The Story

In October of 1918, over 350 passengers and crew were southbound from Skagway, Alaska aboard the SS Princess Sophia. In a declining Northern economy, struggling with demands of World War 1 and the end of the Gold Rush era, The Sophia was filled with a wide variety of passengers. Many were leaving the North for good, others were making the annual winter trip Outside before the rivers froze, and others were leaving for medical or family needs.

The Sophia pushed off the docks in Skagway after 10pm on October 23rd, 3 hours behind schedule. They proceeded down Lynn Canal in a blinding snow storm and struck Vanderbilt Reef at 2am, a mile off-course. Groundings were not uncommon, and the Sophia had been in several herself. After verifying that she was holding steady and not taking on water, Captain Locke called for rescue vessels via wireless. Within hours, ships began to arrive.

All day on October 24th, rescue vessels stayed nearby as a plan of action was debated. The wind and seas were still rough, complicating the removal of passengers. The barometer indicated weather was getting better, and with larger ships on their way to the reef and the passengers being warm, dry and secure, they waited for calmer weather.

Instead, the weather got much worse. The rescue vessels sought shelter around the nearby islands. At 4:50pm on October 25th, the Sophia called for help. Ship foundering on reef. Come at once. Captain Leadbetter of the lighthouse tender Cedar immediately set out for the reef as David Robinson aboard the Sophia wired: For God’s sake hurry. The water is coming into my room.

But with visibility around 20 feet, navigation was completely impossible and the Cedar was barely able to return to anchor. As the tide rose, the wind and waves finally were taking their toll on the Sophia. She was lifted on the reef, swung 180 degrees around, tearing out her bottom and she sank quickly.

When rescuers arrived at daylight, all that remained was the top of her mast. There were no survivors.

Immediately, they began the recovery of oil-soaked bodies, which were taken back to Juneau where volunteers cleaned the bodies and prepared them for identification and burial.

The disaster was a crippling blow to many small communities who lost prominent citizens. Swept up in the time period of the Spanish Flu and the end of World War 1, the tragedy has largely been forgotten.

The goal of this documentary is to keep this story alive, to honor those who were lost, and to examine the unique culture and period of history the Sophia represented and what we can learn from that today.

For more information about the story, see the links and resources below.

National Park Service
World History Project