J.B. Stetson
The J.B. Stetson, en route from port San Pedro to pick up 300 tons of merchandise in Monterey, experienced heavy fog off the Monterey Peninsula. On the night of September 3, 1934, the J.B. Stetson grounded off Cypress Point. After coming to a grinding halt upon the rocks, water began filling the ship’s wooden hull through a gaping hole. The Coast Guard Cutter Daphne responded the following day to rescue the crew. During the next few days, the ship was battered to pieces by breakers and considered a total loss. It was valued at $25,000, with $5,000 of cargo; and only partially insured. The vessel carried only a small cargo, most of which was shortening (cooking compound) that washed ashore. Two automobiles could not be rescued and sank when the boat broke. The vessel was named after the San Francisco businessman and pioneer James Burgess Stetson; not John B. Stetson of the famous hat company (Phelps 1881, Millard 1924).
Ship Stats:
Vessel Type: Steam Schooner
Casualty Location: Cypress Point, Del Monte Forest, Monterey County, California, USA
Location Status: Located (see Important Note)
Casualty Date: 1934 (Sept 3)
Owner: William Gissler, Jr.
Home Port: San Francisco, California, USA
Length: 181.0 feet Beam: 39.4 feet
Gross Tonnage: 922 Cargo: general
Builder: Hall Brothers
Launched: 1905 (Winslow, Washington, USA)
Official Number: 202687
Nature of Casualty:
Click each newspaper clipping image to view the full transcription text.
-
Transcription: FREIGHTER HITS REEF IN DENSE FOG
Transcription: Latest Victim of Local “Marine Graveyard”
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), 3 Sept 1934, p. 1 (col. 7/8) and p. 5 (col. 6).
Wreck of the John B. Stetson, 181 foot wooden freighter, which went on the rocks offf Cypress Point early this morning, only a hundred yards from where the S.S. Flavel was wrecked eight years ago. Picture shows the fog enshrouded hulk of the doomed vessel as she was being pounded by incoming surf against jagged teeth of the reefs which abound in the vicinity of the disaster. —Herald Staff Photo.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library. -
Transcription: J.B. Stetson Is Breaking Up Off Cypress Point
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), 3 Sept 1934, p. 1 (col. 7/8) and p. 5 (col. 6).
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.
-
Transcription: J.B. Stetson Is Breaking Up Off Cypress Point
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), 3 Sept 1934, p. 1 (col. 7/8) and p. 5 (col. 6).
Ill Fated Ship Strikes Near Scene of Disaster Eight Years Ago; Captain and Crew Taken to Safety By Coast Guard
Fog – grim, grey merciless foe of all navigators – claimed another victim early this morning, when the steam schooner J.B. Stetson of Long eBach went on the rocks off Cypress Point.
The wooden vessel, built 20 years ago for passenger service, was a total loss but her crew of 21 men were all saved, having been taken off the wreck by the coast guard cutter Daphne.
It was only a few minutes after one o’clock this morning when the Stetson, commanded by Captain Carl F.W. Hubner, crashed upon the ragged reefs about a hundred yards from where the Hammond lumber company’s Flavel met a similar fate in 1926. “Bleaching bones” of the lumber schooner may still be seen on the beach nearby.
The Stetson, cutting a calm sea, was feeling her way through one of the densest fogs in years when her crew felt her shudder and lurch. Seamen who were not on duty were tossed from their bunks by the impact.
Sound Distress Signal
Captain Hubner, a veteran of many years’ experience and skipper of the Stetson for the last ten years, immediately ordered Chief Engineer Ed Putney to sound a series of blasts on the whistle, while First Officer Sam Christenson took charge of the lifeboats.
Second Officer William Hansen reported that a gaping hole had been stove in the ship’s hull by her first contact with the rocks and that she was filling faster than the pumps could bail her out.
Sound of surf off the starboard bow warned against attempting to land in small boats, so the entire crew stood by helpless as successive incoming breakers swept the sinking vessel nearer the shore.
Club Matron Spreads Alarm
Blasts from the whistle had aroused Mrs. J.F. Guthrie, matron at Cypress Point golf club, who lost no time in notifying the local authorities that a ship was in distress off the point.
She first telephoned Monterey police headquarters, where Officer Charles Scott was on duty. Scott immediately hurried to the municipal wharf to communicate with the coast guard boat which had been lying in the bay last night, but on the advice of Assistant Wharfinger James Meehan telephoned Coast Guard headquarters at San Francisco, which radioed the Daphne.
“Help is Coming”
Mrs. Guthrie, at Cypress Point, meanwhile had walked out to the point, accompanied by her nephew, Andrew Bradley, 13, but the fog was still too dense to permit them to make out the vessel, although they could distinctly hear the voices of the men on board. She had already notified Del Monte lodge of the disaster, as a result of which Mr and Mrs. Harry Hunt and Dana Hogan drove to the point, where Hunt directed the headlights of this car upon the ship and shouted that help was coming.
Deputy Sheriffs Jack Buttle and Joe Mayo arrive a few minutes later but were merely able to assure Captain Hubner and his men that the Coast Guard was sending aid that should arrive within a short time.
Wharfinger Joseph Alves, Meehan and a crew of stevedores were on their way to the scene of the disaster, prepared to render aid if possible, but were powerless to do anything because of the pounding surf between the wreck and the rocky shore.
The Stetson by this time had drifted within 50 yards of the outermost point of rock and was wedged between two projecting reefs which allowed the surf to break over her deck but prevented her from settling deeper in the water. It was already evident that she could not be saved and that, with a receding tide, she would rapidly go to pieces.
Cutter Rescues Crew
The Daphne hove to near the Stetson about 6 o’clock and took off all members of the crew except Captain Hubner and two of his men who remained aboard until it became evident that nothing could be done to save either vessel or cargo. They then joined their fellows aboard the cutter.
The Stetson, which left San Pedro Saturday bound for Monterey, was valued at $25,000 by her owner, William Gissler Jr. of the Los Angeles Long Beach Despatch steamship line, and was only partially insured. She carried about $5,000 worth of cargo and was scheduled to pick up
(Continued on page 5)
FREIGHTER GOES ON CYPRESS ROCKS
(Continued from page 1)
300 tons of merchandise here for shipment to San Francisco.
“Holday Jinx”
The ship had just come out of the drydock at San Francisco three weeks ago, where she was completely overhauled at an expense of $5,000, her owner said. On Memorial Day, 1932, she was in collision with the S.S. Chehalis.
The Stetson was a wooden-hulled oil burning vessel of 837 gross tons, 181 feet long and 39 feet beam. It was built in Washington in 1905.
News of the wreck spread rapidly and by noon today Cypress Point was thronged with sightseers staring at the hull battering itself to pieces upon the rocks.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.
Additional Information: Wreck Event
Click each newspaper clipping image to view the full transcription text.
-
Transcription: OLD LUMBER BOAT, J.B. STETSON LOST
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 4, 1934, p1, col 5.
PEBBLE BEACH, Sept. 3 (U.P.) Partly clad golfers on the green fairways of Cypress Point club paused today to watch a schooner break to pieces on a wave-lashed reef off shore. The old wooden lumber steamer J. B. Stetson was considered a total loss as combers continued relentless battery of the hulk.
The schooner's crew of 18 men was taken off by the coast guard cutter Daphne," which arrived soon after the Stetson struck the reef. None was injured.
Slipping through a dense fog which covered the mid-California coast early yesterday, the lumber schooner J. B. Stetson, with twenty-one men aboard, veered from her course and piled up on the perilous Point Cypress rocks. Twenty members of the crew went over the sides on lines lowered to small boats as the vessel began going to pieces. Only Captain Carl Hubner was left aboard the stricken ship.
The seamen pulled to the coast guard cutter Daphne, standing by while coast guardsmen from the Monterey station escorted them in small boats.
