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Wartime designation: Zahma (IX-63)

Type: Auxiliary Ketch

Ex; Thespian

LOA: 93′ 0″ / 28.00m – LWL: – Beam: 20′ 7″ / 6.27m – Draft: 7′ 9″ / (2.36m – Displacement: 75 tons – Sail Area: – Original Owner: John H. Cromwell, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York. – Original Name: – Year Launched: 1915 – Designed by: Bowdoin B. Crowninshield – Built by: George Lawley & Son, Neponset, Massachusetts – Hull Material: Wood – In service: 26 February 1942 – Out of service: 13 April 1943 – Complement: 6 officers and men

Historical:

A wooden-hulled ketch with an auxiliary engine, she was designed by Bowdoin B. Crowninshield and completed in 1915 at Neponset, Massachusetts, by George Lawley & Son, for John H. Cromwell of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York. Inspected by the Navy at the entry of the United States into World War I for possible service as a patrol craft, the vessel was rejected as “unsuitable for naval use.”

A quarter of a century later, the exigencies of war changed the Navy’s evaluation of the graceful craft, as she was again inspected, this time at the 11th Naval District, in early 1942. Acquired by the Port Director of San Diego, California, from R. J. Rheem on 13 February, Zahma was placed in service on 26 February 1942. Classified as an unclassified miscellaneous vessel and designated IX-63, Zahma was based at San Diego and operated as a local patrol craft into the spring of 1943. Placed out of service on 13 April 1943, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 July 1944.

ALTADENAN BUYS FINE YACHT
A. M. Andrews Bringing Big Pleasure Craft to This Coast
TO MAKE CRUISE
IN SOUTH SEAS
California Hotel Company
Official Predicts Big
Pasadena Season

The Pasadena Star, September 7, 1920

With the news that he has purchased one of the finest yachts on the Atlantic Coast which is now on its way here, A. M. Andrews of Altadena, inter-nationally known banker, vice-president and one of the chief owners of the California Hotel Company, returned home today after a summer passed in the East. Mr. Andrews will be here but a day or two, and will then go to San Diego to greet his family, which is staying there, and welcome his new yacht, which is expected at that port shortly.
Since Altadena is not a deep sea harbor, it cannot be the home port of the beautiful new yacht, which is named the Zahma, but the nearest harbor, that of San Pedro, will shelter the big new boat except when it is on cruises. One of those cruises, to be undertaken early next year, will be an extensive tour of the South Seas, bearing the Andrews family and friends. That voyage probably will last six or eight months.

Ideal Yachting Climate

“California and the Pacific Coast have the ideal summer yachting climate,” declared Mr. Andrews today. “It was for that reason that I am having my new yacht brought to this coast. Cruising will be a greater pleasure here than along the Atlantic.”

Mr. Andrews is greatly pleased with the record made by his new boat on the trip from New York to the Panama Canal, which it negotiated in thirteen days and twenty hours, setting a new record for yachts on that voyage. He expects a similar new record to be established by the Zahma on its run up the West Coast.

The new Andrews yacht is 95 feet long and 21 feet beam. It is ketch-rigged, with power equipment also, and will be, with the possible exception of Capt. John Barneston’s yacht at San Francisto, the largest pleasure craft in California. It has five staterooms, is palatially finished and a beautiful sea home.

Mr. Andrews already was the owner of a fine yacht in the East, which he now intends to sell. In that craft he attended the international yacht races off Sandy Hook.

Business conditions, none too good in the East in early summer, are improving rapidly, Mr. Andrews reports, and his opinion bears the stamp of authority through the fact that his banking house is one of the largest investment establishments of New York and Chicago.

Many Visitors Coming

“California will have the greatest influx of visitors in its history,” Mr. Andrews said today. “This is not a merely empty prediction, it is a statement of fact. I look for the biggest hotel season Pasadena has ever known. As I just arrived I’ve had no opportunity to check over hotel conditions here, but am gratified to hear of how good the summer season has been.”
Mr. Andrews plans to remain in California only until about October 1, when business will again necessitate his return to the East. He will, however, be back early in the winter. Mrs. Andrews accompanied her husband on his summer trip East, but their children were left at San Diego.

