The sinking of the Canadian Pacific steamshipPrincess Sophia was Alaskas worst maritime disaster until it nearly happened again.

In 1918, the Canadian Pacific steamshipPrincess Sophia left Skagway, Alaska, on her last trip of the season to Vancouver. She never made it. Battered by a raging snowstorm and sent dangerously off course, she ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef, a rocky shoal in Lynn Canal, North Americas deepest and longest fjord. She would spend two days high and dry on the reef, with rescue ships standing by, unable to help, before she finally slid to her watery grave.

Seventy-six years later, another ship the modernStar Princess finds herself off course in Lynn Canal, and history nearly repeats itself. Weaving together events past and present, Aaron Saunders tells the story of two very different ships that set sail from Skagway at opposite ends of the century. Their common bond the unassuming and often treacherous stretch of water known as Lynn Canal.

Aaron Saunders writes about cruises and maritime history forThe Province,Canadian Traveller,Cruise& Travel Lifestyles,Shippax CFI, and many others. He is the founder of the website From the Deck Chair. When not at sea, he calls Vancouver home.

Contents

Introduction
Chapter One: The Rush to Skagway
Chapter Two: A Slow Trip Through Alaska Princess Sophia
Chapter Three: TheStar Princess Sets Sail
Chapter Four: The Storm Princess Sophia
Chapter Five: The Turn Star Princess
Chapter Six: The Accident Princess Sophia
Chapter Seven: The Turn Star Princess
Chapter Eight: Stranded On the Rocks Princess Sophia
Chapter Nine: Beaching theStar Princess
Chapter Ten: Those Last Minutes Princess Sophia
Chapter Eleven: Aftermath Confusion and Chaos
Chapter Twelve:Star Princess Sails On
Notes
Notes on Sources
Index