AH-WR-0913

SS Bertha

Passenger And Cargo Steamer · United States · Lost 1915 · The Inside Passage & Alaska

A gold rush-era steamer that survived storms and rocks for a quarter century before burning after grounding on a lime cargo in Uyak Bay.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in 1888, Bertha spent her first decade serving the Karluk Packing Co. cannery before the Alaska Commercial Company bought her for the Klondike gold rush trade in 1898. She weathered several close calls, including being blown far off course in an 1896 storm and striking rocks in 1902. On July 18, 1915, she stranded on a spit in Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island; seawater reaching her cargo of lime ignited a fire that consumed the wooden steamer.

Vessel

Built: 1888
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 185.5 ft
Beam: 32.5 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Karluk Packing Co. (to 1898); Alaska Commercial Company (1898-1906); Alaska Coast Co. (1906-1915)

Loss

Date: July 18, 1915
Cause: Fire
Location: Spit off the south point of Harvester Island, Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island
Water: Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island
Voyage: Uyak → Bristol Bay
Cargo: General merchandise including lime
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: No deaths are reported in the sources reviewed.
Master: Not established