Steam yacht Celt prior to World War I | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Celt |
Owner | J. Rogers Maxwell |
Builder | Pusey and Jones, Wilmington, Delaware |
Launched | April 12, 1902 |
Fate | transferred to USN July 3, 1917 |
United States | |
Name | USS Sachem |
Acquired | July 3, 1917 |
Commissioned | August 19, 1917 |
Identification | SP-192 |
Fate | transferred back to owner February 10, 1919 |
United States | |
Owner | Manton B. Metcalf |
Acquired | February 10, 1919 |
Fate | Sold to Jacob "Jake" Martin and converted to a fishing boat 1932 |
United States | |
Owner | Jacob "Jake" Martin |
Acquired | 1932 |
Fate | reacquired by the Navy February 17, 1942 for $65,000 and converted for Naval service at Robert Jacobs Inc., City Island, New York |
United States | |
Name | USS Phenakite |
Cost | $65,000 |
Acquired | February 17, 1942 |
Commissioned | July 1, 1942 at Tompkinsville, New York |
Decommissioned | November 17, 1944 |
Identification | PYc-25 |
Fate | transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal November 5, 1945 |
United States | |
Name | USS Phenakite |
Owner | Maritime Commission |
Acquired | November 5, 1945 |
Identification | PYc-25 |
Fate | returned to her original owner, Mr. J. Martin of Brooklyn, New York, and renamed Sachem on December 29, 1945 |
United States | |
Name | Sachem |
Owner | J. Martin |
Acquired | December 29, 1945 |
Fate | Subsequently resold to the Circle Line of New York City and renamed Sightseer |
United States | |
Name | Sightseer |
Owner | Circle Line of New York City |
Fate |
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General characteristics [1] [2] | |
Displacement |
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Length |
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Beam | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
Draft |
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Installed power | |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Armament |
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USS Phenakite (PYc-25) was a converted yacht that was used by the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. The vessel was also known as Celt, Sachem (SP-192), Sightseer and Circle Line V.
USS Phenakite (PYc-25) was built 1902 as the yacht Celt by Pusey and Jones, Wilmington, Delaware, for J. Rogers Maxwell, a railroad executive. [2] [3] It was launched on April 12, 1902.
Shortly after the United States' entry into the First World War, it was acquired by the US Navy on July 3, 1917. [2] [3] The ship was placed in service as USS Sachem (SP 192) on August 19 and used as a Coastal Patrol Yacht. During its Navy service, it was loaned to inventor Thomas Edison who conducted government-funded experiments with it to develop countermeasures to U-boats.
After the end of World War I, Sachem was returned to her owner, Manton B. Metcalf of New York, on February 10, 1919. [2] [3] It was later sold to Philadelphia banker Roland L. Taylor and then to Jacob "Jake" Martin of Brooklyn, New York in 1932 who converted it to a fishing excursion boat.
The yacht was reacquired by the Navy on February 17, 1942 for $65,000 and converted for naval service at Robert Jacobs Inc., City Island, New York. [2] [3] It was commissioned as USS Phenakite (PYc-25) on July 1 at Tompkinsville, New York and patrolled the waters off of the Florida Keys during World War II. It was decommissioned to undergo modifications and placed back in service on November 17, 1944. It was used for testing sonar systems before being placed out of service on October 2, 1945 at Tompkinsville, and transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on November 5.
The vessel was then returned to her previous owner, Martin, and renamed Sachem on December 29. [2] [3] It was struck from the Naval Register February 7, 1946. It was subsequently resold to the Circle Line of New York City and renamed Sightseer, but was later renamed Circle Line V. It served as a tour boat until 1983.
In 1986, a Cincinnati local named Robert Miller purchased the ship for the low price of $7,500 and spent 10 days restoring the yacht so it could make the journey to the Midwest. [3] After using the boat to take friends out on New York Harbor for the ceremonial relighting of the Statue of Liberty during the July 4 weekend, Miller took the boat back home via the Hudson River, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and the Ohio River before settling at the mouth of Taylor Creek near its confluence with the Ohio River on Miller's property in Boone County, Kentucky.
Unable to afford expensive repairs needed to save it, Miller left the boat to rust away on Taylor Creek where it remains to this day. [4] The decayed and abandoned boat is a popular destination for kayak enthusiasts in the Cincinnati area and is commonly referred to as "The Ghost Ship." [5] [6] [7]
The boat currently sits on private property. [8]
Robert Miller died in 2016. [4]
Before leaving New York Harbor, the boat was used in Madonna's 'Papa Don't Preach' music video in 1986. [3] While the boat was being worked on one day, a limousine pulled up to the dock and a representative for Madonna asked if they could use the ship in an upcoming music video. Miller agreed and the boat can briefly be seen in the video.
