The Ghost Ship of Port Townsend
A British bark vanishes in the fog off Washington’s coast; a court of inquiry clears the crew, but not before two men drown and the master walks away with nothing.
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.
A naval court was held at the British Vice-Consulate in Port Townsend on March 18 to investigate the loss of the port Gordon and to inquire into the conduct of the master and certificated first mate, second mate and crew of said vessel. The Port Gordon was a sailing vessel, bark rigged, of 300 registered tonnage, built at Port Glasgow and belonged to the port of Glasgow.
It appears from the evidence given before this court that she sailed from Ardrossan on or about the 23rd day of October, bound for Puget Sound with a cargo of general merchandise and a crew of 23 hands all told and as passengers. The court, having regard to the circumstances of the instance above stated, finds as follows: That the master, William Gibb, appears to have navigated his vessel in a seamanlike, careful and proper manner... and that weather alone caused the loss of the vessel to an unseen reef through a probable error of the chronometer... and that no blame or negligence can be attributed to the master, officers or crew.
The account from the ship's log details the final hours: "At 4 p.m. the weather still worse... The course was then altered... At 8 p.m. the ship was reduced to two lower topsails... The weather during the night was very dark and stormy with a strong gale SE and heavy rain at intervals." By 5:15 a.m., breakers were reported ahead. "The helm was immediately put up... but within five minutes she was within the midst of the breakers. The third sea swept away the wheel binnacle and two of the boats; the next everything from the decks... the ship bumped heavily and gradually settled down... with the exception of two, who were drowned, and two who subsequently succumbed from the effects of the exposure."
After remaining in the vicinity of the wreck four days, the survivors established communication with agents in Tacoma. Master William Gibb arrived in Port Townsend on March 8th, where the rest of the survivors were assembled.
This 1906 maritime disaster highlights the perilous nature of early Puget Sound navigation, where a single chronometer error could mean death in the fog-shrouded waters near Port Townsend. While modern GPS has eliminated such navigational fears, the story resonates with today’s ongoing debates over maritime safety regulations and the human cost of commercial shipping in the Pacific Northwest.
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