Ss. Princess sophia

[R58484957]

On of four sisters princesses Adelaide,Alice & Mary. Owned by Canadian Pacific. Built by Bow, Maclachan of Paisley at a cost of £51000. Finished in 1912. 2320 grt. Coal fired to start with and soon after her arrival in British Columbia changed to oil. She was steel built with a double hull.Delivery was by way of Cape Horn.On the the 23 October 1918 she left Skagway three hours late in a raging storm and eventually went aground on an unlit Vanderbilt reef. Many rescue boats arrived, but extremely bad weather made rescue attempts impossible. On the 26 10 1918 she sank with the loss of life of 364 souls. The only survivor was a dog which swam 4 miles to safety. It was and still is the worst accident in British Columbian history. Glasgow to BC at 14 knots 43 days. Dog waterproof coat and webbed feet extremely good swimmer, it was a Chesapeake retriever.