1918 — Dec 19, tanker George Loomis departs S.F., CA for OR, storm, sinks off so. OR –18-19

–18-19 Blanchard on estimated fatality range.

–19 Berkeley Daily Gazette, CA. “Fear S.F. Tanker Loomis is Lost.” 1-2-1919, p. 1.
–19 Pacific Marine Review. “Given Up as Lost.” February 1919, p. 155.
–19 Seamen’s Journal. “Pacific Coast Marine.” Vol. 32, No. 19, San Francisco, 1-15-1919, p. 5.
–18 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p, 211.
–18 Grover. The Unforgiving Coast: Maritime Disasters of the Pacific Northwest. 2002, p. 158
–18 Oakland Tribune. “Oil Tanker Loomis Still Vainly Sought,” Jan 3, 1919, p. 11.
–18 U.S. Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States…1919, p. 449.

Blanchard note: We find no way to determine which source noted below is definitive as to fatalities. The US Bureau of Navigation was apparently inaccurate as to approximate location of the loss. It notes off Blunts Reef Light, which is approximately 200 miles down the coast from where the Loomis was spotted “weathering” a heavy storm off Coos Bay, OR, and about 160 miles south of where some wreckage washed ashore at Port Orford, OR. Additionally we have found other instances where the fatalities noted by the Bureau of Navigation were definitely inaccurate. Thus we do not view the source as unquestionably reliable. Not knowing which source is correct we choose to employ a range of deaths of 18-19, which takes into account all sources.

We find the Seamen’s Journal and newspaper reporting on the Loomis being spotting in a storm off the southern Oregon coast and the discoveries of Loomis debris at Port Orford, OR more indicative of the location of the loss than the U.S. Bureau of Navigation reporting, which Berman appears to have followed as his source.

Narrative Information

Berman: “George Loomis…St.s…692 [tons]…1895 [built]…Dec 19 1918…Foundered…Off Blunts Reef Light, Calif. Steel vessel. All lives (18) lost.”

Grover: “Another long-lost ship was the venerable Standard Oil tanker George Loomis which went missing off the California-Oregon border in 1918 with no clue to the fate of her eighteen-man crew. So little is known about the fate of this ship that she had to be ruled out as a possible subject for inclusion in this book.” (Grover. The Unforgiving Coast: Maritime Disasters of the Pacific Northwest. 2002, p. 158.)

Pacific Marine Review: “The Standard Oil tanker George Loomis, from San Francisco for Coos Bay December 19, has been given up as lost, and there apparently is no hope that any of the crew have survived. The vessel last was sighted off the Oregon coast. Her crew was nineteen man. The Loomis was one of the older vessels of the Standard Oil Company, having been built at San Francisco in 1895. Her gross tonnage was 691; net. 401; length, 175 feet; beam, 27.4 feet, and depth, 16.5.” (Pacific Marine Review. “Given Up as Lost.” February 1919, p. 155.)

Seamen’s Journal: “The first hint as to the probable fate of the Standard Oil Company tanker George W. Loomis, which has been missing off the Oregon coast since December 19, was given by Captain Hall of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company’s steamer City of Topeka. Captain Hall said that while en route to Eureka from Portland and Coos Bay he encountered a large oil-covered area of water in the vicinity of Coos Bay. He said the appearance of the oil indicated it had been released in large amounts. The Loomis left San Francisco for Marshfield, Ore., with a cargo of 5500 barrels of gasoline and crude oil. The vessel was sighted off the Oregon coast by the steamer Washtenaw, which reported the Loomis was bucking a heavy gale but apparently was weathering the storm. The missing vessel carried a crew of nineteen and was in command of Captain E. E. Lapchie. It had a registered tonnage of 641 and was one of the first tankers built for the Standard Oil Company.” (Seamen’s Journal. “Pacific Coast Marine.” Vol. 32, No. 19, San Francisco, 1-15-1919, p. 5.)

U.S. Bureau of Navigation: Steel steamer George Loomis; 18 onboard; 18 fatalities; foundered; Dec. 19, 1918; off Blunts Reef Light, Cal. (U.S. Bureau of Navigation. Merchant Vessels of the United States…1919, p. 449.)

Newspapers

Jan 2, Berkeley Daily Gazette: “By United Press. Seattle, Wash., January 2. – The Standard Oil Company tanker George W. Loomis, with a crew of 19 men, last sighted off the Oregon coast by the steamer Washtenaw, is believed to be lost. The vessel left San Francisco for Coos Bay, Ore., December 19. The trip ordinarily requires eight hours [? Distance is over 500 miles]. Sighted off the Oregon coast 36 hours after sailing, the tanker has not been seen since….The George W. Loomis was commanded by Captain E. E. Lapchas. The majority of the crew lived in San Francisco….” (Berkeley Daily Gazette, CA. “Fear S.F. Tanker Loomis is Lost.” 1-2-1919, p. 1.)

