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Honda Point Disaster
Honda Point Disaster

Captain Edward Howe Watson
Captain Edward H. Watson was the man placed in command of Destroyer Squadron Eleven. Watson became a naval cadet at the Naval Academy of Annapolis and graduated in 1895. Watson then took on naval duties in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and the First World War Due to the credit and accolades he accumulated during his service, Watson became a captain in the year 1917. Captain Watson was then put in command of Destroyer Squadron Eleven in July of 1922 and he became a fleet commander for the first time.

Navigation errors
The fourteen Clemson class destroyers of Destroyer Squadron Eleven formed up behind the flagship USS Delphy in column formation on their way from the San Francisco Bay, through the Santa Barbara Channel, and on to San Diego. (Navy) Destroyer Squadron Eleven was on a twenty-four hour exercise run from northern California to southern California. The flagship USS Delphy, led by Captain Edward H. Watson, was responsible for the navigation of the fleet on their run down the California coast. As the USS Delphy steamed down the coastline, poor visibility ensured that the navigators aboard the USS Delphy would be navigating by the age-old technique of dead reckoning. This meant that the ship was navigating by using estimation of speed and heading in order to determine position based on chart work. The navigators aboard USS Delphy were also using RDF, or radio direction finding, transmitted from a station at Point Arguello. The RDF technology transmitted bearings to the USS Delphy but the technology was new and therefore dismissed as a reliable source for navigation. The USS Delphy was then ordered to turn east into the Santa Barbara Channel. However, the actual position of the ship was actually a number of miles northeast of where the navigators believed it to be based on dead reckoning. This error of navigation placed the fleet directly in the path of the treacherous stretch of coastline known as Honda Point.

Ocean Conditions
The main cause of the navigational errors experienced by the crew of the USS Delphy can be attributed to the earthquake in Japan and the subsequent ocean conditions that it resulted in. On September 1, 1923, seven days before the disaster, the Great Kanto Earthquake occurred in Japan. As a result of this earthquake, unusually large swells and strong currents arose off the coast of California and remained for a number of days. Before Destroyer Squadron Eleven even reached Honda Point, a number of ships had encountered navigational problems as a result of the unusual currents. As Destroyer Squadron Eleven of the United States Navy began their exercise run down the California coast, they made their way through these swells and currents. While the fleet was travelling through these swells and currents, their estimations of speed and bearing used for dead reckoning were being affected. The navigators aboard the lead ship USS Delphy did not take into account the effects of the strong currents and large swells in their estimations. Since the navigators in the lead ship USS Delphy did not account for the current and swells in their estimations, the entire fleet was off course and positioned near the treacherous coastline of Honda Point instead of the open ocean of the Santa Barbara Channel. (site) Coupled with darkness and thick fog, the swells and currents caused by the earthquake in Japan made accurate navigation nearly impossible for the USS Delphy. The geography of Honda Point, which is completely exposed to wind and waves, created an extremely deadly environment once the unusually strong swells and currents were added to the coastline. Once the error in navigation occurred, the weather conditions and ocean conditions sealed the fate of the ships. The weather surrounding Honda Point at the time of the disaster was windy and foggy while the geography of the area and the earthquake in japan created strong counter-currents and swells that forced the ships into the rocks once they entered the area.

Rescue efforts
Once the accident occurred, rescue attempts promptly followed. Local ranchers, who were alerted by the commotion caused in the disaster, rigged up breeches buoys from the surrounding cliff tops and lowered them down to the ships that had run aground. Fisherman nearby that had seen the tragedy picked up members of the crew from USS Fuller and USS Woodbury. The crew aboard the capsized Young was able to climb to safety on the nearby USS Chauncey via a lifeline. The four destroyers in Destroyer Squadron Eleven that were able to avoid running aground at Honda Point were also able to contribute to rescue efforts by picking up sailors that had been thrown into the water and by assisting those that were stuck aboard the wreckages of other ships. After the disaster, the government did not attempt to salvage any of the wreckages at Honda Point due to the nature of the damage each ship sustained. The wrecks themselves, along with the equipment that remained on them, were sold to a scrap merchant for a total of $1,035.

Government
In the aftermath of the Honda point disaster, eleven officers were involved in the incident were summoned to be brought to trial by General Courts-martial on the charges of negligence and capable inefficiency to perform one’s duty. This was the largest single group to ever be court-martialed in US Navy history. The court ruled that the events of the Honda Point Disaster were, “directly attributable to bad errors and faulty navigation” by Captain Watson. Captain Edward H. Watson, who was in command of the flagship USS Delphy, was relieved of his seniority while three other men were admonished. The rest of the officers who were court-martialed were acquitted of their charges. Captain Watson was commended by his peers and by the government for assuming full responsibility of the events that transpired at Honda Point. While he could have blamed a variety of factors, such as the strange currents produced from the Japan earthquake, for the loss of Destroyer Squadron Eleven, Captain Watson was said to have set a great example for those under his command by allowing the blame to be set upon his shoulders.