The Princess Sophia and Other Alaskan Shipwrecks

The Sinking of the Princess Sophia: Taking the North Down with Her

Author: Ken Coates & Bill Morrison
Year: 1991
ISBN: 9780912006505

Abstract: At 2:00 A.M. on October 24, 1918, the Canadian Pacific steamer Princess Sophia, enroute from Skagway, Alaska to Vancouver and Victoria, ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef, leaving no survivors among 353 miners, businessmen, civil servants, their wives and children, as well as crew members. This social history traces many of their stories--how they had gone to the north, what they did there, why they were leaving that fall.

The Final Voyage of the Princess Sophia: Did They All Have to Die?

Author: Betty O'Keefe and Ian Macdonald
Year: 1998
ISBN: 9780938665618

Stranded: Alaska's Worst Maritime Disaster Nearly Happened Twice

Author: Aaron Saunders
Year: 2015
ISBN: 9781459731547

Abstract: "The sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamship Princess Sophia was Alaska's worst maritime disaster--until it nearly happened again. In 1918, the Canadian Pacific steamship Princess Sophia left Skagway, Alaska, on her last trip of the season to Vancouver. She never made it. Battered by a raging snowstorm and sent dangerously off-course, she ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef, a rocky shoal in Lynn Canal, North America's deepest and longest fjord. She would spend two days high and dry on the reef, with rescue ships standing by, unable to help, before she finally slid to her watery grave. Seventy-six years later, another ship--the modern Star Princess--finds herself off-course in Lynn Canal, and history nearly repeats itself. Weaving together events past and present, Aaron Saunders tells the story of two very different ships that set sail from Skagway at opposite ends of the century. Their common bond--the unassuming and often treacherous stretch of water known as Lynn Canal."-- Provided by publisher.

Disaster on Our Doorstep: How Juneau Responded to the Worst Shipwreck in North Pacific History

Author: by MaryLou Spartz with John Greely
Year: 2018
ISBN: 9781578337101

Abstract: A brief accounting of the rescue and recovery efforts surrounding the SS Princess Sophia sinking in 1918 on the Vanderbilt reef near Juneau, Alaska.

Alaska Shipwrecks, 1750-2015

Author: Captain Warren Good with Michael Burwell
Year: 2018
ISBN: 9781387981144

Abstract: "Alaska shipwrecks 1750-2015 is an encyclopedic accounting of all shipwrecks and losses of life in the Alaska Marine environment. Compiled and written by Captain Warren Good with research assistance and extensive consultation provided by maritime historian Michael Burwell this book is filled with a wealth of information for those interested in Alaska maritime history and the multitude of associated tragedies. Included are details of all known wrecks including vessel information, crew member and passenger names, locations, first hand descriptions of events and sources of all information. In addition, comprehensive comments by Captain Warren Good further elaborate on the location and disposition of many of the disasters."--from Lulu.com

Farallon: Shipwreck and Survival on the Alaska Shore

Author: Steve K. Lloyd
Year: 2000
ISBN: 9780874221930

The Ship, the Saint, and the Sailor: the Long Search for the Legendary Kad'yak

Author: by Bradley G. Stevens, PhD
Year: 2018
ISBN: 9781513261386

Abstract: "A history and memoir about a scientist's discovery of Alaska's oldest shipwreck, following his research into the Russian-American history of the ship to decoding the ship captain's notes, and to his underwater discovery and adventures. The book follows the academic process involved in shipwreck recovery as well as the ensuing legal battles the author has with other members of the discovery team over who owns the wreck site."--Provided by publisher.

Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son

Author: Mary F. Ehrlander
Year: 2017
ISBN: 9780803295902

Abstract: Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son illuminates the life of the remarkable Irish-Athabascan man who was the first person to summit Mount Denali, North America's tallest mountain. Born in 1893, Walter Harper was the youngest child of Jenny Albert and the legendary gold prospector Arthur Harper. His parents separated shortly after his birth, and his mother raised Walter in the Athabascan tradition, speaking her Koyukon-Athabascan language. When Walter was seventeen years old, Episcopal archdeacon Hudson Stuck hired the skilled and charismatic youth as his riverboat pilot and winter trail guide. During the following years, as the two traveled among Interior Alaska's Episcopal missions, they developed a father-son-like bond and summited Denali together in 1913.

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