William H. Smith

The schooner William H. Smith was anchored in Monterey Bay when a blustery evening northwester caused it to slip anchor and it was dragged to shore just east of the old Del Monte bathhouse. Within three hours, the vessel began breaking up on the shore, resulting in a total loss. Watchman Edwin Berglund was aboard when the vessel broke adrift. Unable to swim, he spent the night on the sinking vessel and was taken ashore in the morning, as breaking waves embedded the keel into the beach sand. No lives were lost. Launched in 1883 from the famous shipyards in Bath, Maine, the William H. Smith was used for cargo and passenger service and had a record of 18 round-the-world cruises and many other voyages. Owner Horace Cochran had purchased the vessel only one year prior, as a fishing schooner and commercial pleasure craft. Valued at about $6,200, it was fully insured. Today, the vessel hull is occasionally exposed on the beach after big storms.

Note: Cochran also purchased the four-masted schooner Aurora, which followed a similar fate during a northwester in 1935, losing anchor and grounding at Del Monte Beach.

Ship Stats:

Vessel Type: Five-Masted Schooner
Casualty Location: Del Monte Beach, Monterey, Monterey County, California, USA
Location Status: Located (see Important Note)
Casualty Date: 1933 (Feb 23)
Owner: Horace Cochran
Home Port: San Francisco, California, USA
Length: 232.4 feet Beam: 43.3 feet
Gross Tonnage: 1957
Builder: Goss, Sawyer & Packard
Launched: 1883 (Bath, Maine, USA)
Official Number: 80954

Nature of Casualty:

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  Transcription: SAILING SHIP DRIVE ASHORE
  
  William H. Smith Breaking Up Rapidly On Beach Near Old Del Monte Bathhouse

  Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), February 24, 1933, p.1 (col.2), p.7 (col.7)
  Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.

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  Transcription: Watchman Who Stayed On Vessel All Night Had Narrow Escape
  
  Relief Council Salvaging Timber Brough Ashore By Heavy Surf
  
  By W.F. Gleeson, JR.
  
  Driven ashore by high winds that whipped Monterey bay info a froth of whitecaps yesterday, the five masted schooner William H. Smith today was breaking up in a heavy surf just east of the old Del Monte bathhouse.
  
  Fate decreed an inglorious end for the old ship, one of the few remaining relics of the days when white winged barques were the backbone of world commerce.
  
  Unlike many of her sister ships whose careers were climaxed spectacularly on rocky reefs during furious storms in far off places, the Smith merely gave a heavy lunge, broker her anchor chain and set out for her last brief cruise late yesterday afternoon.
  
  Driven Ashore By Winds
  
  A high wind sweeping across the bay carried her ashore quickly and all night she rolled in the breakers her keel firmly imbeded (sic) in the beach.
  
  Real tragedy almost marked the end of the old craft. Edwin Berglund, 28, watchman, was aboard her when she broke adrift and was forced to spend the night on the vessel because of the danger of leaving her in the dark, dusk having settled down shortly after the boat struck shore.
  
  Berglund had a narrow escape this morning when he was taken off the Smith. Stiff and tired from a night spent in the rocking craft, he lost his grasp on a line on which he was making his way to shore hand over hand and fell about ten feet from the ship.
  
  Unable To Swim
  
  The water already was strewn with wreckage and Berglund, unable to swim, was in danger when the rope which he lost hold of was lowered within his reach. Once again it was drawn taut and the watchman finally made his way to shore, none the worse for his experience, aside from a ducking and a sleepless night.
  
  Hundreds gathered along the beach today as the boat broke up under the relentless pounding of the surf. Piles of wreckage were strewn along a wide section of the shore and scores of men and women were busy salvaging or looking for bronze bolts or fittings that might serve as souvenirs.
  
  Valued at about $6,200, the William H. Smith was fully covered by insurance, according to her owner, Horace Cochran, Monterey business man. Cochran, who bought the Smith and the Aurora, a four masted schooner, about a year ago, had spent several thousand dollars recently in cleaning up the larger boat and building a dance floor on the craft.
  
  Relief Council Gets Wood
  
  Salvage rights were given to the Unemployed Relief Council today by the owner and a crew of more than twenty men supervised by H.D. Coon, president and manager of the council, were busy stacking timbers on the beach and loading them on trucks.
  
