AH-WR-1448

Malahat

Schooner · Canada · Lost 1944 · The British Columbia Coast

The five-masted schooner known as the "Queen of Rum Row," which eluded the U.S. Coast Guard for over a decade before wrecking near Powell River, British Columbia, in 1944.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in Victoria in 1917 as a lumber schooner, Malahat was sold in 1923 and turned to rum-running, anchoring off the California coast at Rum Row loaded with tens of thousands of cases of Canadian liquor for over a decade while evading the U.S. Coast Guard. Bahamian and Pacific Coast rum-running trades made her legendary as the "Queen of Rum Row." After Prohibition ended she returned to lumber carrying, and in March 1944 she wrecked near Powell River, British Columbia. Her remains are now a protected heritage wreck.

Vessel

Built: 1917
Builder: Cameron Genoa Mills Shipbuilders Ltd.
Yard: Victoria, British Columbia
Material: Wood (Douglas fir)
Length: 246 ft
Beam: 43.75 ft
Tonnage: 1544
Propulsion: Twin Bolinder semi-diesels and sail; coal-fired steam boiler
Owners: Archibald McGillis (1923); General Navigation Co. (1929); Gordon Gibson Sr. (1934)

Loss

Date: March 23, 1944
Cause: Grounding
Location: Near Powell River, British Columbia
Water: Strait of Georgia, British Columbia
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 11-24
Condition: Roughly 60 meters of keel and starboard side frames remain on the seabed
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Automatically protected under British Columbia's Heritage Conservation Act as a heritage wreck