San Rafael sank near Alcatraz Island on November 30, 1901, following a collision in the fog with the steam ferry Sausalito. Both vessels were owned by the same company, the North Pacific Coast Railroad. San Rafael was bound across San Francisco Bay, from San Francisco to Sausalito. Both vessels were proceeding slowly and ringing fog bells. Both captains realized the other ship was near, and had ordered the engines reversed, but it was too late to prevent a collision. Sausalito struck San Rafael broadside and penetrated ten feet into the dining room, then occupied by many passengers. Prompt action by the captains of the two vessels, in lashing the ships together, kept San Rafael afloat long enough for most of the passengers and crew to evacuate to Sausalito. A boiler explosion on San Rafael was averted when a fireman went into the fireroom, then neck-deep in water, and opened a valve to bleed off the steam in the boilers. Twenty minutes after the collision, San Rafael sank in around 120 feet of water. This sinking is said to have inspired Jack London in writing the opening scenes of his novel The Sea Wolf. The captain of San Rafael, John Tayler Mackenzie, was the last person to leave the sinking vessel.Barbier, "Wreck of the San Rafael", MCHS.
