The first USS ''Sabalo'' (SP-225) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

in commission from 1917 to 1919. Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ''Sabalo'' was sold to private interests before returning to service as a patrol vessel in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, this time with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

, renamed ''Cougar''. Returning to private ownership following the war, the vessel sank in a hurricane in 1950.

Description

''Sabalo'' had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 204. The vessel was

long overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . The ship had a speed of and in U.S. Navy service was equipped with two 3-pounder guns and machine guns. In U.S. service ''Sabalo'' had a

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

of 12.

Service history

Construction and US Navy career

''Sabalo'' was built as a civilian motor

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

in 1916 by George Lawley and Sons at Neponset,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

for W. Earl Dodge of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, a local financier. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner for $25,230 on 11 May 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned on 20 July 1917 as USS ''Sabalo'' (SP-225). Assigned to the

3rd Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

, ''Sabalo'' operated in the

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

area on

section patrol A Section Patrol Craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential wartime service before, during, and shortly after World War I. Historical overview The SP/ID registration system In 1916, with World War I raging ...

duty for the remainder of World War I. On 1 October 1917, she joined the patrol vessel in coming to the assistance of the sinking patrol vessel USS ''Mohawk'', which had collided with the British tanker off

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and she and ''Mohican'' rescued all 77 members of ''Mohawk''s crew. ''Sabalo'' was decommissioned on 3 March 1919 and returned to Dodge the same day.

Interwar

Dodge kept ''Sabalo'' in use as a pleasure yacht until 1921, when he sold her to

Van Lear Black Van-Lear Black (18 December 187518 August 1930) was an American publisher and civil aviation pioneer. Early life Black was born in Cumberland, Maryland, into a wealthy family who claimed they could trace their lineage back to the American Rev ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland. Franklin Roosevelt piloted the yacht as a guest of Black. Black fell to his death off the aft deck in 1930. Black's estate in turn sold her in 1931 to the Albert Pack Corporation of Chicago, Illinois, which renamed her ''Breezin' Thru''. In 1937, Leila Y. Post Montgomery of

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, Michigan, bought ''Breezin' Thru''.

Royal Canadian Navy and postwar service

After failing to acquire any British vessels at the beginning of World War II for auxiliary purposes, the Royal Canadian Navy discreetly searched the American market for suitable ships. However, American law prevented the sale of ships for possible use in the war to any of the belligerents. The Royal Canadian Navy requisitioned unsuitable Canadian yachts and had their respective owners go the United States and buy those ships the Navy wanted as replacements. Once the ships arrived in Canada, the navy then returned the original yachts and requisitioned the new ones. The Royal Canadian Navy acquired ''Breezin' Thru'' in 1940 after she was purchased by Clarence Wallace, the president of

Burrard Dry Dock Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Together with neighbouring North Van Ship Repair and Yarrows Ltd. of Esquimalt, which were both later purchased by the company, Bur ...

. ''Breezin Thru'' had not been Wallace's designated target vessel in the United States, but the shipbroker suggested the yacht after the Royal Canadian Navy's selection was found to be in a poor state. Once the vessel had arrived on the

West Coast of Canada The British Columbia Coast, popularly referred to as the BC Coast or simply the Coast, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. As the entire western continental coastline of Canada along the Pacific Ocean is in the pr ...

, Wallace used the vessel himself for a couple of weeks to maintain the illusion that ''Breezin Thru'' had not been purchased for military purposes. She was rearmed with one 6-pounder gun at the

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

. The ship was renamed ''Cougar'' and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 11 September 1940 with the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

Z 15. In Canadian service, the vessel had a complement of 5 officers and 35 crew. After commissioning, ''Cougar'' had a quiet career on the west coast, initially placed on

antisubmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

patrol out of

Esquimalt, British Columbia The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

. In May 1942 she was transferred to

Prince Rupert Force A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, based at

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

, British Columbia. She returned to Esquimalt in June 1944, where she served as an

examination vessel An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime. An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port. T ...

. The vessel was paid off on 23 November 1945 and sold to American interests in 1946. Once again named ''Breezin' Thru'', she operated as a pleasure yacht until sunk during a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, in September 1950.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Department of the Navy: Navy History and Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: ''Sabalo'' (American Motor Yacht, 1916). Served as USS ''Sabalo'' (SP-225) in 1917–1919
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabalo (SP-225) Armed yachts of the Royal Canadian Navy Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Boston 1916 ships Individual yachts Maritime incidents in 1950 Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea