USS Wadena ( SP - 158 ) USS " Wadena " ( SP - 158 ) was a converted yacht patrol vessel of the United States Navy during World War I ] . She was built in 1891 in Cleveland , Ohio as a steam yacht for Jeptha Homer Wade II of Cleveland and New York City . During her Navy career , " Wadena " made several trips escorting submarine chaser s across the Atlantic Ocean , and , later , patrolling in the Atlantic and Mediterranean . " Wadena " came to the aid of sinking tug and rescued all of her crew . During her career as Wade ’ s personal yacht , she sailed to the Far East in 1895 , calling at ports in Japan and China . After the yacht had rescued a Japanese boat in distress , Emperor Meiji attempted to purchase " Wadena " . Although Wade declined the offers , the ship , after moving on to visit ports in China , was detained for several hours under suspicion of being a Japanese vessel . " Wadena " was sold several times after her Navy career ended in 1919 , eventually being abandoned and scrapped in 1931 . Yacht of J . H . Wade . " Wadena " was a steel - hulled yacht built in 1891 as the personal yacht for Jeptha Home Wade II by the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland , Ohio . Wade was the grandson of Jeptha Home Wade , the founder of Western Union Telegraph . " Wadena " was outfitted with a triple expansion steam engine and was also rigged as a schooner for traveling under sail . The steel of her hull ranged from ¼ - to ½ - inch thickness ( 6 to 13 mm ) and was applied to a steel frame , and her steel decks were covered with wood . The ship was painted white with teak trimming and featured a gilded mermaid as a figurehead at her prow . Appointments . The ship was fitted with six watertight compartments and ballast tanks capable of holding of water . " Wadena " was the first yacht on the Great Lakes to be equipped with Coston night signal lights . The yacht carried a crew of 26 officers and men and carried four boats including a steam launch and a metal lifeboat " Wadena " was equipped with machinery to distill up to of fresh water daily , and a refrigeration system that was capable of producing of ice daily in addition to chilling food storage areas . The same system also served as both a cooling and a heating system for the ship . The yacht also boasted all - electric lighting from 135 lamps of 16 candlepower ( cp ) ( 15½ candela ( cd ) ) and a searchlight of 2 , 000 cp ( 1 , 950 cd ) . The chartroom , paneled in mahogany and featuring plate glass windows and a settee , served as a lounge or smoking room in mild weather . A curved mahogany staircase led down to the library , which was well - stocked with books and finished in white mahogany with salmon tapestry adorned with roses . Over a hidden writing desk — revealed at the touch of a button — was carved the aphorism " The sea and air are common to all men " . The was library was illuminated by natural light from a ground glass dome and six portholes , but was also equipped with six electric lights . On the port side of the library was the room of Wade ’ s personal physician , Dr . Powell , who accompanied the family on their trips overseas . On the starboard side were rooms for Wade ’ s children . The room for his two sons featured white mahogany and blue tapestry , while the room for his daughter , white mahogany and rose tapestry . Near the daughter ’ s room was the gun case , containing a mix of revolvers , shotguns , rifles , and cutlasses , which were thought to come in handy during visits to the South Seas . Wade ’ s stateroom had elaborately carved mahogany , a double bed , a closet , moveable reading desk , and a porcelain - lined bathtub with hot and cold running water . The table in the dining room seated eight and was furnished in polished red mahogany . The dining room also featured a wine closet , a butler ' s pantry and a dumb waiter to the galley below . The main saloon held a piano festooned with Cupid s blowing on pipes . Travels . After outfitting and trials were completed in November 1891 , " Wadena " traveled from Cleveland and up through the Saint Lawrence Seaway and around to Boston and New York . From there she sailed in January 1892 to the Bahamas and on to meet her owner and family in Sicily . In April , rumors that asserted " Wadena " had sunk in the Mediterranean , perhaps fueled by the how low the boat sat in the water , were dispelled in the American press . The family was accompanied on this initial trip by Wade ’ s mother - in - law , and by his brother - in - law George A . Garretson , a West Point graduate who would later serve as a general in the Spanish - American War . From June 1894 to June 1895 , " Wadena " was on an extended tour to the Far East with the Wade family . While the family traveled via rail to San Francisco and thence to Yokohama , Japan , via a Pacific Mail steamer , " Wadena " traveled alone to meet them . The yacht steamed east from New York on 16 June 1894 for Malta via Gibraltar . She arrived at the latter port 17 days later , having burned 100 tons of coal en route . From Malta , " Wadena " re - coaled at La Valette , and then proceeded through the Suez Canal and on eastward to meet the family at Yokohama . The family called at many ports in Japan and China during their leisurely expedition aboard " Wadena " . Off the coast of Japan , the yacht rescued a bark in distress , towing it into port . After this , Japanese Emperor Meiji attempted to purchase