Cape Blanco was a site of several marine disasters. One such grounding was the S.S. Sinaloa which was documented in the lighthousekeeper logs at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse which were diligently kept by Keeper James Langlois (1917 being two years before he retired with 1st Assistant James Hughes assuming duties of keeper on March 29, 1919).
From the logs of James Langlois:
April 9: Fresh changeable winds showers Keepers engaged in clearing grass & sods from Walks. R. J. Nead sprained his ankle while on the beach at 4 P.M.
April 10: Fresh S.E. wind rain til 6.25 P.M. light S.W. winds rain & fog at intervals. A two masted Schooner (Gasoline) came to Anchor on the North side of the cape about 300 yards from shore. Name Tom & Al. The Captain Hansen claimed she was a fishing schooner from Seattle. Schooner Anchored at 1 A.M. departed at 6.40 PM
June 2: U.S.S. Monitor [?] and Two Submarines H1 and H2 Passed at 3 P.M. going SouthJune 15: Light changeable winds fogs til 8 P.M. S.W. wind fog. A large steam Schooner came ashore in a dense fog south of the Cape striking the bottom at 4.30 AM. The captain reports Ten feet of water in her after hole Cargo of Salt Petter.
July 12: Gale N.W. & N.E. fog. Wireless station placed out of commission at 12 M. this day.
July 19: Steamer Sinaloa was successfully pulled of the beach this morning and taken to Port Orford.
On December 19, 1919, the steamer J. A. Chanslor struck Pinnacle Reef northeast of the station and wrecked north of the mouth of Sixes River with a loss of 26 persons:
Tambaugh was no stranger to shipwrecks, nor to the section of the coast where the Chanslor was now aground. He had been radio operator on the Sinaloa when that vessel was wrecked off Cape Blanco in June 1917, and on that occasion had been rescued by the Coast Guard. The Sinaloa was salvaged, and returned to service.
The Unforgiving Coast: Maritime Disasters Of The Pacific Northwest
Read more of “The Unforgiving Coast” at the link above for a much more detailed account of the J.A. Chanslor shipwreck.
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