1901: Heavy fog causes ship to crash and sink near San Francisco

Fog and low clouds have been the bane of travelers since the beginning of time. As more people travel in groups and because of modern technology those going from place to place sometimes find themselves at the mercy of the low clouds and fog with no way to escape. From the recent tragic helicopter crash involving Kobe Bryant and his companions to a pile up of cars on an interstate highways, low visibility or lack of visibility at all, contributes to the horrible outcome. Despite the best efforts of those involved and modern technology, sudden loss of visibility can, in an instant, turn clear skies to total lack of vision. Those traveling the interstates of the northeast near snow squall areas know this well when white-outs occur and lead to massive pile ups. This type of event can also happen on the seas and especially near the coastline. Such a tragedy struck on February 22 1901 when a Pacific mail steamer struck a rock in near San Francisco as it attempted to enter the bay during a dense fog, visibility was almost zero and those piloting the ship where unable to see where they were headed. The ship went down claiming 128 lives.

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