#551 Omen and Novices

 

Fun Fact #551

        Omens and Novices

When The Callam Steamship was launched on April 15th 1903 the Champane bottle missed having to be swung a second time, only to be followed by the traditional Flag unfurling to be done incorrectly, revealing the flag in distress (Upside down) scaring away most of the seasoned –yet superstitious– sailors at the time. 

Despite this all was well on The Callam for a time, as she made her way along the coast. Yet on the morning of January 8th 1904, the Bellsheep which guided other livestock aboard the vessel refused to board, and after delaying departure for a time, they gave up and left the bell sheep, and yet 2 more seasoned sailors behind in Seattle resulting in a crew which had less than a year’s worth sailing between them.

Later that night Captain Roberts was awakened by the listing of the vessel and went to the Pilot house where he learned via speaking tube from the ship’s chief engineer that a deadlight was found smashed below decks. To put it simply, this was bad since The deadlight was what covered portholes to prevent water from entering the ship which –despite efforts to plug it– now had water gushing in at an alarming rate. Worse yet both the pumps and their back-ups were found to be incorrectly installed, pumping water into the ship instead of out. Soon the water hit the ship’s furnace leaving it without power or heat as it started to drift into The Pacific Graveyard. 

A little while later, Edward E. Blackwood spotted the ship listing off the coast of Victoria Island. Word was sent out; The Callam was in danger. 

Meanwhile, onboard The Callam Captain Roberts went to use the ship's rescue flares, only to find they had been removed to store boiler tools, resulting in panic spreading amongst the crew as the ship began to accelerate in sinking. The order was given to abandon ship and all three lifeboats were filled with the women and children and launched. Almost immediately tragedy struck as the inexperienced crew launched two of the boats too close to the hull during the storm, resulting in them capsizing and being run over by the ship itself. Finally the 3rd lifeboat was launched successfully, only for a panicked sailor to scream not to leave him as he jumped into the boat crushing a woman’s skull in the process which terrified others in the boat resulting in it tipping over as well. Since they were still so close to the ship, some of the sailors tried to save the families but were ultimately unsuccessful. No one tried to save the sailor who jumped despite his pleas as tried swimming alongside the vessel for a time. 

Later that night the people who had stayed onboard were rescued and Chief Engineer Delany had his license revoked for removing the flares. Thanks to this incident, new international laws were put in place to require a percentage of crews to have a certain number of hours and a certification before any commercial voyages could be undertaken which helps protect international shipping, cruises, and travel today.