SS Valencia was an iron-hulled passenger ship built for the Red D Line to travel between Venezuela and New York City. It was constructed in 1882 by William Cramp and Sons, one year after its sister ship, the Caracas. The ship weighed 1,598 tons (originally 1,200 tons) and measured 252 feet (77 meters) in length. In 1897, Valencia was intentionally attacked by the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The following year, it became a coastal passenger ship on the U.S. West Coast and occasionally transported soldiers during the Spanish–American War to the Philippines. Valencia sank near Cape Beale, close to Clo-oose, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on January 22, 1906. Because 100 people died, including all the women and children on board, the wreck of the Valencia is considered the worst maritime disaster in the "Graveyard of the Pacific," a dangerous area off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.

History

The Red D Line had a long-running sailing ship service to Venezuela since 1839. This service lasted without interruption for nearly 40 years. However, by the summer of 1879, the company decided to update its service by using steamships. Three German ships were rented to start this new service, but it quickly became clear that a permanent fleet was needed. As a result, two steamships were ordered from William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia. Both ships were designed to carry passengers, cargo, and mail, sail under the American flag, and be staffed by American crews. In 1881, the first of these ships, the 1,200-ton Caracas, was completed and began service in July 1881 between New York City and Caracas via Laguayra and Puerto Cabello.

In 1882, the second ship, the Valencia, was completed. The Valencia was 5 feet (2 meters) shorter than the Caracas and began its first voyage in May 1882. A smaller wooden steamship named Maracaibo helped extend the service to the port of Maracaibo. Unlike the Valencia and Caracas, the Maracaibo was registered under the British flag because it did not operate in the United States. Voyages on the Valencia and Caracas were scheduled twice a month, once for each ship, and took about 26 days. In 1888, the Caracas was sold to Thomas Egenton Hogg of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company and renamed Yaquina Bay. The Valencia, however, continued operating with the Red D Line. Later, the Valencia traveled from New York City to Laguayra, via Puerto Cabello and the island of Curaçao.

In 1897, the liner Niagara of the Ward Line was taken out of service for repairs. The Valencia was then rented from the Red D Line to temporarily replace the Niagara. Despite this arrangement, the Valencia was still crewed by its Red D Line staff. On May 29, 1897, the Valencia was intentionally attacked by the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes. The cruiser fired two shots at the Valencia near Guantánamo Bay. One shot missed the Valencia’s stern by 240 feet (73 meters). Immediately, the American flag was raised on the Valencia’s stern, which stopped Reina Mercedes from firing any more shots. It was later learned that the shots were fired to intimidate the Valencia into displaying its American flag. The crew of Reina Mercedes knew the Valencia’s identity. Valencia’s captain recognized the cruiser because both ships had been together in Santiago de Cuba just days earlier. A Spanish official claimed Reina Mercedes had the right to fire at the Valencia for not showing its American flag, which violated maritime rules. An American official responded that Reina Mercedes did not display its own flag during the attack, making the attack unfair.

In 1898, the Valencia was sold to the Pacific Steam Whaling Company, which brought her around Cape Horn to the United States West Coast. From there, she served between San Francisco, California, and the Territory of Alaska. On June 19 of that year, the Valencia was rented by the United States Army to act as a troopship during the Spanish–American War. In this role, the Valencia could carry 606 troops and 29 officers. She transported the 1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry, 1st Washington Volunteer Infantry (Companies F, G, I, and L), and the California Heavy Artillery (Batteries A and D) between San Francisco and the Philippines. The Army paid the Valencia’s owners $650 per day for her use (equivalent to $25,200 in 2025).

After returning to civilian service, the Valencia struggled to adapt to its new environment and was not well-liked by passengers on the Pacific Coast. It was considered too small and too exposed to the weather, leading to its classification as a second-class vessel. Its average speed was only 11 knots.

The Valencia’s design made it hard to handle during winter months. Its long 100-foot (30-meter) bow limited visibility from the bridge. The loud sound of waves hitting the bow often interfered with communication among the crew.

The Valencia was not built with a double bottom, and like other early iron steamers, its hull compartmentalization was basic.

In 1901, the Valencia’s purser was arrested for overcharging passengers and stealing the extra money. The purser claimed the rest of the crew was involved in the scheme. At the same time, it was discovered that the Valencia had carried more passengers than allowed by its permits, leading to a fine of $9,000 (equivalent to $348,000 in 2025) for its owners.

After these incidents, the Valencia was sold to the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.

In 1902, while returning from Valdez, Alaska, the Valencia collided with the steamer Georgia in Elliott Bay near Seattle, Washington. A hull plate on the Valencia was damaged above the waterline. Later, it was found that if the damage had been underwater, the Valencia might have sunk.

In 1905, the Valencia carried 62 crew members, three passengers, and 500 tons of general cargo on a voyage from Nome, Alaska. While entering the harbor at Saint Michael, Alaska, the Valencia ran aground but no one was injured. After the ship jettisoned about 75 tons of cargo, the tugboat Meteor helped it free itself, and the Valencia continued its journey southward.

During the winter, the Valencia spent most of its time docked in San Francisco, only being used as a backup vessel.

Final voyage

In January 1906, the ship Valencia was temporarily changed to travel between San Francisco and Seattle to replace the SS City of Puebla, which was being repaired in San Francisco. The weather in San Francisco was clear, and Valencia left on January 20 at 11:20 a.m. with nine officers, 56 crew members, and at least 108 passengers on board. As the ship passed near Cape Mendocino during the early morning of January 21, the weather worsened. Visibility became poor, and strong winds began blowing from the southeast.

Because the crew could not use the stars to find their location, they had to estimate their position using dead reckoning. Without seeing land and with strong winds and ocean currents, Valencia missed the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Shortly before midnight on January 22, the ship struck a reef 11 miles (about 18 kilometers) off Cape Beale on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.

After the collision, a large wave lifted the ship off the reef, and crew members reported a large tear in the hull where water was quickly entering. To stop the ship from sinking, the captain ordered it to run aground, and it crashed into the rocks again. The ship was left stranded near the shore, less than 100 yards (100 meters) away from land.

In the chaos that followed, six of the ship’s seven lifeboats were lowered into the water without the captain’s permission, and all were not properly manned. Three of the lifeboats flipped while being lowered, throwing their occupants into the ocean. Of the three lifeboats that were successfully launched, two overturned, and one disappeared. The scene at the wreck was described by Chief Freight Clerk Frank Lehn, one of the few survivors:

Women and children screamed as they were caught in the storm, with the wind, rain, and waves crashing around them. Passengers rushed onto the deck but were swept away by huge waves that reached the ship’s mast. The ship quickly began to break apart, and women and children were tied to the rigging above the reach of the sea. Many women, wearing only nightgowns and barefoot, struggled to protect children from the freezing wind and rain.

Only twelve men reached the shore, but three were washed away by the waves after landing. The remaining nine men climbed the cliffs and found a telegraph line between trees. They followed the line through the forest until they reached a lineman’s cabin, from which they called for help. These nine men, later known as the "Bunker" Party after survivor Frank Bunker, faced criticism for not climbing the nearby cliff to reach a cable fired from the Lyle gun on Valencia.

Meanwhile, the ship’s boatswain and volunteers were lowered in the last remaining lifeboat with orders to find a safe landing and return to the cliffs to receive a lifeline from the ship. After landing, they found a trail with a sign reading "Three miles to Cape Beale." They changed their plan and headed toward the lighthouse on the cape, arriving after 2½ hours of hiking. The lighthouse keeper called Bamfield to report the wreck, but the news had already been sent to Victoria. This group of survivors described the scene as "well-nigh crazed" by what they saw:

Passengers on the wreck looked out over the broken rail, and women sang the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee" as they faced death.

When news of the disaster reached Victoria, three ships were sent to rescue survivors. The largest was the passenger liner SS Queen, accompanied by the salvage steamer Salvor and the tug Czar. Another ship, the City of Topeka, later left Seattle with a doctor, nurses, medical supplies, reporters, and experienced sailors. On the morning of January 24, Queen arrived at the wreck site but could not approach due to bad weather and lack of depth charts. Salvor and Czar then went to Bamfield to organize an overland rescue.

When Queen was seen, Valencia’s crew launched the ship’s two remaining life rafts, but most passengers stayed on the ship, likely expecting rescue. About an hour later, City of Topeka arrived but, like Queen, could not reach the wreck. The ship searched the area for hours and found one life raft with 18 men. No other survivors were found, and the captain of City of Topeka ended the search at night. The second life raft later drifted to an island in Barkley Sound, where four survivors were found by the island’s First Nations and taken to a village near Ucluelet.

When the overland rescue team reached the cliffs above the wreck, they saw dozens of passengers clinging to the ship’s rigging and parts of the hull. Soon after, the ship’s lone funnel collapsed, leaving passengers exposed to the waves. Without lifelines, the crew could not help, and within hours, a large wave washed the wreckage off the rocks into the ocean. Survivors either drowned, were crushed against the rocks, or clung to wreckage as they were swept to sea, dying from cold.

Investigation and aftermath

After the disaster, the US Marine Inspection Service began looking into what happened. President Theodore Roosevelt also started a second investigation. This investigation had two goals: to find out why the disaster happened and to suggest ways to prevent future deaths.

The investigation took place from 14 February to 1 March 1906. The final report was published on 14 April 1906. Both reports agreed that the disaster was caused by mistakes in navigation and bad weather. Most safety equipment was working, but lifeboat drills had not been done. The report said that the crew of the rescue ships did everything they could under the situation.

The high number of deaths was due to a series of bad events and the lack of safety structures along Vancouver Island’s coast. The federal report suggested building a lighthouse between Cape Beale and Carmanah Point and creating a coastal lifesaving trail with shelters for shipwrecked sailors. It also recommended placing surfboats at Tofino and Ucluelet and a well-equipped steamboat at Bamfield. The Canadian government began building the lighthouse and trail. In 1908, the Pachena Point Lighthouse was completed, and in 1911, the trail—later called the West Coast Trail—was finished.

Different sources say different numbers of people died. Some say 117, others say as many as 181. The federal report stated the official death toll was 136 people. Only 37 men survived, and all women and children on the ship died.

In 1933, 27 years after the disaster, Valencia’s lifeboat No. 5 was found floating in Barkley Sound. It was in good condition, with much of its original paint still intact. The boat’s nameplate is now displayed in the Maritime Museum of British Columbia.

Interestingly, Valencia’s sister ship, Caracas, also sank. In December 1888, shortly after arriving on the west coast as Yaquina Bay, it broke free from its tugboat, ran aground at the bay of its name, and was declared a total loss.

Valencia’s dramatic end has led to local rumors and ghost stories. Six months after the sinking, a local Nuu-chah-nulth fisherman named Clanewah Tom and his wife saw a lifeboat with eight skeletons in a sea cave near Pachena Bay. The cave’s mouth was blocked by a large boulder, and the cave was about 200 feet deep. No one could explain how the lifeboat got there, but it was believed that high tide pushed it into the cave. Lightkeeper Philip Daykin thought the survivors might have been alive when the boat entered the cave but died of starvation before being found. Because of dangerous waves, the lifeboat and its remains could not be recovered. Local resident Clay Evans, who studied the disaster, believes the story is not true. However, if it were, the lifeboat in question was likely No. 5, explaining its rediscovery in 1933. Local fishermen also reported seeing lifeboats rowed by skeletons of Valencia’s victims.

When transporting survivors of Valencia to Seattle, the ship City of Topeka stopped to inform a passing vessel about the disaster. Some on board claimed they saw the shape of Valencia in the black smoke from the ship’s funnel. While traveling to port with survivors, another ship approached and passed close by. To the horror of everyone on board, it looked like the Valencia, with skeletons on its crew. The ghostly ship was heading toward the rocks. The Valencia signaled the City of Topeka, adding to the fear on board. After this experience, the Topeka continued without further problems. In 1910, the Seattle Times reported that sailors claimed to see a ghost ship like Valencia near Pachena Point. They saw waves washing over the ship as human figures clung to its rigging. Similar sightings were reported for years after the disaster.