The Perilous Crossing of the Sound
A young man attempted a midnight sailboat trip from Port Blakely to Seattle during a gale; now, only his empty boat remains.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Thursday afternoon, a gentleman at Port Blakely who was anxious to get to Seattle hired a young man named Moore to take him across in a sailboat. Although it was blowing hard at the time, Moore assured him he was thoroughly familiar with the management of a boat. The young man, not having a boat of his own, borrowed one from another party, promising to pick up some articles from Schwabacher Co.’s store in Seattle. In getting out of the harbor, Moore experienced difficulty and ran the boat aground. His passenger became alarmed, sensing that Moore lacked the skill to navigate the wind, and urged him to return. But Moore was confident and persuaded his passenger to continue. They arrived in Seattle in the early evening. After supper and a visit to Schwabacher’s to fill the order, the young man left for Port Blakely at 9 o'clock. Nothing has been heard of him since. The steamer Success reports that neither the boat nor Moore have been found. While some speculate he ran away, the mate of the Success notes that Moore left behind all his valuables and clothing at Port Blakely. It is generally conceded that the boat was capsized during a sudden, heavy gale shortly after he departed, and it is supposed the boat will be picked up somewhere on Vashon Island.
“It is generally conceded that the boat was capsized during the heavy and very sudden gale of wind which came up shortly after he left.”
The treacherous nature of Puget Sound remains a constant reality for those on the water today, echoing 1877 when a small sailboat was no match for a sudden gale. The geography of these crossings has changed from supply runs to modern ferry transit, but the unpredictable weather of the Pacific Northwest continues to be a formidable adversary.
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