AH-WR-0836

Babinda

Motorship · United States · Lost 1923 · San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

A wooden motorship gutted by an engine-room fire off Santa Cruz in 1923 that burned to the waterline and drifted south to sink off Point Sur.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Babinda was steaming north from San Pedro when fire broke out near her stern in the early hours of March 3, 1923. Captain Helge Maland ordered his 23-man crew to abandon ship once the blaze threatened the fuel tanks, and all were rescued by the steam schooner Celilo. The abandoned hull burned to the waterline, drifted south along the coast, and eventually sank off Point Sur, a total loss estimated at $200,000.

Vessel

Built: 1919
Registry: Official number 218986
Builder: Patterson & MacDonald Shipbuilding Company
Yard: Seattle, Washington
Material: Wood
Length: 268.7 ft
Beam: 48.5 ft
Tonnage: 3098
Propulsion: Motor vessel
Owners: Ocean Motorship Company

Loss

Date: March 3, 1923
Cause: Fire
Location: Off Point Sur, Monterey County, California (fire began off Santa Cruz)
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: San Pedro, California → San Francisco, California
Cargo: General cargo
Aboard: 23
Lives lost: 0
Master: Helge Maland

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Documented by Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary maritime heritage program

Position

Coordinates: 36.31° N 121.90° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Point Sur, Monterey County, California
Region: San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

General area only: coordinate of Point Sur from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.