As the tide ebbed, the Stetson was left high and dry on the rocks.
The ship's back was broken and water rushed into her hold through a jagged hole torn in the hull.
The ship went on the rocks about fifty yards off shore.
As the fog lifted, golfers on the Point Cypress course caught glimpses of the stricken craft. To them it appeared to be at anchor.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside. -
Transcription: Sounds Whistle
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 4, 1934, p1, col 5.
The Stetson, bound from San Pedro to San Francisco, was easing into Monterey, for a call when it rammed the submerged rocks.
Frantic distress signals from the vessel's whistle brought Pacific Grove police and residents scrambling to the shore to ascertain the trouble.
Because of the perilous rocks it was deemed impossible to send out rescue boats from the shore. Pacific Grove police notified the coast guard station at Monterey, which in turn notified the coast guard cutler Daphne, which had been conducting a two day search for a lost fishing vessel.
The rocks tore a jagged hole in the hull of the vessel and broke its back. Without radio, Captain Hubner resorted to his whistle to call for help.
The Daphne stood by for nearly three hours before Captain Hubner decided it was necessary to abandon the craft. The crew was transferred to the Daphne and then sent ashore.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
-
Transcription: Wrecked Vessel Attracts Crowds To Cypress Point
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, California), Sept. 5, 1934, p1, col 5.
The wrecked freighter J.B. Stetson today ranks as one of the peninsula’s outstanding attractions for sightseers. Thousands of cars have visited Cypress Point since the ship crashed there Monday morning and the parade of the curious shows no signs of diminishing.
Although pieces of deck and hull occasionally are washed ashore the freighter as yet has shown no signs of breaking up.
The ship has been definitely abandoned and no salvaging attempts are planned. She carried only a small cargo which was insured. Shortening comprised most of the cargo and casks of the cooking compound occasionally are washed ashore to be eagerly seized by members of the crowds that stand a constant “death watch” at Cypress Point.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach Despatch line, owners of the J.B. Stetson, are negotiating for a ship to replace the wrecked vessel and plan to resume service between Monterey and northern and southern California ports before the end of the week according to Wharfinger Joseph Alves.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library. -
Transcription: J. B. STETSON IS BREAKING UP ON CYPRESS POINT
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), Sept. 5, 1934, p1, col 8.
MONTEREY, Sept. 4 (AP).—Impaled on a ragged rock in pounding surf off Cypress Rock, the J.B. Stetson was believed on the verge of breaking to pieces tonight. During the day tugs removed all articles of value from the vessel.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
-
Transcription: "J. B. Stetson” Stranded Off Cypress Point, Broke Up Yesterday
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 7, 1934, p1, col 5-8.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside. -
Transcription: Freighter That Broke In Two Off Cypress Point Yesterday
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 7, 1934, p1, col 5-8.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
-
Transcription: Associated Press photo of the stranded J.P. Stetson that struck a rock at Cypress Point, near Pacific Grove, Monday, and which after a terrific three days’ pounding broke in two yesterday and nearly all sank from sight.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 7, 1934, p1, col 5-8.
AFTER PART OF VESSEL SINKS OUT OF SIGHT Only Prow Remains on Jagged Rock of Grave Stone THOUSANDS PAY VISIT TO SPOT 17-Mile Drive Does Rushing Business As Result
The freighter J. B. Stetson, which went on the rocks at Cypress Point, near Pacific Grove, Monday, broke in two yesterday afternoon under a terrific three days pounding by the heavy surf.
Two automobiles and a quantity of other articles that formed part of the cargo of the boat, and which salvagers could not rescue, sank when the boat broke.
The entire after part of the vessel sank Immediately after it broke, leaving only the prow impaled on the large rock.
The wreck was the mecca for hundreds of visitors daily during the last three days, the 17-Mile drive becoming one of the most popular places in Monterey county by reason of the disaster. The only means of getting to the wreck was over this drive, the Monterey Bay Properties concern reaping quite a harvest of half dollars as a result.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
Additional Information: Vessel
Click each newspaper clipping image to view the full transcription text.
