Honda Point disaster

The ships were navigating by dead reckoning, estimating positions from their course and speed, as measured by propeller revolutions per minute.

The ships were performing an exercise that simulated wartime conditions, and Captain Watson also wanted the squadron to make a fast passage to San Diego, so the decision was made not to slow down.

Local ranchers, who were alerted by the commotion of the disaster, rigged up breeches buoys from the surrounding clifftops and lowered them down to the ships that had run aground.

[12] After the disaster, the government did not attempt to salvage any of the wrecks at Honda Point due to the nature of the damage each ship sustained.

Eleven officers involved were brought before general courts-martial on the charges of negligence and culpable inefficiency to perform one's duty.

The court martial ruled that the events of the Honda Point Disaster were "directly attributable to bad errors and faulty navigation" by Captain Watson.

[11] Captain Watson, who had been defended by Admiral Thomas Tingey Craven,[14] was commended by his peers and the government for assuming full responsibility for the disaster at Honda Point.

[7] A Court of Inquiry led by Rear Admiral William V. Pratt and aided by Captains George C. Day and David F. Sellers recommended Cmdr.

Based solely on dead reckoning, Captain Watson ordered the fleet to turn east into the Santa Barbara Channel.

[12] Before Destroyer Squadron Eleven even reached Honda Point, a number of ships had encountered navigational problems as a result of unusual currents.

The navigators aboard the lead ship Delphy did not take into account the effects of the strong currents and large swells in their estimations.

Consequently, the entire squadron was off course and positioned near the treacherous coastline of Honda Point instead of the open ocean of the Santa Barbara Channel.

Coupled with darkness and thick fog, the swells and currents attributed to the earthquake in Japan made accurate navigation by dead reckoning nearly impossible for the Delphy.

The geography of Honda Point, which is completely exposed to wind and waves, created a deadly environment once the unusually strong swells and currents were added to the coastline.

Plaque commemorating the Honda Point disaster
USS Delphy prior to grounding
USS Delphy (foreground) broken in half at Honda Point
USS S. P. Lee prior to grounding
The capsized USS Young (center) at Honda Point.
USS Woodbury on beach
USS Chauncey
Then-Commander E.H. Watson , 1915