Wreck: The SS Princess Sophia
An exhibit chronicling the untimely demise of the SS Princess Sophia sets sail at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia with an opening reception today, nearly 100 years after the Sophia sank.
The commemorative exhibit, SS Princess Sophia: The Unknown Story of the Largest Marine Disaster along the Pacific Northwest Coast, follows the career of the ship, which sank in Alaska after 40 hours stuck on Vanderbilt Reef, on its way back to its home port of Victoria.
Some refer to the Princess Sophia tragedy as the Titanic of the West Coast.
Built in 1911, the steamship was named for Princess Sophia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of Emperor Frederick III of Germany.
She was commissioned during a time of major growth for the Canadian Pacific Railroad, one of eight Princess ships and two tugs built for service on the West Coast between 1910 and 1914.
The Sophia was designed and built to service remote northern communities up to Alaska between May and October. During the winter months, she spent her time carrying passengers and freight between Victoria and Vancouver. With a gross tonnage of 2,320, the 75-metre-long ship could carry up to 500 passengers (with special permission).
She sank on Oct. 25, 1918, with the loss of more than 350 passengers and crew members — there were no survivors. The sinking at Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Alaska, was the worst maritime accident in British Columbia and Alaska.
The exhibit brings together artifacts and archival documents from multiple organizations, including the Alaska State Museum and the Vancouver Maritime Museum, for the first time since the artifacts were salvaged from the wreck.
The opening reception, which begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight, features remarks from Bill Morrison and Ken Coates, co-authors of The Sinking of Princess Sophia: Taking the North Down with Her (Oxford, 1990).
Viewing of the exhibit is included with general admission to the museum: $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $5 for youth 12 to 17 and free for children 12 and under. The exhibit runs until March 11.
The museum, at 634 Humboldt St., is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday until Victoria Day.
For more information, go to mmbc.bc.ca/events.