Sept. 9, 1923: U.S. Navy ships are shown the day after fog, storm and radio confusion led seven destroyers to run aground at Point Arguello, north of Santa Barbara. Twenty-three sailors lost their lives.
[For the record: The ships ran aground on the night of Sept. 8. An earlier version of this post did not make it clear that the photo was taken the day after the incident.]

Just four hours before the naval disaster, the 8,000-ton liner Cuba went aground on the rocks at San Miguel Island. Radio traffic from rescue vessels, including U.S. Navy ships, cluttered the airwaves.

Fourteen destroyers, led by the flagship Delphy, were conducting a speed run from San Francisco to San Diego. Believing they were farther south, at about 9 p.m. the Delphy made a left to enter the Santa Barbara Channel.

Instead, the column of ships went straight into Point Arguello. Seven destroyers were sunk.

Three days later, in similar weather conditions,  the U.S. Navy battleship Texas suffered a minor collision with a transport 18 miles north of Point Arguello.

George R. Watson was a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times from 1917 to 1929.