Tragedy in the Bay: A Fatal Scuffle at Port Townsend
A playful afternoon turned fatal when a young sailor fell from his boat and vanished into the waters of Port Townsend Bay.
The particulars of the drowning of a sailor in Port Townsend bay last evening are as follows: Anders Hanson, a Swede, 18 years old, and a companion were on a boat painting the Norwegian bark at anchor in the bay. They became playful and engaged in a scuffle, when the boat was overturned and the men were precipitated into the water. Both reached the rail of the boat and one swam to the vessel, but Hanson immediately sank from sight and arose no more. All efforts to recover the body proved unavailing.
“They became playful and engaged in a scuffle, when the boat was overturned and the men were precipitated into the water.”
Accidents involving small boats in the Puget Sound remain a tragic part of local maritime history. Today, the bustling waterfront of Port Townsend, while far more regulated, still grapples with the inherent dangers of the sea that young sailors like Anders Hanson faced over a century ago.
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