SS Florizel
Passenger Liner · Newfoundland · Lost 1918 · Newfoundland
A celebrated Red Cross Line passenger steamer wrecked in a February gale near Cape Race, killing 94 including a young girl memorialized by a Peter Pan statue in St. John's.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
SS Florizel was the flagship of Bowring Brothers' Red Cross Line, built specifically for icy North Atlantic service between Newfoundland and New York. On the night of February 23, 1918, she left St. John's into a worsening storm, and in the early hours the captain misjudged his position and turned the ship toward the coast. Florizel struck a reef near Cappahayden and broke apart over the following day as rescuers struggled through the gale to reach survivors. The disaster, and controversy over the decision to sail, made it one of Newfoundland's most remembered maritime tragedies.
Vessel
- 1909
- C. O'Connell & Company Ltd.
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Steel
- 305.5 ft
- 43.1 ft
- 3081
- Steam, single screw
- Bowring Brothers / Red Cross Line
Loss
- February 24, 1918
- Grounding
- Horn Head Point, near Cappahayden, Newfoundland
- North Atlantic Ocean
- St. John's, Newfoundland → Halifax and New York, via Cape Race
- General freight and mail
- 138
- 94
- William Martin
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 46.85° N 52.94° W
- Approximate position
- Cappahayden, Newfoundland
Position at Horn Head Point near Cappahayden as commonly cited in secondary sources.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Canadian Disaster Database, Public Safety Canada
Casualty figures, date, and location of loss.
Admiralty House Communications Museum
Narrative account of the voyage and sinking.
