Episode 68 - San Rafael
Taylor: Hello and welcome to Beyond the Breakers, a podcast about shipwrecks, loss, and lessons learned from maritime disasters. My name is Taylor, and I’ll be one of your hosts today. As always, I’m joined by Tanner. Tanner, how ya doin’?
Tanner: I’m doin’ very well. How are you?
Taylor: Awesome, doing great. Kinda good to be back on track here, doing it on a Sunday morning like we, you know, traditionally do when we record the podcast. I guess we’ll start out today, let’s start out by doing a couple Patron shoutouts. We’ve had a busy week on the Patreon page. We wanna say thank you to Wesley, Heather, Julie, and Rob for signing up. Thank you very much, we greatly appreciate that support. In addition to that, let’s uh, let’s go ahead and move on into those media check-ins. What have you been up to?
Tanner: Uhh, my biggest thing this week, basically every Friday is always a big day with Bandcamp releases, especially listening to a lot of metal. Friday’s a big day for those releases. A big one I had been waiting for for a while was the newest album from a band called Moonshade…
Taylor: …okay.
Tanner: …the album’s called As We Set the Skies Ablaze. That was a pre-order I’ve been waiting on for a while. I feel like I pre-ordered it like a month or 2 ago, when it was first available. So that came out, that’s been a good listen. I’ve probably listened through it 10 or 12 times.
Taylor: Nice. Is it in Portuguese?
Tanner: No, they’re from Portugal but it’s in English.
Taylor: Okay. Not that it really matters, I guess, in metal.
Tanner: [laughs] The Lusitanian metal scene is strong.
Taylor: [laughs]
Tanner: I actually got into them via another band I listen to called Sotz’ who are also from Portugal…
Taylor: …nice.
Tanner: …and they sing about Maya history and mythology. Moonshade is I guess a bit more what you’d expect from a melodic death metal band, a lot of similarities to someone like uh, like a Dark Tranquillity or like, maybe some mid-career Amon Amarth similarities. But also some sequences that would be believable coming from Lamb of God or someone like that. There’s a lot of diversity in it, there’s a lot of, on this album, there’s a lot of duet-style with male and female vocals that’s really cool and really interesting, um, and it comes out really well. I think my favorite song off the album was one of the singles they released called “Artemis.” I did add it to our Beyond the Breakers playlist on Spotify.
Taylor: Thank you for saying that, I was, I've been meaning to shout that out. If anyone would like to, and you have a Spotify account, look up the Beyond the Breakers playlist. We’ve curated some of our favorite selections and things we’re listening to. It’s pretty long, it’s pretty weird, it’s pretty eclectic, there’s a little bit of everything in there. Give that a follow, give it a listen.
Tanner: It was funny, I was looking at that earlier today and I was thinking how it’s, it’s funny that like we have a lot of stuff that we really like on there, obviously, but I noticed that like, we don’t put any of our like, super, super top-tier favorites on there.
Taylor: I know.
Tanner: Like there’s no Gaslight Anthem, there’s no Lawrence Arms, I don’t think, um, Frank Turner. [laughs]
Taylor: Yeah, the things that are truly my favorites. [laughs]
Tanner: Those are ours, those belong to us.
Taylor: [laughs]
Tanner: You can’t have those.
Taylor: You have to earn those. [laughs]
Tanner: I guess this makes as much sense here as anywhere else, but another thing I’ll throw in here that’s media-related. For anyone who has ever wanted to be in a book club but just didn’t know how to do that, we have a great opportunity for you. One of our Twitter followers, Wade, had the amazing idea to put together a reading group for Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a pretty massive, pretty expansive fantasy series. It’s my favorite fantasy series, it’s one that a ton of people really, really love. Wade has put together a Discord server for it, we’re just trying to gather some people together who want to either read or reread this big, awesome, amazing series and you know, discuss and share how we feel about it. So, if that sounds interesting to you, if you’re a fantasy enthusiast, if you’ve been wanting to check out Steven Erikson’s writing, definitely give that a look. We’ve shared a few things from it on Twitter, so you can go through, and let us know, or let Wade know, and we’ll uh, we’ll get you all set up.
Taylor: Nice. Yeah, that sounds really cool. It’s cool to have those groups, especially with a really diverse group of people and everything.
Tanner: How about you, what have you been doing media-wise?
Taylor: Well, my big thing, I finally got caught up on What We Do In the Shadows. Season 4 of that just started I think 2 or 3 weeks ago. I think I’m 2 episodes into season 4 now, so I think I may have 1 more, but I’m basically caught up. It’s excellent, it’s wonderful, it’s dark, it’s funny, um, I don’t know, it’s fun seeing the characters kinda develop and get a little deeper as the series goes on. Yeah. It’s really good, plus there is the Colin Robinson baby, and it’s the creepiest thing that’s ever been in that show.
[both laugh]
Tanner: Yeah, we haven’t watched any of the new season yet, but um, we’re looking forward to checking it out.
Taylor: It’s a good time. I highly recommend it. So. Now that we have all that done, I think it’s time to talk about a shipwreck.
