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AGGI

1894-1915

three-masted full rigged ship

  • Gross Tonnage: 1898
  • Net Tonnage : 1756
  • Length : 265'
  • Beam : 39.1'
  • Depth : 23.3'
  • Decks : one
  • Official Number: 102136 (as Aspice)
  • Construction : steel

Historical Record

Under the Norwegian ownership of B.A. Olsen and Son since 1911, the steel hulledAggi (ex Seerose, Sant Erasmo, and Aspice) had been built in Glasgow, Scotland, by Mackie & Thomson in 1894. As Aspice, she had been owned by R. I. Swyny of Liverpool, Great Britain and by T.Law and Co. of Glasgow; as Sant Erasmo, her home port was Genoa, Italy, operated by Nav. Cen. Italiana; and as Seerose, she was operated by T. and F. Eimbcke of Hamburg, Germany. Her Lloyd's rating was "+100A1," indicating eminent seaworthiness.

Constructed 11 years after the Goldenhorn, the Aggi was built of steel rather than iron. Steel offered a better weight to strength ratio and increased cargo capacity at the expense, some say, of lessened durability and longevity in salt water. Steel, being lighter for a given strength than iron, produced a more efficient cargo carrier, with stronger masts and spars, and improved the economic position of sailing vessels. The same improvement in metallurgy which produced cheaper, stronger steel for sailing vessels also led to the development of higher pressure boilers, the triple expansion steam engine, and the perfection of steamships which eventually eased sailing ships out of commercial service (Greenhill 1980:43-44).

The Aggi departed San Francisco on 29 April 1915 under tow by the steamer Edgar II Vance for the Panama Canal with the plan of sailing independently from the Canal to Malmo, Sweden, with a cargo of 2500 tons of barley and 600 tons of beans (Fouts 1989:4). The two vessels encountered a severe storm which parted the towing cable the following day. Aggi's cargo shifted as the storm reached its height, putting the lee rails under water and submerging half the bunks in the forecastle. The crew could not maneuver the vessel properly in this condition and, despite attempts to reach the city of Santa Barbara, Aggi fetched with great force upon Talcott Shoals, one mile from the west end of Santa Rosa Island, at 3:30 PM May 3rd.

The Edgar H Vance also encountered severe difficulties in the storm, limping back into San Francisco on May 5, with a jury rudder and assisted by the tugs Navigator, Rover, and Dauntless.

The summary of the maritime declaration following the wreck of the Aggi states:

Aggi (WJBM) of Lyngor sailer from San Francisco on 29 April [[1915] under tow to sail through the Panama Canal. Very soon a storm broke out and the cargo was displaced and the towing rope was broken. The ship got a leak and tried to get to Santa Rosa Island as a harbor of refuge. In he entrance the ship grounded on 3 May on a ground not marked on the map, leaked full of water, and was totally wrecked. The crew saved themselves in the ship's boats.

The maritime declaration was held in San Francisco 10 May and legal investigation in Therewithal 16 July. Result cause of the wreckage was stormy weather and the case was dismissed." (Norwegian Archives)

Haller (1983) provides further ominous details of the last voyage, including the desertion of the ship's cat at the beginning of the voyage and the death of the cabin boy during the voyage to San Francisco.

Articles in the Los Angeles Times provide follow up details of the crew's efforts to reach Santa Barbara after establishing a temporary camp on Santa Rosa Island. Salvage of at least two large and five small anchors from the vessel is mentioned (Fouts 1989:7). Although only a small amount of cargo was retrieved, many fittings and other small portable items were saved.

The vessel performed her final service to society as a movie set for Universal Film Company. The earliest film crew, from Flying-A Moving Picture Studios, attempted to film the wreck less than three weeks later on May 24 (Fouts 1989:6). Grandiose plans to utilize the wreck as a centerpiece in several films with related filming in Santa Barbara came to nothing, although a company of six Universal Film stars actually visited the wreckage. Only a small amount of film was exposed, due to stormy conditions (Fonts 1989:8). Fouts states that the company, which included silent stars Grace Cunard and Francis Ford, camped out on Santa Rosa Island at a spot six miles distant from the Aggi. Although it seems more reasonable that the company would have stayed in Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island, which is six miles from the Aggi, newspaper articles are specific that Universal executives went over to the "camp on Santa Rosa Island' which is "distant about six miles from the wreck... in one of the few good spots for camping that this part of the island supplies. "(SUMP 18 May 1913) The camp might have been located at the mouth of Arlington Canyon, Canada Verde, on the north coast, or possibly China Camp, on the south side of the island.

