SOPHIA

On August 22, 1827, the schooner Sophia, a small vessel owned and captained by Horatio N. Throop of Pultneyville, encountered a tragic incident. The schooner, approximately 25 tons in size, was sailing from Pultneyville to Oswego on Lake Ontario with a load of bulk corn. Around 8 o’clock in the morning, during a strong northwest wind, a sudden change in the vessel’s motion alerted the crew to a problem. Within seconds, it became clear that water was rushing into the schooner from the leeward side and toward the forward end.

Immediate efforts were made to alter the course of the schooner and bring the leak above the waterline, but the inflow of water was too rapid. Within a minute, the forward end of the vessel and about two-thirds of its length were submerged. In just two minutes from the initial discovery of the leak, the schooner sank entirely, leaving the three crew members struggling for their lives in rough waters four miles from the shore.

Each crew member searched for something that could provide buoyancy while paddling toward land. One clung to a large oar, while another held onto an empty barrel with only one head, providing some buoyancy but proving ineffective for flotation. Unfortunately, the crew member with the barrel sank near the spot where the vessel went down. The crew member with the oar swam toward the land for about 100 yards but drowned within 5 to 8 minutes of leaving the vessel.

Captain Throop, known for his swimming ability, had been trying various methods to save his crew and encouraging them throughout the ordeal. However, time was short, and only one crew member managed to reach the stern, which was the last part of the vessel above water. In fear of the suction or vortex, that crew member immediately jumped into the lake and swam away. As the stern submerged, a wave swept over the trunk deck, driving water into the cabin and causing the vessel to disappear beneath the surface. The captain, who had been on the trunk deck, was submerged 12 to 15 feet underwater but managed to reach the surface in time.

Upon resurfacing, Captain Throop faced a distressing scene. Only a few floating articles from the vessel and the crew members, visible only momentarily, could be seen. The crew member with the barrel was clearly drowning, while the other crew member with the oar was nearby but had limited time left above water. Captain Throop had managed to find a piece of board and held it with alternating hands as he swam toward the shore, approximately six miles below Great Sodus Bay. Exhausted from the four-hour ordeal in rough waters, he arrived at the shore unable to stand for nearly an hour.

The cause of the disaster was attributed to the cargo of corn, which likely became wet, swelled, and opened some of the vessel’s seams. It is worth noting that at the time of the incident, Captain Throop was only 19 years old. His father, Samuel Throop, had drowned in 1819 while attempting to bring the schooner Nancy into Great Sodus Bay during a storm, as documented in a memoir of his life published in the History of Wayne County, N.Y. in 1876.