Tanner: Yeah, let’s get to it.
Taylor: Let’s get down to business… [extended pause] I was expecting a Mulan reference there.
Tanner: I know.
Taylor: Just didn’t wanna give it? Today we are gonna be talking about the San Rafael. Have you heard of the San Rafael?
Tanner: Umm, no?
Taylor: What if I told you you’ve been very close to the San Rafael and didn’t know it?
Tanner: I’ve been a few places, I would believe that.
Taylor: [laughs] So, let’s go ahead and talk about her. The San Rafael entered service in 1878. She’s actually owned by the North Pacific Coast railroad, so obviously you see railroads getting in on some of that sweet, sweet ferry action. Her construction was unique, along with her sister ship the Sausalito, they were actually assembled in San Francisco from parts that were pre-made and shipped via rail and ship from Brooklyn, New York. So she’s actually, like, sent in pieces to California to be assembled.
Tanner: I know we’ve talked about that a few times…
Taylor: …mm-hmm.
Tanner: …that was also mentioned in that steamboat presentation from the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, how that would be done sort of, you know, ship it in pieces and then put it together on site and boom, you’ve got a steamboat.
Taylor: Mm-hm. So, the Sausalito would actually be lost to a fire in 1884 at San Quentin wharf, and a replacement vessel would be built by the same name, although she had different specifications. However, she’s going to be important to remember, she plays a very important role. So, she’ll be important later.
Tanner: Do you know, is that San Quentin Wharf at all related to the current location of the prison?
Taylor: Yeah, it’s the same place…
Tanner: …okay.
Taylor: …like San Quentin’s not very big, like, right on the water there. I’ve been there, actually, I’ve been right to the prison.
Tanner: Nice.
Taylor: Not in the prison, but to it.
[both laugh]
Taylor: So her dimensions, she’s 220 feet long and she has a beam of 32 feet, so you know, she’s not the biggest vessel that we’ve talked about, but substantial. She’s not tiny, especially for what she’s doing. She’s just a ferry going across the bay. So she is a sidewheel steamboat, fairly common design overall. We’ve talked about some of these, I think you probably know a little bit more about these at this point than I do, but she’s, you know, well-regarded, she’s even referred to as “the prettiest boat that ever cleft the waters of San Francisco Bay” by the San Francisco Call newspaper. So, you know, well-regarded, and it’s interesting how we’ve talked about this before, how proud people are of these vessels, like at this time. It’s seen as cutting-edge technology and I think there is a little bit of like, community pride, like “look at this awesome steamboat that we have!” As we civilize the west.
Tanner: Yeah, sure, I mean, especially at that time where there’s probably fewer things to catch the eye, so yeah, someone coming to San Francisco from the east, today it probably seems like a pretty minor detail, but yeah, like “oh they have such nice, beautiful ferries in San Francisco.” It’s probably a big, like you said, a point of pride for the community.
Taylor: Right. So ferries have a long history in the area, actually, so given the unique terrain of the Bay area, and the rapid population growth, ferries have been operating in the Bay since 1826. One of the earliest routes is between San Francisco and Oakland, as those cities both began to experience massive growth due to the westward expansion that was going on. Captain Thomas Gray was one of the earliest operators. He used a sternwheel river packet named the General Sutter and a small iron steamer named Kangaroo.
Tanner: Yess.
Taylor: [laughs]
Tanner: Presumably not the English Poet Thomas Gray?
Taylor: I would believe not. [laughs]
Tanner: Especially cause I think he’d been dead for like a century at this point.
Taylor: Yeah, if it’s him, then we have issues. More vessels would be added in the coming years to enhance service, and you know, it becomes clear that vessels are playing a really important role in trade and travel in the area. In 1853, Charles Minturn forms the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company and he builds a ferry called the Clinton, one of the first that’s purposely built for operations in the Bay. Minturn would go on to add additional vessels through construction and also through the acquisition of the San Antonio Steam Navigation Company before ultimately being bought out by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad in 1865. So you can see it’s, you know, railroads have been having a pretty heavy influence on these ferry routes for a long time.
Tanner: It’s funny, I’m not someone who considers myself really interested in like, corporate histories, or like business history whatever, but whenever we get to these stories where it’s like, this company and this company competing and then they both get swallowed up by this company, I don’t know, there’s something weirdly exciting about it.
Taylor: [laughs] Yeah, it is interesting tracing the lineage of some of these places and everything. Um, so the ferry networks would continue to grow and expand with the growth in that region and everything. In 1909, the ferry Melrose was launched, and it actually has an unobstructed lower deck that was specifically designed for cars. So you’re beginning to see the integration of the automobile into the ferries and everything.
Tanner: Yeah, that’s funny to think that as early as 1909 [they were] rolling out infrastructure and these ferries specifically designed with cars in mind, [it’s interesting] kind of how early the automobile starts sort of getting its claws into the structure of the United States.
Taylor: It’s really, you know, killing mass transit is one of those traditions unlike any other in America, we’ve been workin’ at it for a long time.
