Historic Shipwreck Profile
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| Wreck of J.B. Stetson at Cypress Point, September 1934. Courtesy of Robert Schwemmer Maritime Library. |
J.B. Stetson |
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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
Description: 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, 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. The schooner was valued at $25,000, with $5,000 of cargo; and only partially insured. It 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, McDonnell 2018).
Nature of Casualty:
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:
FREIGHTER HITS REEF IN DENSE FOG
Latest Victim of Local “Marine Graveyard”
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.
J.B. Stetson Is Breaking Up Off Cypress Point
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.
“Hoiday 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.
Additional Information: Wreck Event
(click headline to access full article)
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 4, 1934, p1, col 5.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
Transcription:
OLD LUMBER BOAT, J.B. STETSON LOST
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), September 5, 1934, p5, col 5.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.
Transcription:
Wrecked Vessel Attracts Crowds To Cypress Point
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA), September 5, 1934, p1, col 8.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
Transcription:
J. B. STETSON IS BREAKING UP ON CYPRESS POINT
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:
SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL
"J. B. Stetson” Stranded Off Cypress Point, Broke Up Yesterday
Additional Information: Vessel
(click headline to access full article)
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), September 4, 1934, p5, col 6-7.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.
Transcription:
J.B. Stetson Is Eleventh Vessel Wrecked On Local Coast In Last 100 Years
Source: Monterey Peninsula Herald (Monterey, CA), September 7, 1934, p2, col 3.
Courtesy of Monterey Public Library.
Transcription:
CONTRIBUTIONS FOR LIST OF SHIPWRECKS COMING IN
Referenced and Additional Resources
- Anonymous. 1916. The Winslow Marine Railway and Shipping Company. Pacific Marine Review 13(8):46-50.
- McDonnell, P. 2018. Stetson Locamotive. World Wide Web electronic publication. Accessed [2 July 2020].
- 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.
- Reinstedt, R.A. 1975. Shipwrecks and Sea Monsters of California’s Central Coast. Ghost Town Publications, Carmel, CA. 168pp.
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