#vestris

Photos taken by Fred Hanson, a crew member on the S.S. Vestris, as it was sinking on November 12, 1928.

On November 10, 1928, Vestris left New York on a regularly-scheduled voyage to Buenos Aires. She was carrying 128 passengers and 196 crew members. However, as soon as the ship left port numerous men who worked in the engine room shoveling coal into the boilers–the “black gang”–realized there was a serious problem. One of the hatch doors through which coal was loaded in port was jammed partially open. This hatch was only 4 feet above the water line. Furthermore, the ship was severely overloaded with cargo, much of it badly stowed. This meant the ship was out of balance. Some in the crew tried to warn the captain, but for reasons not entirely clear these warnings were ignored.

The next day a gale began to blow in the Atlantic. Heavy seas slammed and rocked the Vestris, and each wave poured more water in through that open coal hatch. Almost all ships leak a little while at sea, but this was extraordinary; the pumps couldn’t keep up. All that day, Sunday, November 11, the men in the boiler rooms fought a losing battle to keep the ship afloat and the engines lit. Now they were demanding that the captain send an SOS because Vestris, listing heavily to one side, was clearly sinking. The captain ignored them until early Monday morning, by which time it was obvious the ship was going down and there was no way to stop it. Ironically the SOS signal that did go out badly misstated the ship’s position.

At about 11AM on November 12, with the gale still blowing, Captain William Carey finally gave the order to abandon ship. The poorly-trained crew bungled the job of getting the passengers off. Two of the first three lifeboats launched sank, ditching screaming women and children into the cold waters. Another lifeboat had severe leaks and was quickly swamped. Some of the boats that did get away were not fully loaded with passengers, stranding many still on the ship. Vestris herself sank beneath the waves at 2:00 PM. There were 215 survivors. Tragically, every one of the 13 children aboard the ship died. Captain Carey went down with the ship.

Keiki’s pretty sure he could take on a scorpion hawk. I’m leaving him to his delusions. 

And hey, as long as we’re at it, I might as well be a bondsmage. 

This Day (Yesterday) In Wrecks

1928:  The SS Vestris sinks after developing a starboard list and slowly capsizing.  Improper crew training and bad decisions impair the evacuation of the ship and over 110 people lose their lives.  A coal port left partially open in a storm is later decided to be the likely cause of the sinking.

"I hear the wind blowing across the desert and I see the moons of a winter night rising like great ships in the void. To them I make my vow: I will be resolute and make an art of government; I will balance my inherited past and become a perfect storehouse of my relic memories. And I will be known for kindliness more than for knowledge. My face will shine down the corridors of time for as long as humans exist."-Frank Herbert