SS Cuba (1920)

The Cuba was a steamship owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Originally launched in 1897 as the German SS Coblenz, she was seized by the United States in 1917, and named SS Sachem, until Pacific Mail purchased her from the Shipping Board on February 6, 1920, for US$400,000 and renamed SS Cuba.

Pacific Mail first used the Cuba to carry passengers and cargo between San Francisco, California, and Havana, Cuba, then shifted to a San Francisco-to-Cristobal route.

On the morning of September 8, 1923, The ship's radio was out. She had been navigating through a dense fog for several days. Cuba struck a reef just off San Miguel Island in the Santa Barbara Channel off Point Arguello of Santa Barbara County, California. All aboard survived and were rescued by USS Reno (DD-303), a Clemson class destroyer that was accompanying the ships that were later involved in the Honda Point Disaster of the same day. 71 people were saved at 4:30am in fog. The Cuba was a total loss. The wreck is located at approximately 34.032°N, -120.454°W.