[both laugh]
Tanner: I was just listening to an episode of This Machine Kills with Paris Marx on it, so they were talking a lot about the history of the automobile in the United States, so I’ve got that on the brain recently.
Taylor: [laughs] So the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, speaking of automobiles, had a detrimental effect on these ferries. You know, obviously, if I’m trying to go from San Francisco to Sausalito and I can just take the Golden Gate Bridge to get there, that’s a lot easier than driving my car down to the wharf, loading up on a ferry, and then waiting for everybody else to load. Like, who’s not going to do that if that’s the easier option?
Tanner: Right.
Taylor: I just think that’s interesting, but it does have an effect on the ferries. By 1958, there’s actually no commuter ferries in the Bay area, and service wouldn’t resume until 1964. The ferries were still operating, however they mostly catered towards tourists. So it was more about like getting out in the Bay or going to Angel Island or something like that, it wasn’t built with commuters in mind. Today, there are multiple ferry lines around the Bay area. There’s the Golden Gate ferry, which is a division of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District. They operate between the ferry building in San Francisco and Sausalito, Tiburon, and Larkspur in Marin County. Those are kinda some of the areas we’ll be talking about today actually, so this ferry kind of goes in the same places that our story happens in. Another one of the ferries is the San Francisco Bay ferry, and it’s owned by the Water Emergency Transit Authority, whose name would be WETA.
Tanner: Wet. Ahhh.
Taylor: [laughs] they operate between Alameda and Jack London Square in Oakland, and they go to the ferry building in San Francisco. Next up would be the Alcatraz Cruises, which operates with oversight from the National Parks Service. They run from Pier 33 to Alcatraz Island and this is actually the ferry that we have taken before.
Tanner: Mm-hmm, yep. I remember that.
Taylor: I’ve taken it twice. I’ve been to Alcatraz twice and I’ve been around the Bay and everything a couple times. It’s cool, right? Like, that’s a cool ferry. You get to see how beautiful everything is, and Alcatraz looks so close to the mainland but it just isn't. It doesn’t look far away, but then you get on the boat and you’re going over, and you’re like, it feels like you’ve been on the boat for 20 minutes and you don’t feel any closer.
Tanner: Yeah, like it might actually be hard to swim this.
Taylor: [laughs] Finally, there is the Blue and Gold fleet. They operate from Pier 41 in San Francisco, and they go to Angel Island, which, if I’m in the Bay area again anytime soon, I definitely wanna check out. I’ve heard that Angel Island is very interesting.
Tanner: Is Angel Island inhabited permanently, or is it more like a nature place?
Taylor: Um, I think it’s nature, but it’s also history stuff. It’s kinda the Ellis Island of the west, so there’s a lot of you know, Chinese and Asian immigration stuff there as well. Also something that’d be super interesting to check out. But, the point of all this is, as you can tell, ferries have played a really big role in the Bay area. It’s part of life in the Bay area for so many people. Let’s move on to the evening of November 30th, 1901. The San Rafael is making final preparations to depart her slip in San Francisco, and she’s bound for Sausalito across the San Francisco Bay. If you’re not familiar with the geography of the Bay area, maybe pull up a map, it’ll make a little more sense. Basically, she’s traveling kinda like, the same that the Golden Gate Bridge would help you get to is what she’s doing, so she’s going from the south up to the north.
Tanner: Okay, I’m looking at a map right now. I have a vague memory of how this area is laid out.
Taylor: [laughs] I absolutely love the Bay area, it’s one of my favorite places that I’ve been. It’s beautiful. So this ferry is crowded with families returning home after spending the day in San Francisco. This is a Saturday, so it’s, you know, it’s not full of men traveling back and forth from work, it’s full of families. As so many of our stories start out. [laughs]
Tanner: Right.
Taylor: On this particular evening, the fog that, you know, San Francisco is so famous for, it’s crept down from the hills and it’s enveloped the entire Bay. So after a slight delay due to that fog, the ferry moves out of her slip, and disappears into the evening fog. The following is a quote from the Captain of the San Rafael, a man by the name of John McKenzie: “After turning around, I shaped my course for Alcatraz. The fog was the thickest I’ve seen on the Bay for many years. I ran along on a slow bell and passed a tug to the port, shortly after leaving my slip. After steaming along a few minutes, I picked up the bell off the end of Lombard street. It was then about 6:30 o’ clock or thereabouts. As soon as I got bearings from the bell, I shaped my usual course for Alcatraz. Running along under slow bell, my lookout, C.H. Johnson, the Second Mate, was peering into the dense fog at the bow, and my mate, Charles Johnson, was with me in the pilot house.” So as we can see, like, he’s saying this is some of the thickest fog he’s ever seen. Less than optimal conditions. I’m assuming this man has seen some fog.
Tanner: This is also in the days before more surnames were invented.
