On the morning of June 6 Carrier Pigeon was sighted off Santa Cruz. The ship then continued northward as a thick fog blanketed the water, concealing the shoreline. By nightfall Captain Azariah Doane, believing he had veered far from shore, steered the vessel towards the coastline, hoping to catch sight of land. Suddenly, there was the sound of splintering timbers as the ship's hull drifted into the grasp of the jagged sea bottom. Within fifteen minutes seven feet of water was sloshing through the ship's hold. Fortunately, the captain and crew made it to shore safely, and the next morning they sent word of the disaster to San Francisco. The new reached San Francisco the evening of June 7, and the U.S. Coast Survey steamer Active went to the scene to offer assistance. Soon, the sidewheel steamer Sea Bird also arrived, having been sent by the underwriters to salvage as much of the cargo as possible. The magnificent clipper was sorry sight. her hull was wedged firmly on a ledge of rocks just 500 feet from shore, the tide ebbing and flowing through the ship nearly up to her between decks. The Sea Bird had been engaged in salvage work for only a day when it, too, ran into trouble. After breaking free from her anchorage in heavy swells, the ship began to drift toward the same rocks that claimed the Carrier Pigeon. The captain, however, was able to get up steam and run the ship upon the beach of Point Ano Nuevo. A fourth ship, the Goliah, then came to the rescue. The Carrier Pigeon's crew and 1,200 packages of merchandise were taken to San Francisco by the Goliah. Although more cargo was taken from the Carrier Pigeon, by July the ship was breaking up. The Sea Bird was eventually refloated in October. Perry

Carrier Pigeon was valued at $54,000 and started out on her maiden voyage on January 28, 1853. After leaving Boston she rounded Cape Horn bound for San Francisco under the command of Captain Azariah Doane. The ship and her cargo were insured for about $195,000

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