8. SS Valencia
Built as an ocean liner for service between Venezuela and New York City in 1882, the Valencia was not the fastest and most reliable ship at the time, with quite primitive compartmentalization. In January 1906, the Valencia was scheduled on a San Francisco–Seattle route. On January 20th, full of passengers, the ship departed in clear weather conditions.
However, the day after, luck was not on the side of the Valencia; due to a storm, it was misled from its scheduled route. Everything got worse when the SS Valencia struck a reef near Pachena Point on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. Soon afterward, the ship started to flood; therefore, the captain’s orders were to abandon the ship. Seven lifeboats were available, but only one of them was properly lowered as a result of the panic that ensued. Three of the lifeboats flipped, and all of the occupants found themselves in the open sea. One of the few survivors described the scene as horrifying—people were screaming, trying to save themselves. Soon thereafter, the ship sunk, causing the death of almost all passengers. The remnants of the ship and the crew could be seen long after the incident by local fishermen; rowboats were seen rowed by skeletons of the ship’s many victims.
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