Northern Alaska Shipwrecks ( S )

SAINT ALEXANDER (1799)     The Russian vessel Saint Alexander was lost between Alaska and Siberia in route to Okhotsk, in 1799.  The vessel, all hands and a cargo of furs were lost.

Mapping and Location: Northern Alaska Unknown

Source: Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore (1992)

SAINT GEORGE (1876)     The 392 ton whaling ship Saint George was caught in the ice and abandoned northeast of Pt. Barrow September 12, 1876.  The vessel was out of New Bedford, Massachusetts and valued at $36,000.  Her cargo was 1,400 barrels of whale oil and 1,800 pounds of whale bone worth $43,000.

Mapping and Location: Northern Alaska   71 23 29 N 156 28 30 W   Chart 16003

Sources: 1. U S Commission of Fish and Fisheries: The Fishery Industries of the United States Sec 5 Vol II (1876) “Destruction of the Arctic Whaling Fleet”, 2. Alaska File of the Revenue Cutter Service 1867-1914

SEABREEZE (1872)     The 473 ton whaling vessel Seabreeze was abandoned in the Arctic in 1872.  The crew may have returned and rescued the vessel.

Mapping and Location: Unknown Northern Alaska

Source: Alaska File of the Revenue Cutter Service 1867-1914 (1966) “Vessel Losses 1868-1888”

SENECA (1871)     The 328 ton wooden whaling bark Seneca was abandoned in the ice around Point Belcher September 14, 1871. The home port of the Seneca was New Bedford, Massachusetts.  On visiting the location of the abandoned fleet the following year, Capt. Wm. H. Kelley who commanded the Bark Gay Head at the time of the disaster to the whaling fleet reported:

“The Seneca was dragged by the ice up the coast some distance; her bowsprit was gone, bulwarks stove and rudder carried away, and she was frozen in solid”

The Seneca had a value of $70,000 at the time of the disaster.

Mapping and Location: Northern Alaska   70 47 40 N 159 39 02 W   Chart 16005

Sources: 1. Alaska File of the Revenue Cutter Service 1867-1914 (1966) Microcopy, 2. Harper’s Weekly (December 2, 1871) “Destruction of the Arctic Whaling Fleet of 1871”

SPY (1890)     The 17 ton 41 foot wooden sloop Spy was crushed in the ice and lost at Point Barrow at 4 p.m. Tuesday November 25, 1890.  The crew of 4 was putting the vessel in winter quarters when the disaster occurred.  The Spy was in ballast with no cargo.  Conditions at the time were said to be dark with a moderate northeast gale.  The crew could do nothing for her and the vessel went to pieces.  The Spy was valued at $3,000 and was a total loss with no insurance.  No lives were lost.

Mapping and Location: Northern Alaska   71 23 29 N 156 28 30 W   Chart 16003

Additional Information: Tonnage 17.96 Gross 17.06 Net, Length 41, Breadth 14.4, Depth 5.3, Built 1886 at Randolph OR, Registered San Francisco, ON 116099, Master John Haverside of San Francisco, Owner C Goodall of San Francisco, Last Port San Francisco

Source: U S Customs Wreck Report November 13, 1891 at San Francisco by J N Knowles, Managing Owner

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