National Marine Sanctuaries

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Shipwreck Database

Vessel
*Not A Total Loss

J W Seaver
  
Name (former)
Official Number
 12418
Propulsion
 Sail
Nationality
 US
Masts
Age
 28
Decks
Value
  
Type
 Bark
Call Sign
 JGCT
Use
 Commercial
Home Port
 CA. San Francisco
Tonnage (gross)
 229.9
Built When
 1859
Tonnage (net)
Built Where
 MA, Chelsea
Tonnage
Built by
  
Displacement
  
Hull Material
 Wood
Length (ft)
 106.0
Cargo
 Salt - 10 tons, hay - 60 tons hay
Beam
 28.3
Owner
 Crawford, Andrew (1884)
Depth of Hold
 9.1
 
CASUALTY
   
Latitude
37°06N
Longitude
122°19W
WHERE
Point Ano Nuevo
STATE
CA
YEAR
1887
LAST PORT
CA, San Francisco
MONTH
04
DESTINATION
Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)
DAY
10
People on Board
8
TIME
0900
FATALITIES
3
CAUSE
Act of God
       
NATURE OF CASUALTY

The lee side of the deck was under water and I saw that we could not keep afloat long, so hoping to save life and property, I stood in for the beach. We struck at 0900, a strong wind was blowing and a heavy surf was rolling in, breaking over the ship immediately smashed to atoms. Nothing more could be done and I told the men that we must watch our chance and get ashore as we could on pieces of the vessel. Immediately after we struck she commenced to go to pieces, and every breaker took away some of the cargo and parts of the vessel, and soon the water in shore was a mass of floating wreckage. A party of citizens tied ropes aroung their waists and risked their lives in attempt to help the crew through the breakers.