SS Cuba (1920)

The Cuba was a steamship owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Originally launched in 1897 as the German SS Coblenz, she was seized by the United States in 1917, and named SS Sachem, until Pacific Mail purchased her from the Shipping Board on February 6, 1920, for US$400,000 and renamed SS Cuba.[2]

As SS Cuba in the Panama Canal, 1923
History
German Empire
Name	SS Coblenz
Namesake	Koblenz
Owner	North German Lloyd
Builder	Blohm & Voss Hamburg
Yard number	215771
Launched	18 March 1897
Acquired	5 May 1897
Out of service	1917
Captured	interned in Manila, August 1914 seized by U.S., 6 April 1917
United States
Name	SS Sachem
Owner	United States Shipping Board
In service	1917
Out of service	1920
Fate	Sold, 1920
United States
Name	SS Cuba
Namesake	Cuba
Owner	Pacific Mail Steamship Company
Cost	$400,000
Acquired	2 February 1920
In service	1920
Out of service	1923
Fate	Wrecked 7 September 1923
General characteristics
Tonnage	3169[1]
Length	93.78 m (307 ft 8 in)
Beam	12.86 m (42 ft 2 in)
Depth of hold	7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Decks	2
Propulsion	2 Triple expansion steam engines, twin screws, 1,500 hp (1,100 kW)
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	;as SS Coblenz: 20 second-class passengers 232 third-class passengers
Crew	;as SS Coblenz: 54

Pacific Mail first used the Cuba to carry passengers and cargo between San Francisco, California, and Havana, Cuba, 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.[2] All aboard survived and were rescued by USS Reno, a Clemson class destroyer that was accompanying the ships that were later involved in the Honda Point Disaster of the same day.[3] 71 people were saved at 4:30am in fog. The Cuba was a total loss. The wreck is located at approximately 34.032°N 120.454°W / 34.032; -120.454.