  Buffeted by the storm which came up yesterday afternoon, the William H. Smith dragged anchor frequently despite Berglund’s efforts to located a firm hold in the sandy bottom. Late in the afternoon the watchman let our more chain as the vessel drifted and the anchor finally caught.
  
  A short time later, however, the craft was struck broadside by a large wave and the chain broke. At the time the vessel was a short distance off the old Del Monte bathhouse. Less than an hour later her keel struck the beach about a quarter mile to the south.
  
  Masts Crash To Deck
  
  Pounded by heavy seas throughout the night, the ship started to break up this morning. Her tall masts, which caused the vessel to roll in a wide arc, were shaken
  
  (Continued on page 7)

  Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), February 24, 1933, p.1 (col.2), p.7 (col.7)
  Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.

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  Transcription: OLD SAILING SHIP IS WRECKED HERE
  (Continued from page 1)
  
  down onto the decks with a splintering crash about nine o’clock.
  
  The tide started to turn a short time later and with the sea increasing in roughness the water and the beach were soon littered with wreckage. Cochran expects the boat to be completely broken up before this evening.
  
  The William H. Smith was built at Bath, Maine, in 1883. Her length is 234 feet, beam 43 feet, depth 16 feet and net tonnage 1868.
  
  Used in passenger service at one time, the vessel had the records of eighteen round the world cruises and many other voyages on her log.
  
  Built of sturdy northern pine timbers, the Smith was constructed to withstand the pounding of mountainous seas. She did for years and when brought here by Cochran was as staunch as when first built.
  
  With her keel deep in the sand, however, there was no give as the breakers struck today and the craft broke up rapidly.
  
  Cochran kept a watch on the beach throughout the day waiting for the Smith’s cabin to come ashore. The interior is finished in Spanish walnut, mahogany, teak and oak which he plans to salvage.

  Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), February 24, 1933, p.1 (col.2), p.7 (col.7)
  Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.

Additional Information: Wreck Event

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  Transcription: Gale Pounds Old Ship To Destruction
  
  Five-Master Is Driven Ashore At Monterey, Hammered To Bits By High-Running Waves
  
  Debris Salvaged For Firewood By Jobless Combing Beach; Boat Had Colorful History
  
  Howling Into Monterey Bay yesterday afternoon a blustering northwester today had consigned a once-proud clipper to firewood.
  
  Swaying at anchor a few yards from Monterey municipal wharf, the five-masted William H. Smith basked in the warm sunlight yesterday morning.
  
  Suddenly, without warning, the nor'wester swept into the bay, sending fishing boat and other small craft scurrying for cover behind the "little breakwater.”
  
  Instantly the glassy bay became a choppy carpet of whitecaps. Wave spanked against the ship's wooden sides, no longer as staunch as in the days when the William H. Smith scudded over the seven seas, bearing cargo from Maine to Malay.
  
  Time and the advent of steam had reduced the William Smith from her rank as a clipper to that of a schooner — but the old ship gave her owner, Horace Cochran and others promise that she would ride out this unusual storm, taking place beneath clear blue skies.
  
  However, at 6:50 last night she slipped her anchor and dragged toward shore – and disaster.
  
  Pounding breakers, ever growing higher, followed up their advantage and hammered the William Smith to the beach.
  
  She grounded. The wind increased to gale proportions. The William Smith was doomed.
  
  While fishermen sympathized from their protected craft in lee of the breakwater, the old ship slowly crumbled. Her bow cracked first.
  
  Water poured through ever-widening seams. Masts and spars trembled. As the salty water ate its way through oakum and pitch, plank after plank dropped from the William Smith's sides.
  
  A mast toppled, crashing the fo’castle with it. Others soon followed, scattering rigging atop the battered hulk.
  
  This morning the gale had completed its havoc. For more than half a mile the beach between the old Del Monte bathhouse and Seaside was strewn with debris. Some of the masts bobbed, like corks on the bay, still whipped by the gusts which had destroyed the boat. REDUCED TO FIREWOOD As the swells carried remnants of the William Smith to shore eager jobless and others waded into the surf and dragged spars, planks and masts to dry land – for firewood.
  
