''Black Douglas'' (later ', ''Aquarius'', ''Aquarius W''; now ''El Boughaz I'') is a three-masted staysail auxiliary schooner built for Robert C. Roebling (great-grandson of

John A. Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated as ...

and grand-nephew of

Washington Roebling Washington Augustus Roebling (May 26, 1837 – July 21, 1926) was an American civil engineer who supervised the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, designed by his father John A. Roebling. He served in the Union Army during the American Civ ...

) at the

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

, and launched on 9 June 1930. Designed by renowned

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

naval architects H.J. Gielow & Co., she is one of the largest steel-

hulled Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

schooners ever built. The

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

undertook a variety of functions during her first three and a half decades: private

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used 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 , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

for the Roebling family, patrol vessel in

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(as a "patrol yacht – coastal"; PYc-45), and

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

for the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

plying the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. She was bought at auction by Louis Black of

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, to be used as a

treasure hunter Treasure hunter is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities. The practice of treasure ...

in the Caribbean. Black sailed the ship through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

and then spent eight years treasure hunting in the

Turks and Caicos The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

. He eventually sold the ship to Capt. George Stoll, who turned her into a second

Flint School The Flint School was a preparatory school founded by educators George and Betty Stoll. Based in Sarasota, Florida, United States, it operated aboard first one, then two, school ships from 1969 to 1981. Girls as well as boys aged 12 to 18 sailed th ...

school ship. The school closed in 1981 and she was sold, and in 1982–1983 was reconditioned at the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard in Lemwerder, Germany, serving as a template for the first generation of super yachts. She is currently owned by King Mohammed VI of Morocco. She was launched with a 325-Horsepower, hp Cooper Industries, Cooper-Bessemer marine diesel engine, later replaced by a 600-hp (@600 RPM) model from San Francisco's Enterprise Engine, Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company. She now is equipped with twin 290-hp Volvo Pentas. She has flown the flags of the United States, Panama, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, and Morocco (current).

In print

* "As smooth...under power as sail"; Cooper-Bessemer advertisement w/ photo (''Yachting'', May 1930). * "'Black Douglas' Runs into Trouble" (''Savannah Morning News'', [1942]). * ''Cradle of Ships'' (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1958). * ""Quite normal pupils"...nur ganz billig ist für sie die schwimmende Schule nicht" (''Kieler Chronik'', 4 October 1974). * "Jovens americanos gostaram de ver brasileiro sempre sorrindo" (''A Província do Pará'', 15 April 1975). * "Bermuda Gets an Early Taste of Tall Ship Fever" (''Royal Gazette'', 27 May 1976). * Cover photo (''The Bermudian'', August 1976). * "Eine komplette höhere Schule kam unter Schonersegeln nach Lübeck" (''Lübecker Nachrichten'', 28 October 1977). * ''Probing the Oceans 1936–1976'' (San Diego: Tofua Press, 1978). * ''Les Antilles aujourd'hui'' (Paris: Éditions JA, 1979). * ''Adventures of a Zoologist'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980). * ''Beken of Cowes: A Century of Tall Ships'' (London: Harrap, 1985). * ''Bath Iron Works: The First Hundred Years'' (Portland: Anthoensen Press, 1987). * "Alternate Destination: Cádiz" (''SAIL'', October 1987). * ''The First 25 Years'' (Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce [Southwest Fisheries Center, La. Jolla, Calif.], 1989). * "Aquarius, a Yacht to Treasure" (''Financial Times'', 30 & 31 December 1989). * Painting (for October 2000) in the ''Professional Yachtsman’s Calendar'' (Bungay, Suffolk: Colin Squire Publishing, 1999). * S/Y ''Aquarius'' sales brochure (Ft. Lauderdale: Fraser Yachts Worldwide, 2002). * ''Chapman's Great Sailing Ships of the World'' (New York: Hearst, 2005). * "Ban bèk – Barku di bella" (''Èxtra Boneiru'' [Bonaire, Neth. Antilles], 8 August 2006). * "Top 200 – Die größten Segelyachten" (''Boote'' supplement, Sept./Oct. 2007).

References

External links

Flint School alumnus Palmer Stevens' running historyDepartment of the Interior press release, 1947Department of the Interior press release, 1949
from navsource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Douglas 1930 ships Individual sailing vessels Patrol vessels of the United States Navy Schooners Ships built in Bath, Maine Three-masted ships Royal and presidential yachts Ships of Morocco Treasure hunting

In print

See also

References

External links