Taylor: Yeah, um, you don’t have many options here. You’ve got some Irish options, and then you’ve got Johnson, Smith, Jones. Yeah, you’re pretty limited. Passengers onboard, you know, they’re not really thinking about that. There’s some talk of the fog, but most people I would imagine are just going about their day, right? They’re playing cards, they’re having drinks, it’s dinner time, a lot of people are eating after they’ve had fun all day shopping and you know, seeing the sites in San Francisco. However, there were some on board that uh, they felt it wasn’t a typical crossing. Survivors would later report that there were discussions amongst passengers about the fog and the danger of collision. One of the people we’ll be talking a little bit is a passenger by the name of T.J Lennon. He was in the ship’s restaurant and he would later recall after the accident:
Tanner: [old time radio voice] “I ordered a steak and became very nervous in the restaurant because Jim McCue of Corte Madera and several young men near him said this was just the night for a collision.”
Taylor: So then Captain McKenzie, you know, back to him, he proceeds slowly due to the fog, obviously giving it the caution that it deserves, but there’s something else weighing on his mind, and that’s the knowledge that the company’s other vessel, the new Sausalito 2.0, was heading in the opposite direction, and the vessels would have to pass each other at some point on the journey. Both Captains would have been aware of this, as they both knew the timetables that both vessels kept. Captain McKenzie would later explain that the San Rafael gave off fog signals for the entirety of her voyage from the time she had left her slip. The signals consisted of repeated blasts of the whistle. As the 2 vessels approached, they were both moving at a slow speed and giving regular blasts of their fog horns. This was noticed by passengers who were familiar with these ferries, um, it’s notable because it was not normal. You know, they’re wondering like, “wow, they sure are signaling an awful lot, that’s not how this normally goes.” On board the Sausalito, passenger Ed Thomas stated: “I first heard Captain McKenzie’s whistle and his danger signal, which was answered immediately by the Sausalito. Captain Tribble tried hard to slow his ship, but it was too late. The fog was so thick, you could scarcely see the lookout on the boat, let alone the San Rafael in front of us.” It was at this point that both vessels knew they were right on top of each other, but still couldn’t see each other. The San Rafael stopped and then reversed her engines, while the Sausalito reversed its engines just as the San Rafael was coming broadside into her path. For a few fleeting seconds, the outline of the vessels became visible to each other, but by this point it was too late to avoid collision. The Sausalito’s bow struck the starboard side of the San Rafael at a nearly 90 degree angle, slicing directly into her. Returning to our friend T.J. Lennon, the passenger in the restaurant, he’s quoted as saying:
Tanner: [old time radio voice] “I had just finished my steak when the crash came. The Sausalito actually forced her bow right into the restaurant where we were seated. I was pinioned down for a few moments, but eventually was able to release myself. Jim McCue, however, was in bad shape: he had one of his ears nearly cut off, and one of his arms broken. I ran out of the restaurant and secured a life preserver. I tried to fasten it around me, but it was too tight. I ran upstairs and found my sister-in-law, gave her my life preserver. Mr. Hynes of San Rafael assisted me to save her. I said I would lower the young lady into the boat. He said that there was not time, she must jump, so I threw her down into the boat, which was shoved away from the side of the San Rafael.”
Taylor: Just pickin’ up your sister-in-law and chucking her into a lifeboat. [laughs]
Tanner: [old time radio voice] that’s how we did it, see.
Taylor: [laughs] So, the Sausalito, when it makes impact, smashed directly through the paddle box and drove its bow directly into the dining room, which is the account that we just heard. Passengers seated at the coffee counter are knocked over, and they’re sprayed by a shower of splintering lumber. Part of the paddlewheel is thrown across the room, and the waiter and cook that are working the kitchen are thrown to the ground, they’re covered with kitchen debris including boiling water and knives. So just an all-around bad situation.
Tanner: I was just thinking about how, if you look at these old steamboats, how big the paddlewheel is compared to the boat. And yeah, if like pieces of that are flying through the boat, that is going to hurt or kill someone.
Taylor: Exactly. And like, I think those paddle box things, when you see it on a ship it doesn’t seem that big necessarily, cause it’s to scale with the ship, but flying across a dining room, like, that’s so dangerous. [laughs]
Tanner: Thinking about even 1 of those, even 1 of the paddles, that’s pretty big. That’s a pretty heavy piece of…
Taylor: …solid wood.
Tanner: …is it wood in this case?
Taylor: I would assume.
Tanner: Cause I know some of them had metal.
Taylor: Either way it’s a bad day.
Tanner: That’s really scary.
Taylor: So Captain McKenzie would later testify that he did not think the collision was fatal when it first occurred, saying: “it was quite a crash, but at the time I did not think it was serious enough to sink her.” The 2 ships would continue to bump and push into each other while they’re being carried by the swells in the Bay, so you know, it’s a lot of just kinda bumping and grinding going on right now, but they’re still kinda together. T.J. Lennon would later describe a terrifying scene as the following:
Tanner: [old time radio voice] “ the next thing that I knew was that the bow of the Sausalito was jamming against us. I heard a scream and I saw that a young man was wedged in against the bow of the Sausalito. At the same time, a young lady screamed and said that her arm was broken. I thought that I was getting too warm and knowing that the San Rafael was sinking, I jumped overboard.”
Taylor: I really love that description of him being like “you know, I kinda looked around and realized I’m gettin’ outta here.”
