USS ''Araner'' was a wooden-hulled auxiliary ketch, designed by

Jack Hanna Jack Bushnell Hanna (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American zookeeper and a former director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. "Jungle Jack" was director of the zoo from 1978 to 1992, and is viewed as largely responsible for elevat ...

, built in 1926 at

Essex, Massachusetts Essex is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Newburyport. It is known for its former role as a center of shipbuilding. The population was 3,675 at the 2020 ce ...

by the Arthur D. Story Shipyards, and acquired by motion picture director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

in June 1934. Originally named ''Faith'', she was refurbished and renamed ''Araner'' in honor of the Aran Islands, whence Ford's family had come. During the 1930s, the yacht served as a place where Ford could escape the bustle of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

in the company of friends, including

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural ...

, Preston Foster and Wingate Smith. Ford kept the yacht moored at Santa Catalina Island. During the winter months, Ford would take the yacht down to Mexico with his male friends including Wayne and Bond. The film director was appointed a

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

in September 1934 and, according to one of his biographers, used ''Araner'' off

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 ...

for intelligence-gathering operations. In 1940, the commandant of the

11th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

commended Ford for his "… initiative in securing valuable information…" on that region. After he was recalled to active duty in the summer of 1941, Ford had little use for his yacht. Shortly thereafter, America's entry into

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 opposin ...

in December 1941 prompted the United States Navy to acquire many private vessels and ''Araner'' was among them, for local patrol duties. Taken over on a

bareboat charter A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible f ...

on 27 January 1942, ''Araner'' was delivered to the Navy at the section base at

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. Classified as a miscellaneous auxiliary and given the designation IX-57, she was placed in service on 26 February 1942. Assigned initially to the 11th Naval District and then, on 23 July 1942, to the Western Sea Frontier, the ketch operated out of San Diego, under sail power for much of the time, patrolling off Guadalupe and

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

s. Transferred back to the 11th Naval District forces upon completion of her duties under the Commander, Western Sea Frontier, ''Araner'' was laid up at the Naval Frontier Base San Diego on 1 May 1944; and her crew transferred to YAG-6. Delivered to Mrs. John Ford on 12 July 1944, ''Araner'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 14 October 1944. Ford continued to use the yacht until her rising operating expenses prompted him to sell her circa 1971. Acquired by Fran M. Dimond, of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, the craft retained her name into 1974, when she was bought by the San Marino Travel Service. Still homeported at Honolulu, she was given back her original name, ''Faith'' in, or about, 1975. Renamed again, to ''Windjammer'', a short time later, she was acquired by the Guam Rent-a-Car Company and served as a tourist-carrying craft into the early 1980s. She resumed the name ''Araner'' in 1988, still homeported Honolulu.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Araner Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy Ships built in Essex, Massachusetts Sailing ships of the United States 1926 ships