Jan 3, Oakland Tribune: “Fear for the safety of the Standard Oil tanker George Loomis, 12 days overdue at Marshfield, Ore., from an Eastbay port, is changing to the conviction that the craft has joined the long list of ‘mystery’ ships which have voyaged forth upon the deep never again to make harbor. The waters of the Pacific for a distance of fifty miles from shore have been ‘zoned’ between the Golden Gate and the Blunt Reef light without securing trace of the missing vessel. Today quick speeding government craft have taken up the search. The route of the fleet of twenty coasters that hitherto had combed the sea for trace of the Loomis has been carefully mapped out by the masters of the government vessels with the object of going over every square mile of ocean within a fifty or one hundred-mile radius which has not been covered by other vessels.

Men Well Provisioned.

“Eastbay and San Francisco officials of the Standard Oil Company have reluctantly formed the belief that the Loomis foundered during the recent heavy storm, following a breakdown of her machinery. Many Eastbay shipping me yet entertain the belief, however, that the Loomis is afloat, but has been driven far off her course by head seas and heavy winds which, with crippled machinery, she was unable to cope with. These men suggest that the vessel has been carried toward the Hawaiian islands and may be making toward the port of Honolulu. Possibility of the ship’s being picked up by a transpacific liner is also advanced. The tanker left port with ten days supply of fresh provisions and a month’s supply of tinned stores, so if she still floats the men are well provisioned.
Roster of Crew

“Following is the roster of the officers and crew of the Loomis, supplied by the Standard Oil Company:

Captain E. E. Lapchis.
George Jensen, first mate.
Ernest Lorensen, second mate.
K. Peterson, pumpman.
Harry Johansen, seaman.
Three other seamen, names not known.
F Peterson, chief engineer.
L. N. Lackenour, first assistant engineer.
Clifford Bradley, second assistant engineer.
Three firemen, names not known.
William Letts, cook.
Eugene C. Marron, messman, Shipping Board apprentice.
Harry Turner, messboy, Shipping Board apprentice.
One wiper, name not known.”
(Oakland Tribune, CA. “Oil Tanker Loomis Still Vainly Sought,” Jan 3, 1919, p. 11.)

Feb 27, 1919, Alaska Daily Empire: “Port Orford, Ore., Feb 27. – A ship’s cabin bearing the name of the steamer George Loomis was found on the beach yesterday. The find is believed to be the first definite information of the fate of the oil tanker Loomis which disappeared several months ago.” (Alaska Daily Empire. “Evidence Received of Wreck Thought to be the Loomis.” 2-27-1919, p. 4.)

June 1, 1919, Oregon Daily Journal: “By Jack Guyton. Port Orford, May 31. – Recent discovery of wreckage of the lost oil tanker George Loomis at Agate Beach, near Port Orford, is taken as conclusive evidence that the missing vessel was wrecked on Cape Blanco reef, and at the same time recalls the stories of many shipwrecks which have occurred on the Southern Oregon coast in past years….

“The disappearance of the George Loomis was one of the marine mysteries of the past year. Last December the tanker, laden with a cargo of oil, was bound for Coos Bay. After the vessel left San Francisco and was known to have been some distance north, a violent storm came up and the Loomis dropped from sight….Recently wreckage came ashore at Agate Beach. There was found the sign bearing the name George Loomis which had been attached to the side of the tanker. This and other wreckage bore no sign of having been burned, and the theory that the Loomis was destroyed by an explosion and fire was discredited. On the sign were barnacles, which indicated that it had been under water.

“Those familiar with the beach say that the fact that the wreckage came ashore at Agate Beach is certain evidence that the vessel struck Blanco reef and went down, probably in the night during the storm. Nothing is ever washed ashore at Agate Beach unless it comes from Blanco reef, because of the currents at that spot….” (Oregon Daily Journal, Portland. “Southern Oregon Coast Graveyard For Many Ships.” 6-1-1919, p. 14.)

Sources

Alaska Daily Empire. “Evidence Received of Wreck Thought to be the Loomis.” 2-27-1919, p. 4. Accessed 2-17-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/juneau-alaska-daily-empire-feb-27-1919-p-4/

Berkeley Daily Gazette, CA. “Fear S.F. Tanker Loomis is Lost.” 1-2-1919, p. 1. Accessed 2-17-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/berkeley-daily-gazette-jan-02-1919-p-1/

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Grover, David H. The Unforgiving Coast: Maritime Disasters of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis: Oregon State University, 2002.

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Oil Tanker Loomis Still Vainly Sought,” Jan 3, 1919, p. 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=105390023

Oregon Daily Journal, Portland. “Southern Oregon Coast Graveyard For Many Ships.” 6-1-1919, p. 14. Accessed 2-17-2022 at: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6320768/wreck-of-the-tanker-george-loomis/

Pacific Marine Review. “Given Up as Lost.” February 1919. Accessed 2-17-2022 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pacific_Marine_Review/EYc9AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=george%20loomis

Seamen’s Journal. “Pacific Coast Marine.” Vol. 32, No. 19, San Francisco, 1-15-1919. Accessed 2-17-2022 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Seamen_s_Journal/xDwtAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=george%20loomis

United States Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. Fifty-First Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States…For the Year Ended June 30, 1919. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1920. Accessed at : http://www.archive.org/stream/merchantvessels01unkngoog#page/n6/mode/1up