  A large crowd cheered their efforts.
  
  Meanwhile owner Cochran directed a salvage crew which wrested more desirable pieces of equipment from the beachcombers and stowed it on the beach under guard.
  
  Launched from the famous Bathe, Maine, shipyards in 1883, the William Smith originally was a trim craft especially under full canvas, topsails and all.
  
  She is credited with 18 world cruises – voyages that carried her past old Sugarloaf at Rio De Janeiro, off forbidding Diamond Head at Hawaii, along the Bund at Shanghai and into harbors at Singapore, Bangkok, Calcutta, Liverpool and others.
  
  Later she fell to a sorry lot and was remantled by the Nelson Lines for coast-wise lumber trade. Her last voyage carried her from San Jose de Guatemala to San Francisco.
  
  Cochran saved her from slow rotting death about a year ago when he purchased the William Smith and had her towed to Monterey. There the boat was equipped as a commercial pleasure craft and fishing schooner – for the benefit of romantic tourists.
  
  Tonight, or as soon as the spray has been driven from it, the last vestige of the five-master will be crackling in peninsula fireplaces.
  
  And the sea will have claimed another victim from the thinning ranks of the sailing craft whose canvas once crackled over the seven seas.

  Source: Salinas Index-Journal (Salinas, CA), February 24, 1933, p.1, col.6
  Courtesy of Newspapers.com.

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  Transcription: HIGH WIND ON MONTEREY SIDE CAUSES HAVOC
  
  While no damage was done on the local waterfront during the time the heavy north wind swept over the bay Friday, there was a different tale to tell on the Monterey side, where a gale of this sort makes it dangerous for either small or large boats. One large craft went ashore and in comment on the disaster the Monterey Peninsula Herald takes occasion to refer to it as follows:
  
  "Driven ashore by high winds that whipped Monterey bay into a froth of whitecaps Friday, the five-masted schooner William H. Smith today was breaking up in a heavy surf just east of the old Del Monte bath house.
  
  "Fate decreed an inglorious end for the old ship, one of the few remaining relics of the days when white-winged barques were the backbone of world commerce.
  
  "Unlike many of her sister ships whose careers were climaxed spectacularly on rocky reefs during furious storms in far-off places, the Smith merely gave a heavy lunge, broke her anchor chain and set out for her last brief cruise.
  
  “A high wind sweeping across the bay carried her ashore quickly and all night she rolled in the breakers, her keel firmly imbedded in the beach.
  
  "Real tragedy almost marked the end of the old craft. Edwin Berglund, 28 watchman, was aboard her when she broke adrift and was forced to spend the night on the vessel because of the danger of leaving her in the dark, dusk having settled down shortly after the boat struck shore.
  
  Berglund had a narrow escape this morning when he was taken off the Smith. Stiff and tired from a night spent on the rocking craft, he lost his grasp on a line on which he was making his way to shore hand over hand and fell about 10 feet from the ship.
  
  "The water already was strewn with wreckage, and Berglund, unable to swim, was in danger when the rope which he lost hold of was again lowered within his reach. Once more it was drawn taut and the watchman finally made his way to shore, none the worse for his experience aside from a ducking and a sleepless night.”

  Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), February 26, 1933, p.6, col.4-5.
  Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.

Additional Information: Vessel

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  Transcription: A Handsome Ship.
  
  New York, May 21. A new American ship, glistening with new paint and copper, is moored at the foot of Harrison street, Brooklyn, where she is receiving a cargo of coal and railroad iron for San Francisco. She was launched April 11th at Bath, Me., and is christened William H. Smith. She cost $120,000, and her dimensions are as follows: Length, 260 feet; breadth, 43 feet; depth, 27 feet; tonnage, 2,004. Although built in Maine her decks are of pine from Oregon, while her yards and upper spars and her masts are of pine from Georgia.

  Source: The Daily Examiner (San Francisco, CA), May 22, 1883, p.1, c.4.
  Courtesy of Newspapers.com

Referenced and Additional Resources

Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. 1928. Volume 1. Sailing Vessels. London, England.

Reinstedt, R.A. 1975. Shipwrecks and Sea Monsters of California’s Central Coast. Ghost Town Publications, Carmel, CA. 168pp.