The ''Cuba'' was a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

owned by the

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

. Originally launched in 1897 as the German SS ''Coblenz'', she was seized by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1917, and named SS ''Sachem'', until Pacific Mail purchased her from the

Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

on February 6, 1920, for US$400,000 and renamed SS ''Cuba''. Pacific Mail first used the ''Cuba'' to carry passengers and cargo between

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, then shifted to a San Francisco-to- Cristobal route. On the morning of September 8, 1923, The ship's radio was out. She had been navigating through a dense fog for several days. ''Cuba'' struck a reef just off San Miguel Island in the Santa Barbara Channel off Point Arguello of Santa Barbara County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. All aboard survived and were rescued by , a

Clemson class destroyer The ''Clemson'' class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II. The ''Clemson''-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Northro ...

that was accompanying the ships that were later involved in the Honda Point Disaster of the same day. 71 people were saved at 4:30am in fog. The ''Cuba'' was a total loss. The wreck is located at approximately .

References

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Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary: Maritime Heritage
Maritime incidents in 1923 History of Santa Barbara County, California Ships built in Hamburg Steamships of Germany Ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd Shipwrecks of the California coast Steamships of the United States World War I merchant ships of Germany World War I merchant ships of the United States 1897 ships {{Merchantship-stub