SS Dominator Shipwreck

Above, the SS Dominator wrecked at Rocky Point at Palos Verdes Peninsula, circa 1961.

Back in the first half of the 1960s, we used to go fishing with my grandfather. He had an Elgin outboard boat (from Sears). 

We would head out from either Norm's Landing near San Pedro or from King Harbor in Redondo Beach. When we headed out from King Harbor, we would head out near Palos Verdes Peninsula. While heading near Palos Verdes, we would go by the shipwreck of the SS Dominator.

Back on March 13, 1961 (definitely not a lucky day), the SS Dominator, a freighter, ran aground at Rocky Point at Palos Verdes Peninsula.

From Wikipedia:

SS Dominator, a freighter, ran ashore on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the South Bay area of California in 1961 due to a navigational error while lost in fog. Its remains can still be seen today and serves as a point of interest for hikers and kayakers.

Over the ensuing years, ocean waves pounded the wreck so that very little of it remains visible today. For several years after it ran aground, it could be seen from Redondo, Manhattan and Hermosa Beaches.

This blog post was prompted by the above photo posted on Facebook.

Some 70s Pictures

Rummaging through old photo albums continued. I found some photos from the 1970s when I was much more involved in the political arena.



September 1974. In the above photo, I am presenting a stuffed frog novelty I just picked up while on vacation in Utah to Assemblyman Paul T. Bannai in his district office. At the time, I worked as a staff field representative for Bannai. He was big on frogs and would head off to the Calaveras County Jumping Frog Jubilee every year.

The photo below is the frog I gave to Bannai. I wonder if he still has it.





On February 7, 1975, I had my first legal "adult beverage" in the bar at the Senator Hotel in Sacramento, California. I had just turned 21 three days before. The above photo records the "event." I was in Sacramento for the annual convention of the Republican State Central Committee (now known as the California Republican Party).

That weekend, Spencer Douglass and I were in the bar doing Richard Nixon imitations with Oregon Senator Robert Packwood sitting nearby listening in.



On September 5, 1975, a big Hawaiian-themed party was held at the residence of R. Spencer Douglass, who was planning to run for California state senate the following year. He switched to running for assembly instead. In the photo above, I am with David and Robin Lorenzen. The photo was taken by Assemblyman Bannai. I am wearing a "Reagan Team '76" button. David Lorenzen is the son of former L.A. City Councilman Don Lorenzen.

It was quite a bash. Douglass's home was in Rancho Palos Verdes with a great view of San Pedro Harbor. The home was on a slope and the yard had three levels. The upper level, was where the house was located. The middle level (going downslope) was where the hosted bar was set up. The bottom level was the pool area, where the band was set up for dancing.

The party was the talk of the town in GOP circles for quite a while. It got pretty wild. The next morning, several pairs of panties were found in the planters around the yard.

The Dominator Shipwreck

On March 13, 1961, the Dominator, a freighter laden with a cargo of wheat and beef was on a voyage from Vancouver, B.C. to Los Angeles when it got too close to the rocks of Rocky Point on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County and ran aground. The crew thought their position was further south from where they were and thought they were headed into Los Angeles Harbor. Instead, they hit Rocky Point.

The Dominator was built in 1944 by Walsh Kaiser Company of Providence, Rhode Island.

Several salvage companies jockeyed (some violently) for the salvage rights to the ship's cargo. Within days of running aground, the Dominator began to be beaten to pieces by the relentless sea.

In the early 1960s, my family would go fishing with my grandfather on his boat. Sometimes, we'd head out from Redondo Beach and skirt near Rocky Point and get excellent views of the remains of the Dominator. Unfortunately, we didn't have any cameras with us to take photos of the shipwreck.

For years, on clear days one could see the silhouette of the hulk of the ship at the tip of Rocky Point from the Redondo Beach Pier.

Today, scant pieces of the Dominator are visible on the rocks of Rocky Point. Much of it is underwater, some of which is recognizable.

Below is an article from the South Bay Daily Breeze about the salvage efforts.



For more information, and see an excellent website about the ship, including photos and video of the Dominator, go here.