USS ''Lyndonia'' (SP-734), later known as USS ''Vega'' (SP-734) was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was assigned as an armed patrol craft, but, at times, performed other duties along the

U.S. East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard ...

, such as dispatch boat and training ship for the

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

. 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, 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 Business ...

on 5 September 1917. Designated SP-734 and converted for Navy use at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 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 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 cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third edition, ...

to ''Lyndonia'' and took her in tow. On Christmas Day, while en route to the Virginia Capes, 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 where the yacht then underwent repairs in drydock.

Ice blocks passage

''Lyndonia'' got underway on 4 February for New London, Connecticut, and arrived off the

Delaware Capes Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inlan ...

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

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

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

and based at

Cold Spring Inlet Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

, near Cape May, New Jersey, for patrols off the New Jersey coast.

Friendly fire on a neutral ship

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

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

at long range. Going to general quarters, ''Vega'' altered course to close the unidentified craft and flashed recognition signals and challenges in

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...

. 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 Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

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 u ...

bound from Cuba to New York City 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, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

. No member of the Danish vessel's crew knew Morse code—hence her seeming reluctance to reply to ''Vega's'' challenges! The warship 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 located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

, ''Vega'' sailed south to

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

, where she arrived three days later to commence duties as a training ship 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 Afr ...

at the

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

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, 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 Philadelphia Navy Yard 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, 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