-
Transcription: J.B. Stetson Is Eleventh Vessel Wrecked On Local Coast In Last 100 Years
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, California), Sept. 4, 1934, p5, col 6-7.
By CLAIRE B. HUDSON
Eleven ships have piled up on the Monterey coast in 100 years. The S.S. J.B. Stetson is the tenth to be battered to pieces by the seas. One escaped disaster near Point Pinos and was floated off the rocks at high tide.
The first shipwreck was the bark Natalia in which Napoleon had escaped from Elba. She was driven ashore in December, 1834 by a gale in Monterey bay. Charles Dana mentioned her in his “Two Years Before the Mast” and said that all of her crew but one were lost. He writes:
“This was owing to the carelessness or ignorance of the captain, who paid out all his small cable before he let go his other anchor. The ship Lagoda, of Boston, was there at the time, and rode out the gale in safety, without dragging at all, or finding it necessary to strike her top-gallant-masts.”
After the Los Angeles was wrecked at Point Sur, the St. Paul went ashore, bows on, at Point Joe, during an August fog in 1896. She was on her way from Point San Simeon, loaded with calves and sheep.
For three months she withstood the pounding, then went to pieces over night. Her mainmast still lies near the road at the point.
The rescuer of the St. Paul’s crew and cargo was the Gypsy, which met disaster eight years later near New Monterey.
Again destruction lay in August fogs and the little ship Celia went ashore on Moss Beach in 1906. It was before rapid communication and she blew all night, her whistle lashed open, before help came. To the distress signal of the Stetson response was immediate, and her crew was off in five hours.
The Roderick Dhu followed the Celia upon Moss beach in April, [1909] and a fragment of her hull can still be seen at very low tide.
In 1911, the Santa Rosa piled up at Point Arguella. Then, fifteen years later, the S.S. Flavel ran on the reefs at Cypress point, a few yards from where the Stetson now lies.
A third wreck was added to the record of Moss Beach last year when a little Coast Guard cutter went to pieces on the rocks.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library. -
Transcription: News of the Waterfront
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, California), Sept. 7, 1934, p2, col 3.
CONTRIBUTIONS FOR LIST OF SHIPWRECKS COMING IN
Since the unfortunate “J.B. Stetson” piled up at Cypress Point early on the morning of Labor Day the old-timers have been saying “I remember when—” at a great rate. In Tuesday’s Herald a story by Miss Claire B. Hudson was published. It listed 11 wrecks and was based on information obtained from Mrs. C.S. Fackenthall of Pacific Grove, and old-timer who has been at the “ringside” of many important events of local history. Yesterday a letter from L.S. Slevin of Carmel was printed which “anted” the list up to 16. And now boys at the municipal wharf join the Associated Oil company in asking “How about the Frank H. Busk which tried to enter the bay ‘overland’ at Point Pinos?” Well, we had forgotten her—but you see she was like “bring ‘em back alive Buck.” She was hauled off at high tide intact.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.
Referenced and Additional Resources
Anonymous. 1916. The Winslow Marine Railway and Shipping Company. Pacific Marine Review 13(8):46-50.
Millard, B. 1924. History of the San Francisco Bay Region: history and biography. The American Historical Society, Chicago, Illinois. 428pp.
Phelps, A. 1881. Contemporary biography of California's representative men, with contributions from distinguished scholars and scientists. A.L. Bancroft, San Francisco, California. 624pp. (see p. 144)
Reinstedt, R.A. 1975. Shipwrecks and Sea Monsters of California’s Central Coast. Ghost Town Publications, Carmel, CA. 168pp.
Important Note
Section 922.132 of the sanctuary regulations prohibits or restricts several activities in order to safeguard sanctuary resources, including: Moving, removing, injuring or possessing historical resources.
For the complete text of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary regulations, see Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 922.132.