"Smuggler's Island," starring Cunard and Ford, and produced by Universal, may contain footage from the location of the Aggi. A 1913 Universal newsreel may also have Aggi footage. Attempts to locate film exposed on the wreck have been unsuccessful. Glenn Miller, a dive boat operator, discovered the wreck for scuba divers during the 1960's. He removed one of the anchors, donating it to the Santa Barbara Historical Society in 1967 (SBNP 17 Dec 1967), where it remains on display today. There is a notable lack of brass about the wreck, due to the activities of thieves.

Archaeological Record

The wreck lies in 20 to 60 feet of water near the most shallow portion of Talcott Shoal. The wreckage of the Aggi is more scattered than that of any of the known major wrecks in the park. Twenty feet deep on top of he reef, massive anchor chain at the bow still connects a windlass, a hawse hole and pipe ripped free of he bow, and a remaining anchor. The bow which once contained this hawse pipe has been carried off and deposited to the east over 200 feet away in deeper water. The steel frames visible in the central portion of the wreck are noticeably less massive than those of the Goldenhorn.

The main wreck scatter extends into deeper water in a southerly direction. A large piece that is nearly the entire hull bottom, containing the keelson. side keelsons and deep floors, leads directly to the stern, the deepest portion of the wreck. The extant keelson, one massive I-beam, is more than 200 feet long and the associated piece of hull bottom is intact out to the turn of the bilges. Mast steps for the main mast and mizzen are 76 feet apart. The foremast step remains unlocated. The keelson has twisted over to he east or starboard side uniformly throughout its length. The keelson is flanked by side keelsons six feet distant and bilge keelsons a similar interval toward the turn of the bilges. There are intercostal plates beneath the side keelsons. Frames are spaced on two foot centers.

Upper wreckage forward of the mainmast has been swept clear of this hull bottom piece and generally deposited in a great jumble to the east. Sternward the keelson and hull bottom are overlain by pieces of the port side of the hull, down to the mizzen mast step, where about 20 feet of the keelson is again exposed before ending beneath another piece of port hull side.

Separated, and some distance away in 60 feet of water, is the stem, intact from the keel up to the main deck level, tilted over to starboard. Here can be found a well preserved fantail. The rudder, tiller, and patent steering gear lie nearby.

Mast fragments, hull side pieces, and decking lie southeast of these prominent pieces, clearly deposited in this pattern by the prevailing northwesterly swells and current. Deck beams are spaced on four-foot centers. East of the mainmast step and the mizzen mast step lie fragments of the respective masts. Interspersed with the fragments of the mainmast is a boiler for a donkey engine. Close by are two capstans. No sections of the foremast are evident. Also missing are pieces belonging to any above-deck construction or any sign of the galley or associated brickwork.

A most startling example of the force generated by the wave action is the presence of the cutwater, the most forward piece of the hull, completely separated from the rest of the wreckage and deposited more than 270 feet to the east of the main hull bottom. Even though the nearest part of Santa Rosa Island is slightly less than a mile away, the beaches along the island east of Talcott Shoal must have received a great deal of material that floated away from the wreck as it broke up.

The present northerly orientation of the wreckage indicates that the seas must have pivoted the wrecked vessel nearly 180 degrees, since she was traveling southeast when she struck. As a result the bow was literally chewed to bits. The keelson must have laid over as the hull broke up, and he masts, pushed by the prevailing winds, fell to the east. This pivoting motion would have also torn the stern loose.

On a prominent headland near Talcott Shoal, archeological survey crews found a massive hearth filled with ferrous metal scrap, indicating that the fire was Fueled with historic period driftwood. Immediately adjacent to this headland is a beach which is very conspicuous from the location of Aggi on Talcott Shoal. This hearth may represent the remains of a large signal fire, perhaps ignited by the crew of the Aggi after making the nearest landfall on Santa Rosa Island. This distinctive hearth is unlike any feature noted at Chinese abalone camps on the island, the closest of which is only about a mile away on the south side of the island. Archaeomagnetic dating of this hearth might help to determine whether this feature is associated with the wreck of the Aggi.

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