Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs

On the foggy, moonless night of September 8, 1923, fourteen destroyers of Destroyer Squadron Eleven were running south from San Francisco to San Diego at 20 knots, a speed run meant to test the Navy's newest ships and their crews. Less than five minutes after a fatal turn to port, seven of them were wrecked on the rocks of Honda Point, California, in what remains the largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy vessels in history.

23 US Navy servicemen lost their lives. They were:

From USS Young

Buchan, Ralph Kenneth

Duncan, Earl

Grady, Everett William

Harrison, Earnest Carl

Jones Ernest

Kirby, Edward Clinton

Kirk, Henry Thompson

Martin, James Tidwell

Morris, Wade Hampton

Overshiner, Gordon Jerome

Reddoch, Clitus Allen

Rogers, Leo Floyd

Salzer, Charles Alfred

Skipper, Hugh Woodfan

Slimak, Joseph John

Taylor, Max H.

Torres, Enrique

Van Schaack, Vern Russell

Young, John

Zakrzewski, August

USS Delphy

Conway, James Wheaton H.

Dalida, Sofronio

Pearson, James Watson

Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at ⁠⁠⁠shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠⁠.

Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. You can find him at ⁠⁠⁠⁠seansigfried.com⁠⁠⁠.⁠

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From the world of maritime history, marine archaeology, and maritime news, This Week in Shipwrecks beings you the following stories from the past week:

Ten Missing After Cargo Ship Sinks Near Istanbul

A Ferry Disaster Off Cyprus

Another Ferry Goes Down in the Aegean Sea

An 18th-Century Mystery Emerges From the Yucatán

Tugboat Sinks Off South Korea

World War I Shipwrecks Become Part of a Turkish Commemoration

The Titanic Discovery Turns 41

A WWII Hospital Ship Has Become a Marine Neighborhood

Did Archaeologists Find the Graves of the Royal Anne Galley Victims?

Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at ⁠⁠⁠shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠⁠.

Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. You can find him at ⁠⁠⁠⁠seansigfried.com⁠⁠⁠.⁠

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👉Subscribe on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Faded Luxury: The Sinking of the Principessa Mafalda

On October 25, 1927, off the coast of Brazil, one of Italy's grandest ocean liners took over four hours to sink, in clear weather, calm seas, in daylight, with rescue ships already alongside.

The Principessa Mafalda had carried tens of thousands of Italian emigrants across the Atlantic for nearly two decades, and was a symbol of national pride on the Genoa-Buenos Aires run. But by 1927, she was a tired ship on what should have been her final voyage that was plagued by breakdowns, food spoilage, and a mysterious list to port that nobody explained to the passengers. When her propeller shaft finally failed near the Abrolhos Islands, what followed was four hours of chaos, panic, and preventable death, followed by a government-shaped press cover-up and an official inquiry that never asked the hard questions.

314 people perished that day, including many by shark attack. The wreck has never been found, and a century later, the Principessa Mafalda remains one of history's least-remembered maritime disasters, despite being the deadliest peacetime shipping catastrophe the Southern Hemisphere has ever seen.

Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at ⁠⁠shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠.

Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. You can find him at ⁠⁠⁠seansigfried.com⁠⁠.⁠

**🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES + MERCH**

👉Subscribe on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠

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👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠⁠

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This Week in Shipwrecks is the weekly maritime news series of Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs.

Here are the stories you will hear in this episode:

The wreck of the Altalena was discovered off the coast of Israel

The German vessel LS-6 has turned up in the Ionian Sea

17th century treasure ship of King Charles I has (possibly) been found

The August 22, 2026 shipwreck of the ore carrier MV Ocean Winner

A Medieval Ship Hiding in a German Basement

International Day for Underwater Cultural Heritage

Wisconsin's Citizen Shipwreck Hunters Go Looking Again

The USS Macon Has Become an Underwater Neighborhood

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👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠⁠

👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠⁠

Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs is written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, transcripts, and merchandise can be found at ⁠shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠.

Original theme music is by Sean Sigfried and you can find him at ⁠seansigfried.com⁠.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The aging barque Annie C. Maguire wrecked just 100 feet from the Portland Head Light, in suspicious circumstances, on Christmas Eve, 1886. Lighthouse Keeper Joshua Strout and his family heroically rescued all aboard, and then were promptly eaten out of house and home. The Strout family served at the Portland Head Light for over 100 years.

Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano. All episodes, images, and sources can be found at ⁠shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠.

Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. You can find him at ⁠⁠seansigfried.com⁠.⁠

**🎧 LISTEN AD-FREE + BONUS EPISODES + MERCH**

👉Subscribe on Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/patreon⁠⁠

👉Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com/apple⁠⁠

👉Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! ⁠⁠https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com⁠⁠

👉You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices