The vessel was sailing towards Skagway, having entered Favorite Channel. The Channel is located north of Stephens Passage, between Shelter Island and the mainland. She had 307 passengers and 80 crew aboard when the steamship, captained by Graham O. Hughs hit the rocks at Point Lena.

At the time of the sinking, around 0300 hours as passengers and most crew slept, Chief Officer Charles W. Savage was on the bridge. Savage would later say though the ship had radar, it had not been turned on. A company spokesman told the press that whether or not to turn on the radar was a decision made by the officer in charge and apparently Savage did not deem the situation radar worthy as it traveled off shore at a speed said to be 9 knots.

The Obama administration is increasingly facing on the Coast Guard 2011 fiscal year budget proposal criticism following the scornful hearing with the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation this past Thursday.
The Coast Guard unlike the Department of Defense is facing a shrinking budget while trying to maintain some of the oldest ships and [...]