Passenger Steamer Dix Wrecksite

Did tragedy strike the Passenger Steamer Dix? Absolutely. The year was 1906. A seemingly ordinary evening turned catastrophic. The Passenger Steamer Dix, a vital vessel of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet, met a tragic end. Imagine the bustling Colman Dock on November 18th. The Dix, a 102.5-foot-long steamboat, departed, carrying 77 souls towards Port Blakely. This wasn’t just a ferry; it was a lifeline connecting Seattle to its surrounding communities. The Passenger Steamer Dix was known for its speed, making nineteen trips daily across Elliott Bay to Alki Point. However, this particular journey turned fatal. As the Dix sailed past Alki Point, Captain Percy Lermond left the pilothouse to collect fares, a common practice then. The helm was left to First Mate Charles Dennison. Unfortunately, Dennison was unlicensed. He steered the Passenger Steamer Dix directly into the path of the much larger steamer Jeanie. The Jeanie, ten times the Dix’s size and laden with iron ore, was unavoidable. The impact capsized the Passenger Steamer Dix. It sank rapidly in 600 feet of water. The cries of trapped passengers echoed through the night as the Dix disappeared beneath the waves. Only 38 survived, plucked from the frigid waters. The remaining passengers, including Dennison, perished, trapped within the sinking vessel. The disaster left Port Blakely, the Dix’s destination, devastated. The mill, the town’s lifeblood, shut down for the first time in its history. The loss of the Passenger Steamer Dix remains the worst maritime disaster in Puget Sound’s history. A memorial at Duwamish Head now stands as a solemn reminder. It commemorates the lives lost on that fateful night. The wreck of the Passenger Steamer Dix rests on the seafloor. A chilling testament to a preventable tragedy. It serves as a grave site for those who never reached their destination.