Marylanders at Home and Abroad
California Life Magazine, November 6, 1920

With a brilliant world-breaking record behind her, the palatial yacht, Zahma, owned by Mr. A. M. Andrews, vice president of the California Hotel Company, recently sailed into Pacific waters via the Panama Canal, her time from New York harbor in Crystobal this summer being thirteen days and twenty hours.

Just now she is resting from her labors and is being thoroughly overhauled, as Mr. and Mrs. Andrews expect, shortly, to use her in cruising the Mexican coast.

The Zahma, ketch rigged, is ninety-four feet in length and, beside her crew, sleeps eight people. She is finished in all the latest and most luxurious appointments, and combines the beauties of a sailing vessel with the convenience of twin engines.

The Andrews, who have a beautiful 84-foot gasoline boat on the east coast, the Sachem, plan to keep the Zahma for western waters entirely, as the yachtsman firmly believes the west coast is only just beginning to be recognized, its ideal summer and winter climate proving a magnet for cruising.

Several short cruises were made on the Zahma before she went into dry dock, Mr. Andrews himself taking the wheel in a run to San Francisco and return. Among his guests on this occasion were Mr. Garfield Jones of Pasadena and Mr. George Kirkwood of San Rafael Heights. Mr. Charles Hewitt of the Maryland was a delighted guest on a flying voyage to Catalina Island and back.

Just at present Mr. Andrews is in the east, but his winsome wife and two lovely kiddies, after several weeks at Coronado, are once again at their luxurious home in Altadena.

WWII service

Acquired by the Port Director of San Diego, California, from R. J. Rheem on 13 February, Zahma was placed in service on 26 February 1942. Classified as an unclassified miscellaneous vessel and designated IX-63, Zahma was based at San Diego and operated as a local patrol craft into the spring of 1943. Placed out of service on 13 April 1943, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 July 1944.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Notable Guest, and Reunion Information):

Ex; Thespian

Owner/Guardian: (1915-1919) – John H. Cromwell, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York.
Owner/Guardian: (1919-1920) – F. I. Jenckes of Providence, R. I.
Owner/Guardian: (1920-1929) – Archie M. Andrews, Altadena (inter-nationally known banker, vice-president and one of the chief owners of the California Hotel Company.)
Owner/Guardian: (1929) – Carl Schilling, Beverly Hills, California. (California Yacht Club)
Owner/Guardian: (1934,1938) – Donald Crisps and Jane Murfin
Owner/Guardian: (1941) – R. S. Rheem, Orinda, Calif (Newport Harbor Yacht Club)
Owner/Guardian: (1942-1944) Eleventh Naval District, Acquired by the Port Director of San Diego, Calif., from R. J. Rheem on 13 February 1942, Zahma was placed in service on 26 February 1942. Classified as a miscellaneous axiliary and designated IX-63, she was based at San Diego and operated as a local patrol craft into the spring of 1943. Placed out of service on 13 April 1943, Zahma was stricken from the Navy List on 18 July 1944.
Owner/Guardian: (1960) – Waldo Waterman
 

Historical:

118 foot Schooner “Zaca”, which means “peace” in Samoan, was designed by Garland Rotch and built by Nunes Brothers Boat and Ways Co., Sausalito, California, for Templeton Crocker (grandson of Charles Crocker, one of the “big four” who built the Central Pacific Railroad.) Zaca was Launched in 1929 and christened by Academy Award winner Marie Dressler. Crocker sponsored expeditions to Polynesia, traveled the world in his yacht and helped rejuvenate the California Historical Society. Garland Rotch was Zaca’s first captain and her maiden voyage in 1930 was the first time a private yacht circumnavigated the globe from the West Coast. The crew included, scientists, about a dozen professional sailors as well as a photographers. In 1941, every seaworthy private yacht over 75′ was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy. Templeton Crocker was paid just $35,000 for his beloved $350,000 schooner. Zaca was never renamed, except in World War II where she was “IX-73”

