Local explorers believe they've found Puget Sound's deadliest shipwreck

In 1906, the Steamship Dix was shuttling passengers from Colman Dock to Port Blakely when it crossed the path of the SS Jeanie. After the SS Jeanie rolled the SS Dix, the latter's passengers scrambled for safety, with dozens tragically sinking aboard the vessel.

More than 100 years later, local shipwreck enthusiasts believe they've found the steamer's resting place in Elliott Bay.

On a calm morning, masts rattle on the sailing ships of Elliott Bay Marina. In the distance, state ferries make their landing at Seattle's Colman Terminal, just as they have for decades.

Aboard the Seablazer, the research vessel of Jeff Hummel's company, Rockfish, Inc., the view is a window into the past. Today, his ship is heading out toward the center of Elliott Bay, a journey that isn't so different from the steamships that ferried the passengers and cargo of the past.

In the century since its tragic collision, the wreck of the SS Dix has become the stuff of infamous legend. Ahead of commonplace travel by car, the Dix was part of Puget Sound's "Mosquito Fleet," a group of passenger steamships that functioned similarly to today's state ferries.

The cause of the wreck is still inexplicable. Shortly after leaving the terminal, the ship's captain went below deck to begin taking passenger fares — a job typically reserved for what was called a "purser." With the mate in charge of steering, the ship drifted into the direct collision course of the SS Jeannie, a considerably bigger vessel, which rolled the Dix onto its side, filling it with water.

At least 39 of the ship's 150 passengers died in the wreck, which remains Puget Sound's deadliest.