The SS ''Caracas'' (1881–1889) was a coastal passenger steamship built by

William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) was an American shipbuilding company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1830 by William Cramp. During its heyday in late 19 ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She was the older sister ship to the ''

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

''. Both ''Caracas'' and ''

'' (which sank in 1906, and seen after then as a ghost ship) served from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. The short life of ''Caracas'' ended in 1889, when she ran aground in

Yaquina Bay Yaquina Bay ( ) is a coastal Estuary, estuarine community found in Newport, Oregon. Yaquina Bay is a semi-enclosed body of water, approximately 8 km2 (3.2 mi2) in area, with free connection to the Pacific Ocean, but also diluted with fre ...

under the name ''Yaquina Bay''.

History

Red D Line Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to Orange (colour), orange and opposite Violet (color), violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the ...

had operated a line of sailing vessels to

since 1839, which continued for almost 40 years. In the summer of 1879, it was decided to convert this service to steamships. At first, three German steamships were chartered to begin these operations. however, it was recognized that a more permanent purpose built fleet was needed. As a result, the Red D Line ordered a pair of steamships from

. The first of the pair, ''Caracas'', was launched in 1881. She displaced around 1,589 tons and began her maiden voyage in June of 1881. The next year, her sister ship, the ''

'', joined ''Caracas'' on a route from

to the Venezuelan cities of Laguayra,

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the count ...

and

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. This journey took 26 days to complete and each ship ran it once per month carrying a combination of passengers, cargo and mail and were manned by American crews. Although identical to ''Caracas'', ''Valencia'' was shorter in overall length. From Caracas, the wooden steamer ''Maracaibo'' offered an extension service to the port of her namesake. Unlike ''Valencia'' and ''Caracas'' which flew the American flag, ''Maracaibo'' flew the British flag. Caracas wreck

In 1888, having only served 7 years with the Red D Line, ''Caracas'' was sold for $175,000 to T. Egenton Hogg of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company. She was renamed ''Yaquina Bay''. She was intended to serve between Yaquina City, Newport and

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where ''Yaquina Bay'' was to replace the earlier ''Yaquina City'', which had run aground a year earlier. The Oregon Pacific Railroad also operated a railroad line between Yaquina City through Corvallis. By having a combination of steamship and rail service through Yaquina City and Corvallis rather than the usual route through

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, over 300 miles could be cut from the journey between California and Chicago. With ''Yaquina Bay'' restarting the company's steamship service, travel time from California to Chicago could once again be shortened. Unfortunately, ''Yaquina Bay'' was to never see this ambitious service. While being delivered on December 9, 1888, ''Yaquina Bay'' broke free from the steamer which was towing her and ran aground at the bay of her namesake near the remains of ''Yaquina City'' and was declared a total loss. Having lost a considerable amount of money from the wreck, Hogg stopped his ambitious project and left Oregon a broken man. Local residents believed that the Portland-based companies purposely sabotaged both of Hogg's vessels, so as to prevent him from taking away potential customers from their business. ''Caracas'' sister ship, ''Valencia'', went on to serve with the Red D Line until 1898. In 1897, she survived a pre-meditated attack from the Spanish cruiser ''Reina Mercedes''. She became a coastal liner on the west coast of the United States, serving from

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

via

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. For a short period of time, ''Valencia'' served as a troopship for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. In January 1906, ''Valencia'' suffered a similar fate to the ''Caracas'' when she ran aground off

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. She was ripped apart and sunk by the pounding surf, killing 116 people.Belyk, Robert C. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. New York: Wiley, 2001.

References

External links

The pirate-turned-railroad-man had big plans for Newport – Off Beat Oregon
– An article explaining the ambitious plans of the Oregon Pacific Railroad and its owner T. Egenton Hogg.
Atlantic and Caribbean Steam Navigation Co. / Red "D" Line – TheShipsList
– Webpage explaining the fleet details of the Red D Line as well as some of its background history.

(In Spanish) – Webpage explaining a detailed history about the Red D Line and the SS ''Caracas''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caracas Steamships of the United States Passenger ships of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1881 ships Shipwrecks of the Oregon coast Maritime incidents in December 1888