Pleasure Boat Boonie Sinks Harvard Sculler

Biggest naval disaster of recent years on the Charles River occurred at 5:47 o'clock Friday afternoon, as the S. S. Boonie, massive sight-seeing vessel, collided with a brand new 1941 single above Weeks Bridge.

The sculler was on a parallel course with the Boonie and was racing along in a competitive spirit when he caught a crab, and his craft was turned broad-side to the onrushing Boonie. Blinded by the late afternoon sun, the captain of the larger vessel failed to notice the frail ship directly in his course, and they met with a rending of sculls.

Swimming vigorously to escape the whirling propellers, the Harvard oarsman barely missed mincing, but his shell was split in half by the impact, and the parts only brought to shore with difficulty. The entire accident happened so quickly that passengers were at first unaware of the disaster, until the shouts of onlookers and the shattered wreckage drew their attention to the collision.