In 1946 Zaca was purchased by Errol Flynn who proceeded to do a full, much needed restoration and de-militarization. The Zaca was Errol Flynn’s pride and joy throughout the years of ownership until October 14th, 1959 the day he passed away. What followed was a horrendous crime! Errol Flynn’s estate was for 14 years in probate totally inexcusable. The Zaca suffered dreadfully – she was so badly abused and suffered outrageous indignities during this time.. She was sold, she was stolen, she was robbed of all her values, respect and distinctions. She was left to decompose! But as Errol was a survivor, so was the Zaca she held out til one day her rescuer Roberto Memmo found and restored her to more than her former glory!

World War II Service

Due to the need for local patrol and rescue craft in the busy waters in the San Francisco area during World War II, the schooner was acquired by the Navy from Templeton Crocker on 12 June 1942. Placed in service on 19 June 1942 and assigned to the Western Sea Frontier, Zaca, classified a miscellaneous auxiliary and designated IX-73 operated as a plane-guard ship, standing ready to rescue the crews of any planes downed nearby.

Eventually relieved by the frigates (PF’s) of Escort Squadron 41, Zaca was placed out of service at Treasure Island, California on 6 October 1944; and her name was struck from the Navy list on 13 November 1944.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

Owner/Guardian: 1990 – Roberto Memmo, Monaco
Owner/Guardian: 1990 – 1990 – Phillip Coussins
Owner/Guardian: 1965 – 1990 – Bernard Voisin, Villefranche
Owner/Guardian: 1959 – 1965 – Freddie Tinsley
Owner/Guardian: 1946 – 1959 – Errol Flynn, San Francisco
Owner/Guardian: 1945 – 1946 – Joseph Rosenberg, San Francisco for $14,350
Owner/Guardian: 1945 – 1945 – War Shipping Administration
Owner/Guardian: 1942 – 1945 – Navy – Name IX-73
Owner/Guardian: 1929 – 1942 – Templeton Crocker

In the Wake of the Zaca from SailFlix on Vimeo.

Other name(s): 1955 Pacific, Willamette Pacific 1969, Imagineer 1980, Friendship 1980 – Complement: 15 (with 1 warrant officer) – Current Owner: Diane S. House, Shawn Berrigan

Historical:

Wolcott, a 100-foot patrol boat built to combat rum-runners during Prohibition (1920-1933), was one of 13 in her class, which were delivered to the United States Coast Guard. Corwin was delivered first on October 21, 1925, ending with WOLCOTT on July 26, 1926. These 13 were steel-hulled patrol boats that were capable of close inshore work but were slower than the 75-foot patrol boats. They made up for their slower speed and lack of maneuverability with better accommodations for the crew so that they could stay at sea for longer periods and work well off-shore. They were all built by Defoe Boat & Motor Works of Bay City, Michigan.

Wolcott was delivered and accepted by the Coast Guard on 24 July 1926 in Bay City, Michigan. She departed Bay City for Boston on 28 July 1926, arriving there on 19 August 1926. She then motored to Curtis Bay, Maryland and departed 22 August for Pascagoula, Mississippi. She arrived at her initial station of Pascagoula on 4 September 1926 where she served through 1934. She was then transferred to Milwaukee, Wisconsin until she was placed out of service on 12 May 1936.

The High-Seas Sinking of the I’M ALONE

After a spirited chase off the New Orleans Bar. The Cutters Dexter and Wolcott were forced to fire on the schooner “I’m Alone” when their captain refused to surrender or allow the cutters’ officers to board and search the vessel. The “I’m Alone” was known as a notorious smuggling vessel, having been engaged in smuggling liquor into the United States for several years. Until the latter part of 1928, the I’m Alone operated on the New England Coast and had caused the Coast Guard forces a great deal of trouble. The commanding officer of the Dexter spoke to the master of the I’m Alone through a megaphone and informed him that the I’m Alone would be sunk unless it obeyed the command to stop. Warning shots were fired ahead and when the vessel did not stop, the Dexter fired through the riggings and later put a dozen shots into the hull of the I’m Alone. The sea was too rough to permit the I’m Alone to be boarded and seized by force and the furthermore the master of the I’m Alone waved a revolver in a threatening manner indicating that he would resist forcibly any attempt to board his vessel. The I’m Alone sank at 9:05 a.m. on March 22. The Coast Guard vessels picked up the members of the crew of the I’m Alone with the exception of one person who was drowned. When the body of this seaman was taken from the water, the members of the Coast Guard worked more than two and one-half hours in an attempt to resuscitate him but without avail. On January 5th 1935 the International Commission concluded that although the I’m Alone’s business at the time she sunk was unlawful, the action taken by the Coast Guard was unlawful too. The U.S. Government apologized to the Canadian government and paid $25,000 as a token of regret.

Owner’s comments: – The vessel was commissioned as the USCG CUTTER WOLCOTT and was used in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. In 1929 the Wolcott fired from her 3″/23 anti-aircraft caliber guns the first shots against the now famous rum runner A’lone. The chase was on and two days later the USCG CUTTER DEXTER fired shots and sank the A’lone.

The Army Corp of Engineers acquired the boat from the USCG in 1936 They converted it into a survey vessel and put it into service on the Great Lakes.

During WW2 she patrolled the Atlactic coast. In the late 40s back in the Army Corp of Engineers hands she was put into service in the Panama Canal zone as a public relation vessel and was at the disposal of the Governor and other officials for outing and events.

In the mid 1950s Tidewaters Trans CO purchased her and used it for an oil survey vessel on the west coast of the USA.
In 1968 Willamette Tug and Barge purchased the vessel and used it as a company yacht; I believe at this time she had a teak paneled interior installed, along with the 671 diesels.

Fast forward to the 1990s the Corwin Class Patrol Boat WOLCOTT was bought at auction by a retired dodge dealer, and was now in private hands. She sat in Portland OR for the next six Years. By March of 2001, the current owner Shawn Berrigan, on his 40th birthday, purchased the vessel along with his now wife Diane. They hauled her out at the Foss Maritime Shipyard in Rainier OR and spent the next year replacing bottom plating, a new fuel tank, and wiring. After work was complete they moved the vessel to Sacramento CA, where they spent the next two years until they lost their mooring lease. They then moved to Steamboat Landing in the Sacramento Delta. In October of 2004 they purchased a small marina with a house on the property in Courtland, CA, which ensured a safe mooring and home for WOLCOTT.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest)

• Owner/Guardian: (1926-1936) – United States Coast Guard
• Disposition: (1936) – Transferred to the War Department
• Owner/Guardian: (1936-1950) – The Army Corp of Engineers
• Owner/Guardian: (1954-1957) – Pacific Towboat and Salvage Co.
• Owner/Guardian: (1957-1978) – Russell Family, Inc
• Owner/Guardian: (1978-1995) – Willamette Western, Inc
• Owner/Guardian: (1995-1995) – Air-Sea International/Robert L. Jarvis
• Owner/Guardian: (1995-2001) – Lattitude Educational and Counseling Service, Inc.
• Owner/Guardian: (2001-2001) – Robert L. Jarvis Trustee RLJ Revocable Trust.
• Owner/Guardian: (2001-present) – Diane S. House/Shawn Berrigan.

Oliver Wolcott (1760-1833)

Wolcott was appointed by President George Washington to be the 2nd Secretary of the Treasury. He served from February 3, 1795 to March 3, 1797. Wolcott was retained in office by President John Adams and Served from March 4, 1797 to December 31, 1800. When Alexander Hamilton, the 1st Secretary of the Treasury, resigned from the Cabinet, President Washington appointed Wolcott, placing in the office a man known to be a vigorous supporter of Alexander Hamilton’s financial program.

