T.W. Lake

T.W. LakeatPier 3, Seattle,1915 or earlier.
History
Name	T.W. Lake
Owner	La Conner Trading & Trans. Co.,others later
Builder	T.W. Lake
Completed	1896
Out of service	1923
Identification	US registry #145700
Fate	Lost with all hands inRosario Strait.
General characteristics
Type	Inland steamboat
Tonnage	191 gross tons
Length	96.5 ft (29.41 m)
Beam	24.9 ft (7.59 m)
Installed power	Twin compound steam engines, developing about 100 hp (75 kW); later 45 hp (34 kW) twin diesel engines.
Propulsion	Twin propellers
Notes	Reconstructed from hulk of steamerAnnie M. Pence

T.W. Lakewas a steamboat that ran onPuget Soundin the early 1900s. This vessel was lost with all hands on December 5, 1923 in one of the worst disasters of thePuget Sound Mosquito Fleet.

Career

T.W. Lakewas built in 1896 by the T.W Lake shipyard for the firm ofJoshua Greenand associates, who had incorporated as theLa Conner Trading and Transportation Company(LCT&T). The vessel had a wooden hull and works, and was intended to operate as a freighter. The hull was salvaged from the sternwheelerAnnie M. Pence,which had burned in 1895. In 1903, the vessel passed into the control of thePuget Sound Navigation Co.( "PSN" ) after that company purchased LCT&T. In 1905 PSN sold the freighter to theMerchants Transportation Company.In 1916T.W. Lakewas fitted withBarlow freight elevator.In 1918 the vessel was completely reconstructed from the boiler room forward. The steam engines were removed and were replaced by twoFairbanks-Morse45 horsepower (34 kW) diesel engines.

Lost with all hands

On December 5, 1923, operating in theSan Juan Islands,T.W. Lakewas en route fromRoche HarbortoAnacortes, Washingtonwith a cargo of 700 barrels oflime,under Capt. Elmore Ellsworth Mason and chief engineer Joseph Larsen. CrossingRosario Strait,at 7:15 p.m., the freighter encountered wind speeds of 72 miles per hour, and foundered offLopez Island.All fourteen (14) men aboard were lost.News clippings state 15 Men, after some research one crew member did not board the vessel.(T.Hughes)

References

• Newell, Gordon R., ed.,H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest,Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (1966)
• Newell, Gordon R.,Ships of the Inland Sea,Superior Publishing (2nd Ed. 1960).
• Wright, E.W.,Lewis & Dryden's Marine history of the Pacific Northwest,Lewis & Dryden Printing Co., Portland, OR (1995)
• US Steamboat Inspection Service,Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector Generalfor fiscal year ending June 30, 1924.(accessed 06-02-11)