USS ''Lyndonia'' (SP-734), later known as USS ''Vega'' (SP-734) was a

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 ...

acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

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 ...

. She was assigned as an armed

patrol craft 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 ...

, but, at times, performed other duties along the

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, such as

dispatch boat Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message w ...

and

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

for the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

. Post-war, she was disposed of through sale to the public.

Constructed in New York

''Lyndonia''—a steel-hulled, steam yacht designed by Charles L. Seabury and built in 1907 at Morris Heights, New York, by the Gas Engine and Power Co. and the Charles Seabury Co.—was acquired by the Navy from the noted

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, publisher

Cyrus H. K. Curtis Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis (June 18, 1850June 7, 1933) was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' and ''The Saturday Evening Post''.Ingham, John N. Biographical Dictionary of American Busine ...

on 5 September 1917. Designated SP-734 and converted for Navy use at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

, the former yacht was placed in commission on 4 December 1917.

World War I service

Start-up problems

''Lyndonia'' departed Philadelphia on 22 December bound for

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in company with ''Venetia'' (SP-431) and tugs ''Gypsum Queen'' (SP-430) and ''Montauk'' (SP-1213). At 1020 the following day, ''Lyndonia'' blew two tubes in her forward boiler; at 1800, all tubes in the after boiler blew as well. As the ship slowly lost steam, she signaled ''Venetia'' of her plight. Accordingly, at 1820, ''Montauk'' passed a

hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick rope used in Mooring (watercraft), mooring or towing a ship. A hawser is not waterproof, as is a Nautical cable, cable. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the wikt: ...

to ''Lyndonia'' and took her in tow. On

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

, while en route to the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. The importance of the Chesapeake Bay in American history has lo ...

, the remaining boiler tubes blew, leaving the ship without any steam whatever. As if losing steam were not enough, 10 minutes later, the hawser parted, leaving ''Lyndonia'' adrift for nearly 20 minutes before she was again taken in tow. Subsequently, ''Joseph F. Bellows'' (SP-323) pulled ''Lyndonia'' to the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

where the yacht then underwent repairs in drydock.

Ice blocks passage

''Lyndonia'' got underway on 4 February for

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, and arrived off the

Delaware Capes Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwat ...

the following day, only to encounter heavy ice floes which blocked further passage. She accordingly returned to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, and remained there into the spring, serving as dispatch and mail boat in the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. During this tour of duty, on 20 February, the ship was renamed ''Vega''. On 22 April, ''Vega'' sailed for Philadelphia. Arriving there the following day, she was attached to the

4th 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 ...

and based at Cold Spring Inlet, near

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, for patrols off the

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coast.

Friendly fire on a neutral ship

On 25 June, ''Vega'' sighted a ship resembling a surfaced

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

at long range. Going to

general quarters General quarters, battle stations, or action stations is an announcement made aboard a navy, naval warship to signal that all hands (everyone available) aboard a ship must go to battle stations (the positions they are to assume when the ves ...

, ''Vega'' altered course to close the unidentified craft and flashed recognition signals and challenges in

Morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...

. The ship would not respond, however, and ''Vega'' opened fire with her 6-pounder forward—firing six quick shots before the target hove to. Upon closer investigation, the unidentified ship turned out to be ''SS Skandeborg'', a Danish

merchantman A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

bound from

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with a general cargo—mostly

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

. No member of the Danish vessel's crew knew Morse code—hence her seeming reluctance to reply to ''Vega's'' challenges! The

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

continued her operations out of Cold Spring Inlet into the fall of 1918. During this period, she also undertook local escort duties.

Assigned as training ship

On 28 October, following repairs at the

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

, ''Vega'' sailed south to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, where she arrived three days later to commence duties as a

for

midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afric ...

at the

. She remained in the Annapolis vicinity from 1 November to 4 December before she got underway for

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, on 5 December. Reaching Pensacola three days before Christmas, 1918, ''Vega'' conducted local operations out of Pensacola until 22 March 1919, when she got underway for Philadelphia.

Post-war disposition

The yacht remained at the

through the spring and summer months, and was decommissioned on Friday, 13 September 1919. She was subsequently sold to Charles H. Crocker, of

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, on 20 December 1921. Meanwhile, in 1920, Curtis had a new ship built named Lyndonia after his home estate with that ship, one of the great yachts of its era, also seeing Army and Navy service in World War II.

References

*
USS Lyndonia (SP-734), 1917-1921 - Renamed Vega (SP-734) in February 1918. - Originally the steam yacht Lyndonia (1907)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyndonia World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Patrol vessels of the United States Navy Dispatch boats of the United States Navy Training ships of the United States Navy United States Naval Academy Steam yachts Ships built in Morris Heights, Bronx 1905 ships