[both laugh]
Taylor: Like, good for you T.J. Good for you. Lennon would go on to swim from lifeboat to lifeboat for the next half an hour, although he was unable to get in because he was afraid he’d overturn them. Eventually, he’s pulled into one of these lifeboats by Mr. Haynes of the San Rafael.
Tanner: Honestly like, really cool thinking there from Lennon, to have the mental wherewithal to make sure he’s not going to overturn one of these lifeboats.
Taylor: Yeah, I would imagine if you’re fairly comfortable in the water and know that you can cling on to a lifeboat and not actually have to swim, like, as long as you stay calm in that situation, you’re going to be okay.
Tanner: Yeah.
Taylor: Good job on him for not panicking and overturning a lifeboat and dumping 20 people into the water.
Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Taylor: So, we kinda got a glimpse of this from the Lennon quote that we just had, but onboard the San Rafael, there’s confusion, and in some instances, outright panic as passengers tried to figure out what was going on. By far the most chaotic area is the restaurant, which, as we’ve stated, took the brunt of the collision. Some of the most critically injured included a waiter by the name of George Crandal. He was hit in the chest by a beam. And James McCue, who we’ve referenced previously, was tossed across the room and was now suffering from a broken arm and a nearly severed ear. James McCue would later say of his ordeal:
Tanner: [old time radio voice] “I was sittin’ at the head of the table at the lady’s department of the restaurant. There were 3 other passengers at the table. When the crash came, I was sent spinning across the place. I found myself in a corner with my arm broken and my ear hanging down the side of my face…I found everything in confusion and everybody struggling to get inside of life preservers. I pulled off my coat and threw it away. There was $400 in greenbacks in the breast pocket, which I meant to transfer to my pantaloons, but forgot in the rush for a jumping off place. I have been through some pretty tough experiences in Alaska, but never anything like this.”
Taylor: I wanted to include this quote for a couple of reasons. First off, just seeing how chaotic it is, but also kind of how coolly he describes almost having his ear almost ripped off, like it’s just another thing that happens.
Tanner: People were built different back then.
Taylor: They were built different back then! [laughs] The $400 in greenbacks is just awesome, I love that phrase being used unironically.
Tanner: That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?
Taylor: Yeah.
Tanner: Like, $400 in 1901?
Taylor: That is a lot of 1901 money. Um, and then finally I also loved that he references that it’s not always worse in Alaska.
[both laugh]
Taylor: He is the opposite of the Captain of the El Faro. He says “this has nothing on Alaska.”
Tanner: Yeah, take that!
Taylor: [laughs] Yeah this man had his ear ripped off. So a human crush is narrowly avoided, and passengers were able to rush out of the restaurant and get ahold of life preservers. It’s at this point that the Sausalito pulls away from the San Rafael and they come along broadside. So the vessels are then lashed together by a few lines, which prevents them from drifting apart. This action will prove pivotal in limiting the loss of life in this incident. There’s also some reports that a plank was placed between the vessels, and this would allow passengers to literally walk off of the sinking San Rafael. However, as she sank lower, that angle became worse and worse, so a second means of escape was created when windows of the restaurant were broken out by passengers and crew and people actually began to leap across the gap and onto the Sausalito.
Tanner: That sounds more dangerous.
Taylor: Yeah, it definitely sounds more dangerous, but I imagine you get more brave as that thing gets lower and lower in the water. [laughs] So the stricken vessel listed to starboard and she begins to sink lower and lower and then when she finally goes down, her forward mass nearly smashes one of the lifeboats that’s sitting alongside the Sausalito. Captain John McKenzie would later testify “I can say that as quickly as the thing could be done, we had the 2 boats lashed together to facilitate the transferring of passengers from the sinking San Rafael to the Sausalito. You must consider that intense excitement prevailing among the passengers while the panic that prevailed in the main cabin where the women and children were running around in circles screaming and frantic made it difficult for the steamer’s officers to carry out any orderly plans…” Basically, he’s sayin’ like, “women be crazy.” Good thing all those men were there to take charge. [laughs]
Tanner: I’m surprised that the word “hysteria” didn’t come up.
Taylor: [laughs] right. These hysterical women. But it is interesting, it does sound like overall it was handled well by the crew. Sounds like the right people took charge and got things organized.
Tanner: Well, maybe if men weren’t in charge of everything, they wouldn’t have run into each other in the first place.
Taylor: [laughs] So he would go on to state that it was his belief when he left the vessel that there was not a living soul aboard. He truly believes that everyone is off of the vessel and you know, he’s not doin’ a Costa Concordia or an Oceanos, he’s not trying to get off that thing until his job is done. So a majority of the evacuees were able to stay dry and literally walk or jump aboard the Sausalito. That’s kinda cool, you don’t see that in a lot of these incidents, and that’ll kinda be reflected in the casualty totals when we talk about that.
Tanner: We saw a little bit of that with the Noronic…
Taylor: …mm-hmm.
