Stranded

by Aaron Saunders

  There is also no substitute for actually travelling to Alaska. Over the course of writing this book I made four trips north, travelling to Skagway and Juneau multiple times on numerous ships in my attempts to sail the waters of Lynn Canal as much as possible. It’s a curious stretch of water, and the more I sailed it the more it unsettled me. The winds that whip down that canal, from the ghost town of Dyea, can catch you off guard even in the middle of July.

  For those who are travelling to southeast Alaska, there are some fabulous bookstores that still dedicate themselves to providing interesting publications on the unique history of Alaska. They are:

  Hearthside Books: 254 Front Street, Juneau, Alaska

  Old Harbor Books: 201 Lincoln Street, Sitka, Alaska

  Parnassus Books: 105 Stedman Street, Ketchikan, Alaska.

  Skaguay News Depot & Books: 264 Broadway Street, Skagway, Alaska

  Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank those who gave their encouragement, lent a hand, or just humoured me as I stayed up until all hours sifting through articles and redrawing deck plans. Special thanks for their kind support and assistance during the production of this book — which is a bit like giving birth to a child — go to: Brad Ball, Margaret Bryant, Camille Drevillon, Carrie Gleason, Cheryl Hawley, Peter Knego, Aileen Laurel, Karen McMullin, Kimberly Plumridge, Adrian Raeside, Cheyenne Sanchez, Maureen and Peter Saunders, Alicia Saunders, and Caitlyn Stewart.

  Copyright © Aaron Saunders, 2015

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purpose of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

  Editor: Cheryl Hawley

  Design: Courtney Horner

  Cover Design: Courtney Horner

  Cover image: Aaron Saunders

  Back cover image: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-133388

  Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy

  Unless otherwise noted all photos were taken by the author.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Saunders, Aaron, 1982-, author

  Stranded : Alaska’s worst maritime disaster nearly

  happened twice / Aaron Saunders.

  Includes index.

  Issued in print and electronic formats.

  ISBN 978-1-4597-3154-7 (paperback).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3155-4 (pdf).--

  ISBN 978-1-4597-3156-1 (epub)

  1. Princess Sophia (Ship). 2. Star Princess (Ship). 3. Shipwrecks--

  Alaska--Pacific Coast. I. Title.

  G530.P83S29 2015 909.09164’34 C2015-900899-9

  C2015-900900-6

  We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and Livres Canada Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

  Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

  J. Kirk Howard, President

  The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content unless they are owned by the publisher.

  Visit us at: Dundurn.com | @dundurnpress | Facebook.com/dundurnpress | Pinterest.com/dundurnpress