Dix (ship)

**Dix** p1
Ship data
flag	United States
Ship type	ferry
home port	Seattle
Shipping company	Seattle and Alki Point Transportation Company
Shipyard	Crawford and Reid, Tacoma
Launch	1904
Whereabouts	Sunk on November 18, 1906 after a collision
Ship dimensions and crew
length	31 m ( Lüa )
width	6 m
Draft	Max. 2.3 m
measurement	130 GRT
crew	6 men
Machine system
machine	Steam engine
Top ; speed	10.5 kn (19 km / h)
propeller	1
Rigging and rigging
Number of masts	3
Transport capacities
Permitted number of passengers	150

The Dix was a ferry of the US shipping company Seattle and Alki Point Transportation Company, which was used between 1904 and 1906 for passenger transport in Puget Sound . She was part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet , a large fleet of passenger and cargo ships , which in regular scheduled service linking the cities on Puget Sound with one another and represented a time of major transport links in the region.

On November 18, 1906, the Dix collided two miles north of Alki Point , the westernmost point in the city of Seattle , with the schooner Jeanie , which was ten times its size . The ship sank five minutes after the collision, 45 people were killed, including many women and children. The sinking is considered to be the worst shipwreck in Puget Sound and, after the Wellington train accident on March 1, 1910, with 96 deaths, is the biggest accident in the US state of Washington .

The ship

The 31 m long from wood -built ferry Dix was born in 1904 in the construction shipyard of Crawford and Reid in Tacoma (Washington). They were owned by ABC Dennison and WL Dudley, who owned the Seattle and Alki Point Transportation Company . The Dix was built for the short distance from Elliott Bay (the bay on which the city of Seattle is located) to Alki Point, the westernmost point of the city bordering Puget Sound.

The Dix was supposed to replace the old Mosquito Fleet steamer Sarah M. Renton (137 GRT). The ship could carry up to 150 passengers on two decks . It was built very lightly and, above all, top-heavy, as it was very narrow and the superstructure was very high. The ship was refused twice to issue a seaworthiness certificate . Only after seven tons of gravel had been embedded in her hull and five tons of iron weights attached to her keel was the ship declared seaworthy. But even after that, the Dix was considered difficult to handle and tended to roll .

When the Dix was launched , an event occurred that was later regarded as a bad omen with regard to the fate of the ship : the Dix refused to slide down the ramps of the dock and had to be taken from the Fairfield by the Tacoma Tug & Barge Company under the Command of Captain Sutter to be pulled into the water.

The Dix began her service on the route intended for her Seattle-Alki Point, on which she commuted with the steamer Manette at regular intervals and for which she needed an average of 40 minutes. She made 19 trips a day. In early 1905 it was moved to the Tacoma – Olympia route. But since the Greyhound already served this route and covered it completely, the Dix returned to its original timetable that same year .

The last ride

beginning of the journey

On Sunday, November 18, 1906 at 7:24 p.m., the Dix departed from Colman Dock (now Washington State Ferry Terminal) in Seattle for another crossing. This time she didn't go to Alki Point, but was supposed to head for the small community of Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island . It temporarily replaced the Monticello , which was actually used on this route. The Dix had 77 passengers and six crew members on board and was under the command of Captain Percy A. Lermond, who had 13 years of experience as a pilot and skipper in the Puget Sound.

As the Maritime recorded, Lermond was not on the bridge , but below deck to ride card fees of passengers collect. Usually this was the job of a purser , but on smaller ships like the Dix it was quite common for the captain to do this job. First Officer Charles Dennison was given command.

The weather and the sea that evening were calm and clear. The steamer passed Alki Point in a westerly direction and ran out into Puget Sound at a constant speed of 10.5 knots. Captain Lermond retired to his cabin to count the receipts.

Collision and sinking

A mile from Cape Duwamish Head, the Dix crossed the course of the three-masted steam schooner Jeanie of the Alaska Coast Company. At 1,071 GRT, the Jeanie was almost ten times the size of the Dix and carried a large amount of iron ore. Charles Dennison, who later found out that he did not have a license as a helmsman in these waters , steered the Dix directly into the course of the Jeanie , who had the right of way and which Dix had been watching for several minutes. As a precaution, Captain Philip H. Mason on board the schooner had already reduced speed and sounded the ship's horn.

Dennison did not seem to notice and changed the course of the Dix to starboard , which brought her directly in front of the bow of the schooner. Mason had the engines put back to prevent a collision, but the Jeanie rammed her bow into the starboard side of the Dix . The shock on board the Dix was enormous. The ferry was split in two and hung heavily to port, forcing tons of seawater into the cabin windows and promenade decks. The weight of the water together with that of the ballast turned out to be fatal. The Dix quickly ingested large amounts of water and sank in 188 m deep water five minutes after the collision. In the short time it was not possible to distribute life jackets or launch lifeboats . Only the passengers on the upper deck had a chance; they were washed directly into the water.

Captain Lermond, who survived, described the sinking as follows: “The sight fascinated me with its horror. The lights were still on and I saw people in the cabins. The expression on the faces showed indescribable despair ... I heard screams, prayers, moans, the whining of a child and the shouts of all those who were desperately struggling to get on deck. "Lermond gave the time of the sinking at 7.42 pm.

The crew of the Jeanie , which was lying in the water without going, launched two lifeboats and threw ropes to the people in the water. One of the first ships on site was the steamer Florence K under the command of Captain Cyprian T. Wyatt. He took some survivors on board and took them to Port Blakely, where news of the accident had already alerted the community.

Aftermath

45 of the 83 passengers and crew on board were killed, including Charles Dennison, chief engineer George F. Parks and almost all the women and children on board. There may have been more casualties as there were no passenger lists and stowaways were not uncommon. One of the few female survivors was 13-year-old Alice Simpson, who, although unable to swim, was kept afloat by an air bubble under her skirt until she was rescued.

After the accident, not a single body was recovered; the passengers had been trapped below deck and gone down with the Dix . Apart from a fender , a raft and a life jacket , no debris was found either. The ship sank in waters so deep that it has not yet been found. It is believed that the Dix slipped into some sort of ravine or underwater canyon after sinking to the bottom.

Most of the passengers were from Port Blakely, which left the community in deep shock. The city lost many leading members. Numerous families had relatives to complain about. For the first time in its history, work came to a standstill in the city's large sawmill . The local schools were also temporarily closed. The citizens of the city tried in vain to have the wreck blown up so that the dead could be recovered.

Percy Lermond's captaincy license was temporarily revoked, but was later restored. He only commanded tugs and no longer passenger ships. He retired in 1933 and died in 1959 at the age of 90.

The accident also hit the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet hard, as these liners were one of Washington's main modes of transport, used by two million people annually. With the exception of the fall of the clallam two years earlier, there had rarely been an incident; the Mosquito Fleet was considered safe and reliable.

The United States Marine Inspection Service, chaired by Bion B. Whitney and Robert A. Turner, presented the final report of its investigation on December 15, 1906. Captain Mason of the Jeanie was absolved of all guilt. Instead, the first officer on duty of the Dix ¸ Charles Dennison was blamed for causing the accident , as he had disregarded Jeanie's right of way . It was also discovered that although Dennison was licensed as the first mate, he was not authorized to guide a ship through Puget Sound and therefore should not have been allowed to steer the Dix .