Tanner: …especially the early moments of that when people start to realize it’s on fire but the way that it’s moored and the way it’s close to other ships, they’re able to just literally walk to safety either to another ship or to the dock.
Taylor: This would become more difficult as the San Rafael settled. Just before sinking, those remaining on board were forced onto the ship’s roof where many fell or jumped into the cold waters of the Bay. It’s estimated that there’s between 40 and 60 people in the water. Lifeboats from both vessels were launched and attempted to rescue those in the water. During this operation, however, one of the lifeboats capsized, forcing the displaced occupants to cling to the overturned boat for about 30 minutes until they were rescued. That’s kinda the thing that Lennon was worried about, you know, overturning that boat and everything, and that does happen in one instance that a boat is overturned. That’s how bad things happen in these situations, like, you don’t want 20 people in the water if you can avoid it, obviously.
Tanner: And this is November, right.
Taylor: Yeah, so it’s not warm, that water is cold and the currents are swift, so.
Tanner: I think that’s something to point out also, like obviously we talk about a lot of cold water stories here with Lake Superior and even up into like Alaska or the Sea of Okhotsk, but also, for anyone who’s like, I don’t know, never been to San Francisco, if you’re thinking of California and you’re thinking of Los Angeles, it’s a very different climate, like it can get very, very cold on the waterfront in San Francisco.
Taylor: It is. A very damp cold. So after collecting the last of the lifeboats, the fog actually begins to lift slightly, and a light is noticed approaching the Sausalito from the south. At that moment, a tug by the name of Sea King becomes visible through the fog, and Captain Tribble of the Sausalito yells out “where are we?” The Sea King would respond “off the Presidio light, heading out to sea.” So again, if you have your maps pulled open, if you look where Presidio is compared to Alcatraz, you’ll see that you’re moving out towards the area that’s actually spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge. So, in all of this rescue operation and drifting that had gone on, they’ve actually been pushed all the way from right off of Alcatraz basically to the Golden Gate, which, after you’re through the Golden Gate, you’re actually in the Pacific Ocean. If you’ve got a lot of people in the water, you don’t want to be swept out to sea. That’s bad, but it’s definitely something that the Bay is known for, are those swift currents and everything. So an excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle praised the action of both vessels’ crews in the aftermath of this:
“At the height of the panic the nerves of the officers and the coolness of some passengers came to the rescue. The frightened women were calmed, and the men from both boats began to pass them over the rails to the opposite deck. The rush at the doors blocked all entrances, and men threw themselves against windows and frames, breaking them and letting out the imprisoned women and children. A score of men, working like heroes, dragged them over the rails into safety.”
Taylor: The article would go on to say of Captain McKenzie:
“Captain McKenzie, standing by his duty to the last, stayed with his boat until the moment she sank. He saw most, if not all, of her human freight carried to safety, and then jumped for his life. The steamer had been about 20 minutes in sinking; in the last 10 minutes her lights had been out, and she finished her career in total darkness, which may have hidden some who would otherwise have been discovered and taken off. As it is, no one could say last night for a certainty whether the dead are 3 or 30.”
Taylor: Did you have any thoughts on any of those excerpts?
Tanner: I have thoughts about “human freight”.
Taylor: [laughs] And again, here we are with the “imprisoned women and children” and the “hysterical women”. It's just very interesting the parts that like, apparently no men were afraid. There were no cowardly men on this vessel. It’s interesting, it’s very interesting of its time. Initial reports of those lost in the accident were variable due to the lack of information. The first report to reach San Francisco reported that 20 had drowned, however, later in the evening that number increased to 100. Many passengers would give accounts of seeing dozens of people in the water or being trapped in the sinking vessel. And many also stated they saw people swept out towards the Golden Gate and ultimately out to sea. It would not really become apparent until the next day when these people returned home who was still missing. Basically, everyone had to get home and they had to figure out “well who didn’t make it.” The morning after the sinking, the fog had grown lighter and multiple vessels made a search of the Bay, looking for bodies or survivors. They were able to find 2 lifeboats drifting, one was off of Point Bonita, and one was off Union Street Wharf. The lifeboat off of Union Street Wharf contained a pair of women’s gloves, two bonnets, and a pair of stockings, but nothing else. The San Francisco Call would run an article discussing the anxiety and angst that was felt across Marin County after the San Rafael’s loss. And keep in mind, Marin County is the county that is across the Bay. It’s on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, so you know, these people were from Sausalito. I know it’s weird because one of the vessels is named Sausalito and we keep talking about the town of Sausalito, but most of the people who were on the San Rafael were from Marin County and the Sausalito area.
Tanner: MM-hmm.
Taylor: “Throughout Marin County yesterday, there was a feeling of unrest. The telegraph and telephone operators had more than their share of work. From one end of the county to the other, inquiries were made all day long. Information that was sought from police officers, the morgue, and private citizens. To all the small loss of life is looked upon as a miracle.” In total, there are 6 official deaths as a result of this sinking, and they are as follows:
Cyrus A. Walker, of Ross Stations – Age 5
George Treadway, of Sausalito – Age 55
William G. Crandall, of Sausalito – Age 55
Alexander Hall, of Sacramento County – Age 40
Josephine Smith, of San Rafael – Missing
Taylor: You may have realized I only listed 5 names… but there’s a 6th victim. That is Dick the freight horse.
