The Sinking of the Underwriter
A tragic maritime accident in Port Townsend harbor leaves a local captain’s schooner at the bottom of the channel.
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.
Captain J.W. McAllep’s schooner, the Underwriter, was run into by the British bark Lakena and sunk in the channel inside the harbor, off Point Hudson, Port Townsend, at about 3 o'clock this afternoon. The bark was coming into the bay and under full sail when the collision occurred by the Underwriter trying to pass on the leeward side. A spar thrown ahead from the bark threw her on her beam ends, and the vessel passed over her. She rose, floated a moment, and sank in several fathoms of water. Captain McAllep and George Ellis, the engineer, and Mr. McAllep were on board at the time, and all went overboard excepting the boy, who got tangled in a rope and was carried under water, but was afterward recovered in a drowning condition. The rope having got tangled about his neck, he was resuscitated. The Underwriter was valued at about $1,200 and we believe some insured. The unfortunate crew was rescued by the tug Wyanda, which happened to be near at hand.
“The boy got tangled in a rope and was carried under water, but was afterward recovered in a drowning condition.”
This 1885 maritime disaster highlights how crucial and perilous the shipping lanes of the Puget Sound have always been to Seattle and the surrounding area's economy. Today, while steam-tug-rescue culture has evolved into modern Coast Guard and maritime safety protocols, the vulnerability of smaller vessels in the busy Port Townsend channels remains a constant challenge for local mariners.
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