Historic Shipwreck Profile
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| Wreck of La Feliz at Terrace Point, Santa Cruz, October 1924. Courtesy of Don Marshall. |
La Feliz |
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Steam Freighter |
Casualty Location: Santa Cruz (at present day Terrace Point), Santa Cruz County, California, USA
Location Status: Located (see Important Note)
Casualty Date: 1924 (Oct 1)
Owner: Linden Steamship Company
Home Port: San Francisco, California, USA
Length: 72.0 feet Beam: 18.9 feet
Gross Tonnage: 102 Cargo: canned sardines
Builder: J.A. Scribner (as Islander)
Launched: 1904 (Newhall, Washington, USA)
Official Number: 201240
Description: The steam freighter La Feliz, en route from Monterey to San Francisco with a cargo of 3000 cases of canned sardines, was caught in heavy seas and dashed against an outcropping of rocks off Santa Cruz, CA. A line thrown from shore to the vessel by Joe Alvarez (local baseball player and employee of Walti slaughterhouse) allowed all 13 crew to make shore. No lives were lost. Owned by the Linden Steamship Company of San Francisco, the vessel was valued at $30,000 and insured for $25,000. The mast is still standing against the cliff at Terrace Point, Santa Cruz (Griggs 2020).
The vessel was built in 1904 as the freight and passenger steamer Islander by J.A. Scribner in Newhall, Washington. Ownership of the Islander changed several times between 1917-1921 (Andrew Newhall, Helm & Co., Fred Hooper, Knapp & Baxter, Frank P. Helm, Charles Schmitz or Schmidts); and its career included the San Juan Islands mail route (~1904-1914), a brief stint with the U.S. Army (Oct 1917), and in the Mexican coast trade (1917-1921). The details of its name change after 1921 are unknown. According to the Santa Cruz Evening News (16-Aug-1923), the steamer La Feliz (owner unknown) arrived in Monterey from San Francisco on its maiden trip. In July 1924, the La Feliz (Linden Steamship Company) listed Santa Cruz as a port stop every Wednesday and Saturday, and at Moss Landing and Monterey twice a week (Santa Cruz Evening News, 14-Jul-1924).
Nature of Casualty:
Source: San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, CA), 3 October 1924, p.16, cols.2-5.
Courtesy of Newspapers.com.
Transcription:
13 LUCKY FOR CREW AND DOG, NOT FOR SHIP
Victims of Wrecking of Motor Schooner La Feliz Saved by Life Line in Night Crash
SANTA CRUZ, Oct. 2.—Thirteen sailed and thirteen were saved. Whether the omen was lucky or unlucky is still puzzling the crew of the little motor schooner La Feliz, pounding to pieces in the surf two miles north of Santa Cruz light, where she was tossed last night by the waves and from which the men were rescued by a freak of the sea and a lucky cast of a line from the cliffs.
Badly battered by her first impact upon the rocks, the vessel began breaking up soon after daylight and Captain G. Eliason and his crew, waiting only to change to dry clothing provided by Sheriff H. V. Trafton, hurried back to the scene in an attempt to salvage the 3,000 cases of sardines which made up the cargo.
Only one man was injured as the result of the near-miracle which saved the lives of the crew. Alec Lopez, second engineer, broke his left arm in the first crash, but came through the surf on the life line with the others. Even "Biscuits," the fox terrier mascot, was brought ashore with no more than a wetting and the loss of his prestige as a mascot to worry about.
Captain Eliason believes the disaster was caused by the mistake of an experienced hand at the wheel as the vessel hugged the shore to avoid a heavy sea on her way from Monterey to San Francisco. He is full of praise for Joe Alvarez, whose skillful cast of a line over the wreck made the rescue possible and for Will Gomez, who assisted him in hauling in the heavier line over which all were saved. He is full of wonder, too, at the trick of the sea which cast his vessel within reach of the line after impaling her too far out to be touched.
Half stunned by the blow as a giant comber flung them upon the outlying rocks, they had given themselves up as lost when a second huge wave picked them up again and carried them to within twenty-five yards of the shore cliffs. After that, with resourceful men both ashore and afloat, the rescue was comparatively easy.
The vessel, a craft of forty-eight tons net, was owned by the Linden Steamship Company of San Francisco. She was valued at $30,000 and insured for $25,000. The crew, all of whom live in San Francisco, are: A. Jacobson, first mate; E. Handyside, second mate; Theodore Markeley, chief engineer; Alec Lopez, second engineer; Fred Johnson, Gus Johansen, Clarence Luce, Joseph E. Berger, Antone Jacobsen, Ernest Zankis, Carl Hallen and James Smith, cook.
Schooner La Feliz Pounding to Pieces Off Santa Cruz
This remarkable photo, taken yesterday, shows the wreck of the motor Schooner La Feliz in the surf two miles north of Santa Cruz light, where she struck Wednesday night. The lucky passing of a line to the ship from shore saved the 13 persons on board.
Additional Information: Wreck Event
(click headline to access full article)
Source: Santa Cruz Evening News (Santa Cruz, CA), 2 October 1924, p.1, cols.3-5.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
Transcription:
Steamer La Feliz Pounding To Pieces; Kind Fate And Heroic Acts Save Twelve From Perishing
Additional Information: Vessel
(click headline to access full article)
Source: The San Juan Islander (Friday Harbor, WA), 21 May 1904, p.1, cols.2-3.
Courtesy of Newspapers.com.
Transcription:
Source: Santa Cruz Evening News (Santa Cruz, CA), 16 August 1923, p.6, col.4.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
Transcription:
The steamer “La Feliz” arrived in Monterey on Tuesday from San Francisco on its maiden trip. The boat is to call at Monterey regularly and will specialize in carrying sardines.
Source: Santa Cruz Evening News (Santa Cruz, CA), 14 July 1924, p.5, col.4.
Courtesy of California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside.
Transcription:
LINDEN STEAMSHIP CO. ENTERS LOCAL FIELD
Referenced and Additional Resources
- Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1905. Thirty-seventh Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. Washington, Government Printing Office. p.249.
- Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1924. Fifty-sixth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. Washington, Government Printing Office. p.62.
- Griggs, G. 2020. Our Ocean Backyard: County avoids spate of shipwrecks. Santa Cruz Sentinel 26 September 2020.
- Reinstedt, R.A. 1975. Shipwrecks and Sea Monsters of California’s Central Coast. Ghost Town Publications, Carmel, CA. 168pp.
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For a complete “official text" of MBNMS regulatory prohibitions, see Title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 922.132 published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.