Tanner: [laughs] Can I change my Twitter handle to that?
Taylor: [laughs] Uhh, Dick the freight horse did not make it…
Tanner: …oh noo.
Taylor: …carrying on the fine tradition of horses on this podcast, I don’t know, I think one horse made like a 3 mile swim that one time. I can’t remember, was that the Admella, I think? That the horse swam? Or is that apocryphal?
Tanner: Well, I think kind of putting it in the same context as we would put with the human survivors of these things, like typically you have to be in pretty good shape to survive a shipwreck, you know, if you don’t have a bunch of rescue equipment. So we talked about in the Admella, I believe that horse’s name was The Barber, that was a race horse.
Taylor: That’s true.
Tanner: Probably, you know, peak performance you can get for a horse. Dick the freight horse, he sounds like he’d be really heavy, I’m guessing.
Taylor: [laughs] Uh probably has like a horse dad-bod, he’s just workin’, trying to pay for the kids…
Tanner: …there’s muscle, but it’s under some layers.
Taylor: Yeah, Dick just wants to have a couple Busch Lights when he gets off of work every day.
Tanner: Well that’s sad.
Taylor: Dick the freight horse. Victim of this tragedy. The damage to the Sausalito proved minimal, all things considered. Her bow woodwork was smashed and her rudder was destroyed, however, as she was a purpose-built ferry, she was actually built with a rudder on each end of the vessel so she could operate without having to turn around. This meant she was able to resume service the day after the sinking. Cause it’s 1901 and there’s no rules.
[Sound clip of Jordan Peterson saying “What rules, you sons of bitches?”]
Tanner: Give her like, a break.
[both laugh]
Taylor: Maybe like, check her out and make sure she’s good to go.
Tanner: Yeah, like who’s operating her? The same crew?
Taylor: Probably. Uh, the exact location of the sinking was hotly debated in the community, and on December 14th, 1901, divers found the vessel in 102 feet of water in a very strong current. They reported that the vessel was resting on her side with her bow pointing up the Bay. Divers then placed cables around the vessel and she was dragged by 2 tugs to a depth of 96 feet. However, a few days later, the owners chose to abandon the vessel rather than attempt the salvage.
Tanner: I don’t even wanna know what kind of diving equipment they’re working with here.
Taylor: Absolutely not. It would have to be terrifying.
Tanner: Probably terrifying. Like, I'm guessing it’s probably not one of those super old timey diving suits. I feel like that’s maybe a little bit older than this, but still. It can’t be something that would make me feel confident.
Taylor: There has to be far too much iron and brass involved.
Tanner: Probably. Probably literally just a hose leading to the surface they can breathe through.
Taylor: [laughs] So there is eventually a hearing to establish who’s at fault, and that hearing actually begins really quickly. It begins December 6th, 1901. It’s amazing how quickly these things moved back in the day.
Tanner: Yeah, we’ve covered that on a few things where, you know, you’ve got some things where the next day you’ve got witnesses giving testimony of a wreck that happened.
Taylor: Right. So both Captains gave their accounts of the events leading up to the accident, and both are questioned about the sequence and type of signals given while navigating that night. In particular, the focus is on what fog signals were given prior to the collision. The hearing did not take very long to release the results. They blamed both Captains Tribble and McKenzie equally. The primary reason was that they both gave passing signals before they knew they were clear, and as a result of this, Captain McKenzie’s license is revoked, although it was already due to expire on January 2nd, 1902. He would obtain a new license in January of 1902, and he would actually Captain the Sausalito during her daytime runs.
Tanner: Hmm.
Taylor: Captain Tribble’s license was suspended for 30 days and then he was reinstated. So, I kinda feel like it’s kind of a fair verdict here. I mean, I don’t think anyone’s truly at fault, it sounds like both of them were doing what they were supposed to do, but you gotta blame someone I guess, and you know, they weren’t given overly harsh sentences, I don’t think.
Tanner: That is the trouble with Tribbles.
Taylor: [laughs]
Tanner: I mean here, yeah, I think kinda like you said, you’ve gotta do something, cause here you’ve gotta kinda either say they’re both at fault or no one's at fault, and I think finding no one at fault for an accident that sinks a ferry and kills…
Taylor: …5 people and Dick.
Tanner: …5 people and Dick the freight horse. Like, someone has to be at fault for it, someone did something. I feel like if you’re gonna do that, have them at least sort of cancel out, you know, offsetting penalties.
Taylor: Replay the down.
