La Playa del Muerto
The Chilean ship was not so fortunate. In very short order she was blown about a half-mile from the place where the tow was terminated to the unforgiving rocks of the Olympic coast. Of the 22 people on board, only two survived to tell the tale.
Ironically, back in 1893, another Chilean vessel met its fate along this same stretch of coastline. The Leonore was nearing the end of its long voyage from Irique, bound for Puget Sound, when it encountered winds very much like those that would shatter the W.J. Pirrie almost 30 years later. The result was the same: total destruction, the five souls on board claimed by the angry sea.
This is a serious stretch of water, this roadless coast, this “Beach of the Dead.”.