jones I suspect he is still alive about 80
The Donna Marie, built in 1942 at City Island, New York with Official Number 571989 eventually became the Goodnews and now fishes out of Cordova.
Trying to find what happened to my grandfathers schooner barge. The Fanny Dutard, a 3 masted cod fishing schooner out of Anacortes, built by Smith in San Francisco in 1882. My grandfather towed her as a barge between Ketchikan and Seattle in the 1930-40’s ?.
The government took her during WW2, But was still afloat in 1951 and owned by the government according to the Coast Guard.
I would appreciate any help. I still have sail off of her.
The Fanny Dutard had a colorful career from the articles I read today. She was last listed in the Merchant Vessels of the U S in 1950 owned by L H H Jennings of Ketchikan. In 1951 she was reported in that same publication as abandoned. She had been brought to Ketchikan in February of 1936 as a barge with cannery workers aboard. Before that she was still a sailing vessel. There are many stories of her life and times in newspapers from her construction in 1882 until she became a barge in 1936. I have not been able to locate any information on her disposition after she was abandoned in 1951. Her official number was 120508. Her sail is a treasure. If only it could talk.
I have a quote referring to the Kenai salmon cannery that was destroyed by fire on 19 July, 1903. It was owned by the Pacific Packing and Navigation Company, and previously by the Pacific Steam Whaling Company. I have your website as the origin of this reference, but can no longer find mention of it. Have I got the reference wrong, or has it been removed?
I am not aware of any cannery fire information on this site but it is possible. I have compiled a list of 75 fires as an aside to my shipwreck research. “Lewis MacDonald’s Alaska Salmon Cannery Chronology, 1878-1950” has a list of 43 fires that I used as a primary source. I have newspaper articles in my files for almost all of the conflagrations including an article from July 24, 1903 that mentions the fire at the Kenai Salmon Cannery.
Hello,
My father Steve Bundy’s date of death is incorrect. He died September 8, 2008 not November.
The information I used was from the Kodiak Harbormasters Office. They were keeping an unofficial record of vessel sinkings, deaths etc. They sometimes had errors. The entry for Steve Bundy was November 7, 2008 and stated “Operator of the vessel (Wild Thing) Steve Bundy died Sunday morning on board the vessel after going into Diabetic shock. Vessel was docked at True World Fisheries in Kodiak.” I looked in the Social Security Death Index and could not find a record for Steve’s loss. I will follow up and make changes in my records. Sorry for your loss.
I was not able to find anything in the U S Coast Guard Investigations from 2008 which is not unusual. Also had he died November 8, 2008 it would have been a Friday where September 8, 2008 was a Sunday as was mentioned in the record I used. So the error must have been a typo. I will correct it regardless.
Good afternoon Warren,
I am writing a book and am trying to find the name of a diver you may have a lead on.
He had salvage rights on a silver ore barge that was sunk in SE Alaska. The guy who’s first name was John leased a barge and set it up to salvage ore from the wreck in the late ’70’s but disappeared when he dove on SCUBA to un-foul another diver caught in the current. If you have any info on that silver ore carrier or this salvage operation that went awry please let me know. In exchange I could help you with a few corrections in your 2019 calendar that I noticed due to my involvement with the incident or subsequent salvage ops.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks Dan. I have sent you several articles about the wreck you are inquiring about. I have about 60 others. Please contact me at [email protected] and let me know if you got what I sent.
The
Copper Queen 40’ wood troller was lost in Clearance straights in 1952-1953
Trygve Lund was lost as sea with the boat
Thanks for the heads up. I will do some research and update our records.
Nichols, John W 8/26/1976 Deep Sea Kodiak area Disappeared
This is my mom’s brother and I have been told there is a memorial with his name on it but I am unsure where it is located. Not sure if you might know or could point me in the right direction. If you can help please let me know.
I will look around and see what I can find. The “Kodiak Fishermen’s Wives” is the group that administers the Fishermen’s Memorial at Kodiak which is where your Mom’s Brother’s name might be posted.