[Sound clip of Jordan Peterson saying “We’ll see who cancels who.” ]
Tanner: Yeah, I think it’s sorta one of those things where if the conditions were truly that bad, then a Captain has a duty to say that “we can’t sail.” You know, “we can’t safely do this.” It’s like when your flight gets delayed and you’re pissed off about it but you know, you realize “hey, we can’t fly directly into like a derecho.” So, for his bravery and leadership, Captain McKenzie is actually honored by a testimonial signed by 650 people, and it’s engraved into a plaque that’s presented to him. The beginning of this testimonial reads: “To Captain John Taylor McKenzie, Master Mariner, San Francisco harbor: We, who have been passengers for many years on the steamer San Rafael while under your command, have an ample opportunity of recognizing your skill, courage, and caution as a navigator, your ability as a commander, and your courtesy as a gentleman.” He’s pretty well-regarded by the people of San Francisco for all of this. I think he’s remembered as a guy, you know, he took his job seriously when something bad happened, he took the proper steps, he made sure people got off, and he did that time-honored thing of being the last man on the vessel.
Tanner: It connects back to what you were talking about at the beginning, this being kind of a source of pride for the community. The ferry and then here, of course, by sort of connection, if the ferry’s master is behaving this way, it reflects well on the community. Like this is the kind of people that we produce here.
Taylor: Right. And I think you have to remember too, San Francisco isn’t as big as it is now. A lot of the same people are taking these ferries, like, they know the Captain of these vessels. It’s a guy you say hi to when you’re on there, or if you see him getting breakfast in the morning, or in a bar having a drink, like you might buy him a drink cause it’s someone you interact with on a daily or weekly basis.
Tanner: Mm-hmm.
Taylor: He’s known to the community, it’s a little different than the ferries you take now where it’s just kind of a nameless, faceless person that you don’t interact with.
Tanner: I guess it would be more akin to a bus driver, if you’re taking the bus…
Taylor: …yeah, the same bus every day.
Tanner: …a few times a week, if you’ve got the same bus route, probably the same bus driver.
Taylor: Yeah. So, James McCue, who we talked about earlier, sued the Northwest Pacific Railroad and after 3 years, the court awarded him $1,500, however, this was later increased to $5,000 in a 1905 appeal. Additionally, the family of Alexander Hall also sued and was initially awarded $5,000, but this was later increased to $7,500 on appeal. So it’s interesting to see that there is some like, legal repercussions here. I don’t think that’s something we see all the time in these incidents.
Tanner: So McCue lost $400…
Taylor: [laughs]
Tanner: …and then later gets $5,000 after his appeal.
Taylor: Yes. Worth it?
Tanner: Playing the long game.
Taylor: I guess that’s maybe, is that what an ear cost?
Tanner: Probably? I mean, I don’t know how ears were valued in the early 20th century.
Taylor: Probably not much.
Tanner: But yeah, I mean, I don’t know…having $5,000 adjusted for whatever that is now, that sounds pretty good.
Taylor: I mean I’d take $5,000 honestly.
Tanner: I’d sacrifice an ear probably, for that. Now we’re getting into like, Cronenberg territory here. But yeah, sounds like it worked out okay for James McCue.
Taylor: It says $1 in 1901 is worth $34.86 today, so yeah, $5,000 would be alright.
Tanner: Yeah.
Taylor: One final note on this one, a little nugget of interesting stuff. This incident is said to have inspired Jack London for portions of this novel Sea Wolf, especially the beginning chapters. I’ve not read the book, so I’m not familiar with what goes on, but I guess he was very aware of this incident and may have drawn some inspiration from it actually.
Tanner: I’ve never read any Jack London.
Taylor: I was actually about to ask you that. I didn’t know if you had. It’s never been something that I’ve really been interested in reading, but I don’t know. I’m not opposed to the idea of reading some of it.
Tanner: Yeah, I don’t know, his just never struck me as something I’d wanna read but, then again, neither did like, John Steinbeck, and I love his writing. Yeah, maybe I should give Jack London a try.
Taylor: So yeah, that is the story of the San Rafael. It’s interesting, right? Like there’s this sunken passenger ferry just off of Alcatraz island. I’ve been to Alcatraz twice, I had no idea that was there until I researched this story. I just like talkin’ about the Bay area, I love it. I think it’s beautiful there. It has just a unique geography to it, and there’s just so many cool things, and the way that the hills and the mountains and the forest interact with the ocean, it’s great. It’s a beautiful place. It’s one of my favorite places. I had a fun time doing this one, and researching it, and learning a little bit more about that area and the history.
Tanner: Yeah, it’s cool. I’ve only been out there twice?
Taylor: I think you’ve been twice. I’ve been 3 times to San Francisco, so I think you’ve been twice.
Tanner: Yeah, it’s a cool place if anyone ever has a chance to go and visit Alcatraz, definitely do it.
Taylor: Yep, all of that. It’s great. The Muir Woods and all that stuff, you know, up north in Marin County, that stuff’s amazing, it’s beautiful. Highly recommended.
Tanner: You can destroy your teeth on some sourdough bread and bleed through the gums.
Taylor: [laughs] I love sourdough bread, though. Yeah, that’s our story for this week. I hope everybody enjoyed it, and yeah, have a great week everybody.
[background audio of waves on shore]
Tanner: Thanks for listening to another episode of Beyond the Breakers. We love hearing from listeners, and if you’d like to get in touch with us, there’s a couple of ways you can do that:
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