_(ca_1912).jpg) SS Princess Sophia circa 1912
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Princess Sophia[1][2][3] |
| Owner | Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) |
| Port of registry |  Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Route | Vancouver and Victoria to northern British Columbia ports and Alaska |
| Ordered | May 1911 |
| Builder | Bow, McLachlan & Co, Paisley, Scotland, UK |
| Cost | £51,000 (about $250,000 at that time)[1] |
| Yard number | 272 |
| Launched | 8 November 1911 |
| Christened | By the daughter of Arthur Piers, manager of C.P. Steamship Service |
| Completed | 1912 |
| Maiden voyage | 7 June 1912 |
| Fate | Grounded on 24 October 1918; sank following day during a storm |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Coastal passenger steamship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 245 ft (75 m) |
| Beam | 44 ft (13 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft (4 m) |
| Depth | 24 ft (7 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power | One triple expansion steam engine, 22", 37", and 60" x 36" |
| Propulsion | Single screw |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Capacity | 250 passengers; could carry more with special permission (capacity for 500)[1] |
| Crew | 73 |
| Notes | Originally coal-burning; converted to oil fuel shortly after arrival in British Columbia |
SS Princess Sophia was a steel-built passenger liner in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Along with SS Princess Adelaide, SS Princess Alice, and SS Princess Mary, Princess Sophia was one of four similar ships built for CPR during 1910-1911.[4]
On 25 October 1918, Princess Sophia[5] sank after grounding on Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Territory of Alaska.[6] All 364 persons on the ship died, making the wreck of Sophia the worst maritime accident in the history of British Columbia and Alaska.[7]
- ^ a b c Coates, Ken, and Morrison, Bill (1991). The Sinking of the Princess Sophia — Taking the North Down With Her, 26, 43–57, 66–68, 74–119, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, AK 1991 ISBN 0-912006-50-1
- ^ Turner, Robert D. (1977). Pacific Princesses — An Illustrated History of Canadian Pacific Railway's Princess Fleet on the Northwest Coast, 90, 94, 95, 97, 99, 103, 108, 114–116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 196, 236, Sono Nis Press, Victoria, BC 1977 ISBN 0-919462-04-9
- ^ Newell, Gordon R. ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, 90, 100, 145, 204, 236, 299, 300, 392, 433, 458, 589, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1966 (No ISBN)
- ^ Cruising the Pacific Northwest, 1910-1911 sister ships
- ^ This vessel was generally referred to as Sophia for short. See McCurdy, at 300, for Captain Ledbetter's first hand account in which he refers to the vessel in this manner.
- ^ "Report of wreck of Princess Sophia". RG 42, Marine Branch, Series B-1, Volume 290, File 47799, pt. 2. Marine Branch. 14 February 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
- ^ "Forgotten voyage". CBC News. CBC. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
The 364 passengers and crew on board never reached their destination. It's the worst maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest. But it's almost been forgotten.