For her service in the U.S. Navy, Sachem / Phenakite earned the following awards:
USS Eagle may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy:
The first USS Ability (PYc-28) was a yacht in the service of the United States Navy used for anti-submarine warfare during World War II.
USS Impetuous (PYc-46) was a private yacht purchased by the Navy in August 1940 that served as a patrol boat of the United States Navy in Central America. The yacht was built as Paragon, the first of at least two Davol yachts to bear the name, in 1915 for Charles J. Davol of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1916 Davol sold the yacht to John Fred Betz, 3d of Philadelphia who renamed the yacht Sybilla III which served as the Section Patrol yacht USS Sybilla III (SP-104) from May 1917 to December 1918. Sybilla III remained in Betz's ownership until sale in 1935 to R. Livingston Sullivan of Philadelphia who renamed the yacht Arlis. On 12 August 1940 the Navy purchased the yacht placing it in commission as USS PC-454 on 16 October. The vessel was given the name Impetuous and reclassified PYc-46 on 15 July 1943. The yacht was decommissioned at Philadelphia 31 August 1944 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration for sale.
USS Sturdy (PC-460/PYc-50) was a yacht converted to a patrol boat acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of patrolling the coastal waters of the U.S. East Coast during World War II. Her primary task was to guard the coastal area against German submarines.
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An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels suited to piracy and to employment by navies and coast guards against smugglers and pirates. Vessels of this type were adapted to racing by wealthy owners. The origin of civilian yachts as naval vessels, with their speed and maneuverability, made them useful for adaptation to their original function as patrol vessels. In the United States Navy armed yachts were typically private yachts expropriated for government use in times of war. Armed yachts served as patrol vessels during the Spanish–American War and the World Wars. In the latter conflicts, armed yachts were used as patrol vessels, convoy escorts, and in anti-submarine duties. In the United States, yachts were purchased from their owners with the owners given an option to repurchase their yacht at the close of hostilities.
USS Felicia (SP-642) was a yacht acquired by the United States Navy during World War I. She was outfitted and armed by the Navy as a patrol craft, and was assigned to patrol the New England waters. Her task of protecting ships from German submarines was interrupted by her collision with a submarine. Post-war she was reconfigured to her civilian condition, and was sold in 1919.
USS Ionita (SP-388) was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. Ionita was outfitted by the Navy as a patrol craft and reported to the Commander, 9th Naval District, headquartered at Lake Bluff, Illinois. Ionita patrolled the Detroit River and was struck by the Navy at war’s end.
USS Joyance (SP-72) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
USS Sardonyx (PYc-12), formerly the yacht named Queen Anne (1928), was a patrol boat in the United States Navy during World War II.
The second USS Ripple (ID-2439) was a United States Navy trawler which served as a minesweeper and was in commission from 1918 to 1919.
George Lawley & Son was a shipbuilding firm operating in Massachusetts from 1866 to 1945. It began in Scituate, then moved to Boston. After founder George Lawley (1823–1915) retired in 1890, his son, grandson and great-grandson upheld the business, which continued until 1945. Of the hundreds of ships built by the Lawleys, highlights include the yachts Puritan and Mayflower, respective winners of the 1885 and 1886 America's Cup.
The third USS Seneca (SP-427), later USS SP-427, was a United States Navy minesweeper and patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Lexington II (SP-705), later USS SP-705, was an American patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Marpessa (SP-787) was a 50 foot "express yacht" that became a United States Navy section patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 retaining the civilian name.
USS Elfrida, later USS Elfrida (SP-988), was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1898 to 1918. She served in the Spanish–American War and World War I.
USS Liberty III (SP-1229), sometimes written Liberty # 3, and also referred to during her naval career as Liberty and as Pilot Boat Liberty, No. 3, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Liberty was a pilot boat from 1896-1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat D. J. Lawlor. After World War I, the Liberty returned to pilot service until 1934 when she was purchased as a yacht.
USS Herman S. Caswell (SP-2311) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in service from 1918 to 1919.
John Rogers Maxwell, Jr. was the winner of the 1907 King's Cup with his yacht Queen.
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