STORIED TREASURES
"FOR HISTORY, OR MYSTERY."
On June 26th, 2017 I set out on a day trip with friends and ended up down the street from the wreck of Bahama Star / La Janelle !
Lets check out the history of this wreck and take a look at her remains... now forever entombed in the Port Hueneme breakwater!​​​
FROM SEA to SEASHORE
The story of the shipwreck 'La Janelle'
THE 'S.S. BORINQUEN'
(1930-1949)
Constructed by the shipyards of Bethlehem Steelworks in Quincy, Massachusetts, the S.S. BORINQUEN was chiefly designed by shipwright Theodore E. Ferris to be a cargo/passenger liner, and to ferry said cargo and passengers between ports in the United States, and the Island Nation of Puerto Rico.
The vessel, which launched on September 24th, 1930, was 413 ft 7 in (126.1 m) long, 59 ft 8 in (18.2 m) wide, 23 ft 2 in (7.1 m) in draft, and weighed in at a modest 7,114 Tons.
Her powerplant consisted of 4 Oil fired tube boilers, which provided steam to a single, impulse-reaction type, reduction geared turbine. The ships powerplant provided about 6,500hp, which was then fed into her electric turbines, and into a reduction gear that turned her single propeller at a modest, but brisk, 17.5 knots.
THE PORTO RICO STEAMSHIP COMPANY
(Original flyer for the S.S. Borinquen Circa 1940)
Similar in design and spec to the steamship lines S.S. Coamo, it took little to no time before she became paired with the former on the run from New York to Puerto Rico under the banner of the "PORTO RICO STEAMSHIP COMPANY."
Though the same size as her running mate, the Borinquen was sleeker and (by some reports) far more spacious than S.S. Coamo. With amenities such as a film projector for movies, lounge dancing to the ships orchestra, and a tea room for the ladies, it didn't take long for the S.S. Borinquen to become a fan favorite on the route.
~ THE WAR YEARS~
1941-1945
During World War II the Borinquen was requisitioned for service as a troop transport by the United States War Shipping Administration on 31 December 1941. She operated under charter for the WSA under her new designation "U.S.A.T (United States Armed Transport) Borinquen and operated primarily in the North Atlantic. Her career as a transport saw her traversing the perilous U-boat infested waters of the North Atlantic, and West Coast of Africa numerous times.
The vessels capacity for 1,289 troops and 404 medical patients earned her a mark for efficiency as a transport, and all-but guaranteed her involvement in the Allied Invasion of Normandy in 1944. The USAT Borinquen arrived off the shores of France on June 7th, 1944, with a fresh load of relief troops and supplies for the Allied forces ashore.
Following the Normandy Invasion, the Borinquen was largely relegated to running cargo, supplies, and troops between Belfast, Ireland, and Liverpool, England. She jumped from Liverpool to new York, then Southampton, England, to La Havre, where she ran more 'shuttle runs' until August 1945.
THE S.S. PUERTO RICO
1949 - 1954
Following her return to the PORTO RICO LINE, the vessel was sold on April 25th, 1949, to the Bull Steamship Company and renamed the SS Puerto Rico. Her ammenities were modernized, deck activities expanded, and the ship began cruising the Atlantic once again, running between New York and the ports of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
(Images Courtesy of cruiselinehistory.com)
THE S.S. BAHAMA STAR
1959 - 1969
Following a brief sale to the "Arosa Line" in 1954, and an unsuccessful run under the name "Arosa Star" the liner was sold to the Eastern Steamship Company in 1959 and renamed the "BAHAMA STAR."
It is under this name that the vessel is most famously remembered by.
It could be argued that the liner lived "her best life" while she sailed under the banner of the ESL. With the advent and normalizing of Air Travel, her days as an immigrant ship and transoceanic cargo carrier came to an end. Her lavish interiors were beautifully restored, updated to suit the tastes of the time, and she was re-fitted from Stem to Stern for her new life to once again ply the familiar waters between Florida and the Bahamas.
The vessel's reliability, as well as the care and dedication of her crew, made her a fan favorite for vacationing tourists in the Bahamas, as well as vacationing pensioners looking for some well-deserved time off.
THE RESCUE OF THE YARMOUTH CASTLE
November 13th, 1965
On November 13th, 1965, the Passenger steamship S.S. YARMOUTH CASTLE was sailing towards Nassau in the Bahamas when a fire was detected in an unoccupied cabin. The fire, which spread rapidly out of control, quickly overwhelmed the vessels Bridge and Radio room, leaving hundred to be stranded aboard the burning liner with nearly no hope of rescue.
Despite the fact no distress call was sent, as fate would have it, the freighter M/V Finnpulp was 8 miles ahead of the doomed ship, and the officer of the watch just happened to notice the Yarmouth Castle "Slow down and fall back" on his radar. When attempts to reach them by radio failed, they spotted the glow of fire astern and quickly turned around to lend assistance.
Meanwhile, about 12 miles astern of the burning ship, the BAHAMA STAR was steaming along the same route, slowly closing the distance when the skipper noticed a pillar of smoke and the distinctive glow of flames. The Bahama Star's engines were pushed to full ahead, and preparations were immediately put in place to lend assistance. The Lifeboats were uncovered and swung out, the gangway doors opened, firefighting equipment readied.
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(The Burning Liner Yarmouth Castle, as seen from the Deck of BAHAMA STAR - Photo Courtesy LIFE Magazine)
Finnpulp was the first ship on the scene, aiding the first lifeboat, which carried the Yarmouth Castle's captain, who claimed he'd abandoned ship to hail a rescue vessel. The rescue continued, as Finnpulp turned her attention to rescuing those that had jumped off the burning liner into the shark infested sea. The Bahama Star arrived shortly thereafter and pulled within 100 yards of the burning ship. So hot were the flames that the varnish melted off her railings, and likewise the paint on her stack was blistered and burned. Despite the heat, she immediately began to launch lifeboats and lend a hand to the already hard-working crew of the Finnpulp.
By 4:00am all surviving members of the doomed Yarmouth Castle had been rescued, either by the Coast Guard, or by the heroic duo Finnpulp & Bahama Star. Shortly thereafter around 6:00am, the burned out hulk of the Yarmouth Castle rolled over onto her side and sank with an eerie scream. As she went down she took with her 87 of her passengers and 2 members of her crew who were trapped and unable to escape the flames.
All in all, out of 552 total passengers and crew, there were 90 casualties, 2 passengers succumbing to their injuries ashore.
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(The Rescue of the Yarmouth Castle - By Robert G. Lloyd)
The Bahama Star and Finnpulp both arrived on November 13th in Nassau to a hero's welcome. The Bahama Star rescued 240 passengers and 133 crew, while the Freighter Finnpulp rescued 51 passengers and 41 crew.
Ironically, this was to be a 'final hurrah' for the Bahama Star... as the subsequent investigation of the sinking would result in strict and swift changes to the protocols and construction methods of all vessels flying the United States Flag.