Wolcott, a third generation scion of an American family prominent in Connecticut and national affairs during the colonial and early national periods, had attracted attention as a specialist in public finance for his work in settling the financial dispute between Connecticut and the Federal Government in 1784. After serving briefly as Comptroller of Accounts for Connecticut during 1788-1789, he was named Auditor (1789-1791) and then Comptroller of the United States, where he served from 1791 until 1795. An enthusiastic proponent of Alexander Hamilton’s financial philosophy and program, Wolcott spent much of his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury defending his increasingly unpopular financial program against the attacks of the Jeffersonians.

He was retained in office as Secretary of the Treasury by President John Adams, and served through that Administration until his resignation during the election campaign of 1800, effective December 31, 1800, to accept the U.S. Judgeship of Connecticut. Oliver Wolcott died on June 1, 1833 in New York City. He had served briefly in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Resources

• Donald Canney. U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.
• U.S. Coast Guard. Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 – December 31, 1933.
  Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).
• United States Coast Guard (Historians Office)
• Owners: Diane House/Shawn Berrigan
• Naval Cover Museum (NAMESAKE – Oliver Wolcott (1760-1833)
• Photo credits (in order of appearance: Diane S. House/Shawn Berrigan, The Army Corps of Engineers, Yale University Art Gallery, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
• British Pathé (Rum Running (1929)

 

 

Wartime designation: USS Vileehi (IX-62)

Type: Auxiliary Ketch

LOA: 80′ 0″ / 24.00m – LWL: – Beam: 19′ 3″ / 5.87m – Draft: 11′ 5″ / 3.48m – Displacement: 54 Tons – Sail Area: 1,582 sq ft / 147 m² – Original Owner: – Original Name: – Year Launched: 1930 – Designed by: Edson B. Schock – Built by: San Diego Marine Construction Company – Hull Material: Wood – In service: 26 February 1942 – Out of service: 20 September 1945

Historical:

The USS Vileehi a wooden-hulled ketch with an auxiliary engine was designed by Edson B. Schock and built in 1930 at San Diego, California by the San Diego Marine Construction Company. The vessel was acquired by the Navy from Hiram T. Horton of San Diego on 23 December 1941.

WWII service

Assigned to the 11th Naval District on 17 February 1942, Vileehi was given the designation IX-62 and placed in service on 26 February. She operated locally out of San Diego for the remainder of World War II and was placed out of service on 20 September 1945. Returned to her owner on 27 September, Vileehi was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 October 1945.

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Notable Guest, and Reunion Information):

Owner: (1930) –
Owner: (1941) – Hiram T. Horton of San Diego
 

Wartime designation: CGR-3080

Type: Gaff-rigged schooner

ex; Hardi Biaou; Mandalay

LOA: 110′ 6″ / 33.68m – LOD: – LWL: 84’6″ / 25.75m – Beam: 24′ 3″ / 7.39m – Draft:13′ 0″ / 4.00m – Displacement: 385,300 lbs / 174,769 kg – Original Owner: Dr. Henry D. Lloyd, Brooklin, MA. – Original Name: Hardi Biaou – Year Launched: 24 March, 1928 – Designed by: John G. Alden – Design No. : 350 – Sail Area: – Built by: George Lawley & Son, Neponset, MA – Hull Material: Wood – Official No. : 227257 – Fate: Sank (inexperienced crew) Triumph Reef South Miami

Historical:

VALOR (Originally HARDI BIAOU, 1928), was designed by John G. Aiden for Dr. Henry D. Lloyd, of Brooklin, MA.

David T. Parsons, commander of Valor, a 112-foot schooner, says: Alden had designed Valor to go anywhere in the world. She had seven tiled showers and four heads. Accommodations were so good that sometimes we had as many as twenty-one men onboard. She even had built-in whale-oil tanks, one on either side of the bow, with outboard connections to spread the oil to calm the seas

WWII service

Valor served during the war as United States Coast Guard Picket Patrol CGR-3080

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Notable Guest, and Reunion Information):

Owner: (1928) – Dr. Henry D. Lloyd, Brooklin, MA.
Owner: Lucius Beebe
Owner: Amory Haskell
Owner: (1961) – R. Fred Irvine, Miami, FL