HMCS Tuna

HMCS ''Tuna'' was a steam yacht that was converted into a Royal Canadian Navy torpedo boat. She was the first turbine-powered steam yacht ever built. She was built in London, England in 1902 as ''Tarantula'' for Colonel Harry McCalmont. He died soon after she was completed, and in 1903 William Kissam Vanderbilt II acquired her. In 1914 JKL "Jack" Ross bought her and transferred her to the Minister of Naval Service for Canada, who had her converted into a torpedo boat. She served in the First World War until 1917, when she became irreparably unfit for service. She was sold for scrap in 1918, and her hulk survived in Halifax, Nova Scotia until the 1930s.

Built for Harry McCalmont

Cox & King of Pall Mall, London designed the yacht. Yarrow Shipbuilders of Poplar, London built her in 1902 for Harry McCalmont, who was a colonel in the British Army; a Conservative Member of Parliament; and a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Her length was , her beam was , and her depth was . Her tonnages were , , and 172 Thames Measurement. Like Charles Parsons' ''Turbinia'', she had three drive shafts, each driven by a steam turbine, and with more than one screw on each shaft. She was the first turbine-driven steam yacht ever built. She was reputed to be capable of . Her lines were similar to those of a destroyer of her era, and quite unlike most steam yachts of the first decade of the 20th century. She was registered in London. Her United Kingdom official number was 115849, and by 1903 her code letters were TLFR.

Bought by William K Vanderbilt

McCalmont died in December 1902. By March 1903 WK Vanderbilt II had acquired ''Tarantula''. He had her delivered from England to the United States that July and August. Her coal bunkers were too small for her to cross the North Atlantic entirely under her own power, so Vanderbilt had her towed as far as Bermuda. From there she steamed to Newport News, Virginia under her own power. At times she developed up to . She reached Newport News on 5 August. He registered her in New York. By 1907 her code letters were KTQD.

Experiments suggested that ''Tarantula'' would be just as swift without her middle turbine. Toward the end of 1903, Vanderbilt decided to have the middle turbine removed to save weight. The work was undertaken at Tebo's Pier in South Brooklyn in January 1904. At the same time, her forward deckhouse was converted into a dining saloon, and her after deckhouse was converted into a lounge. On 7 May, ''Tarantula'' was at anchor off Robert Jacob's shipyard on City Island, Bronx, being overhauled by a party of 32 men, when the lead-acid batteries for her electric lighting system exploded. Her battery room was in her forward hold. The explosion injured three men, one with serious acid burns to his face. He was admitted to Fordham Hospital, where it was feared that he would lose his eyesight. The explosion tore out the bulkheads of her battery room and galley; caused a fire that burned for a few minutes; and caused damage worth an estimated $2,000.

Some fast steam yachts would informally race fast coastal passenger steamships. On 18 May 1904, Vanderbilt tried to use ''Tarantula'' to race the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad steamship ''Richard Peck'' in Long Island Sound. The two steamers were neck and neck until Hart Island, where Vanderbilt broke off the race and turned ''Tarantula'' back toward his private anchorage in Great Neck, Long Island. In June, Vanderbilt offered to sell ''Tarantula'' to the United States Department of the Navy, for research into turbine propulsion. His offer was declined. Opponents of the purchase noted that since ''Tarantula'' was built in 1902, turbine propulsion had been further developed. The Department should therefore buy a brand new turbine craft, rather than one built two years ago. On 28 September, Howard Gould's steam yacht ''IV'' raced ''Tarantula'' in a formal race over a course in Long Island Sound from Stepping Stones Light, turning at a buoy at Eatons Neck Light. ''Niagara IV'' had triple-expansion reciprocating engines, but beat the turbine steamer by 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

In February 1905, the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club elected WK Vanderbilt, Jr as its Commodore. He made his sloop ''Virginia'' his flagship, and ''Tarantula'' her tender. In 1905 Vanderbilt had had ''Tarantula''s original Yarrow boilers removed, and replaced with new ones with twice the heating capacity and furnace grate area. On 9 May that year, ''Tarantula'' ran a set of sea trials over the Government course at Great Neck, on which she averaged .

Around the beginning of June 1905, ''Tarantula'' broke one of her propeller shafts while racing ''Niagara IV'', which then took ''Tarantula'' in tow. When Vanderbilt had her middle turbine removed, he replaced the small screws on the port and starboard shafts with one large screw on each, contrary to Parsons' recommendation. This may have increased the strain on the shafts, and contributed to the breakage. On 26 June, ''Tarantula'' accidentally collided with the yacht ''Norman'' in Long Island Channel. The collision stove in ''Tarantula''s bow, deeply scored ''Norman''s hull, and tore a "naphtha launch" (i.e. motorboat) from its davits aboard ''Norman''. Both yachts remained afloat, and ''Tarantula'' went to Robert Jacob's shipyard on City Island for repair. On 20 July, Charles Ranlett Flint's yacht ''Arrow'' beat ''Tarantula'' in an impromptu race from Great Neck to the New York Yacht Club station at the foot of East 23rd Street. On 15 September, ''Niagara IV'' and ''Tarantula'' raced each other in Long Island Sound again. The course was , from Bridgeport to New Haven and back. Each owner staked $5,000 in a sweepstake, and this time ''Tarantula'' won.

On 21 May 1906, ''Tarantula'' was entering Hampton Roads when she suffered an accident to her machinery. She limped into Newport News, but was back in service by 6 July. On 21 July, ''Tarantula'' broke one of her propeller shafts and lost two of her screws after colliding with an unidentified submerged object between Point Judith Light and Beavertail Lighthouse. She reached Newport, Rhode Island under her own power, but at reduced speed.

On 1 January 1909, WK Vanderbilt and guests left either Havana

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