the Wade ’ s yacht , intending to convert it into a dispatch boat , but the family did not part with their craft . Another sojourn — this one in China ‘ s Yangtze River — brought a detention by officials who thought the boat a Japanese vessel in disguise . The yacht was released unharmed after four hours . After tiring of the Far East , the family retraced " Wadena " ’ s eastward course , arriving in Naples in late May . From there the family departed their yacht in order to board the American steamer for its inaugural westbound transatlantic crossing from Southampton on 15 June 1895 . The captain and crew of " Wadena " sailed her back across the Atlantic with orders to prepare her for racing season , and arrived at New York on 16 June 1895 , a year to the day she departed . In on 6 August 1895 , " Wadena " rammed fishing boat " Clara Edena " of Vineyard Haven , Massachusetts , west of Tarpaulin Cove , causing severe damage to the fishing boat . " Wadena " was not significantly damaged in the collision . U . S . Navy patrol craft . In the spring of 1917 , the Navy inspected " Wadena " and acquired her from Wade , of Cleveland , who delivered the ship to the 3d Naval District on 25 May 1917 . Designated SP - 158 , " Wadena " fitted out at the New York Navy Yard for “ distant service ” and was commissioned on 14 January 1918 , Lt . Comdr . Walter M . Falconer , USNR , in command . In company with converted yacht and tug , " Wadena " got underway a half hour before the end of the forenoon watch on 6 February 1918 , for New London , Connecticut . The little convoy encountered ice floes the next day ; " Mariner " towed " Wadena " on two occasions , the tug having to stop and repair her ice - damaged bow on the second occasion , necessitating " Yacona " ’ s towing " Wadena " for a time . Anchoring off New London at the outset , the yacht shifted berths to the Central Vermont Railroad Pier , where she remained until steaming to Newport , Rhode Island , on 22 February . She then coaled from a barge at the coaling station at Melville , Rhode Island , " Wadena " ’ s crew having to transfer the dusty and dusky fuel into their ship by hand - shovels . " Wadena " got underway from Newport , bound for Bermuda , on 24 February 1918 in company with " Yacona " and " Mariner " , and the tug . The four ships then rendezvoused with eleven 110 - foot submarine chasers soon thereafter . The French tug " Mohican " accompanied the group , bringing up the rear . As the convoy worked its way down the eastern seaboard , however , " Mariner " fell progressively astern . She briefly towed the submarine chaser before the tug began to founder in a heavy southwesterly gale that sprang up on 26 February . " Mariner " hoisted the breakdown flag shortly before the end of the forenoon watch and cast loose " SC - 177 " . Soon thereafter , at the start of the afternoon watch , " Mariner " , her seams opened by the pounding sea , her pumps inoperative , and boiler fires put out by the rising water in her engineering spaces , signaled : “ We are sinking fast ” . " Wadena " stood by to render assistance , her quartermaster noting that the sea was “ very rough and running high . ” After embarking two increments of the doomed tug ’ s crew from life rafts , " Wadena " sprayed oil on the water to calm the seas , and then brought on board the rest of " Mariner " ’ s entire complement from three rafts , the last , its occupants having abandoned the tug , decks awash , reaching the yacht ’ s side a half hour before the end of the first dog watch with Lt . ( jg . ) Martin Miller , " Mariner " ’ s commanding officer , on board . Later , while the rest of the convoy continued on its passage and " Mariner " , abandoned , drifted off to sink by day ’ s end , " Wadena " retrieved " SC - 177 " and ultimately reached the British naval station at Hamilton , Bermuda , on 1 March . " Wadena " returned to the east coast of the United States soon thereafter , reaching Charleston , South Carolina , on 10 March 1918 . She remained there until 25 March , when she escorted another convoy of submarine chasers to Bermuda , arriving there on 29 March . Assigned to the “ special task force ” to safeguard the transatlantic passage of submarine chasers slated to operate in European waters , " Wadena " sailed for the Azores on 15 April in company with seven submarine chasers , the U . S . Army tug " Knickerbocker " , and the tug " Lykens " . Making most of the passage under sail , " Wadena " reached Ponta Delgada , Azores , on 27 April . In company with " Yacona " and the fuel ship , " Wadena " then sailed for Bermuda on 4 May and reached the British admiralty dockyard there 10 days later . While at Bermuda , she was drydocked for repairs and the application of anticorrosive ( Italian " Venecium Moravia " red ) and antifouling ( Italian " Venecium Moravia " gray ) paint to her hull . Underway again on 25 May , " Wadena " sailed for the Azores and returned to Bermuda in company with old consort " Yacona " and a trio of tugs , , , and , on 20 June . After subsequently taking part in another transatlantic movement of submarine chasers from Bermuda to Europe , " Wadena " continued on via Ponta Delgada to Gibraltar in a truly allied assemblage , in company with the Italian Navy fuel ship " Bronte " and three French submarine chasers . Reaching Gibraltar on 31 July 1918 , the yacht operated with the U . S . Patrol Squadrons based at that port into the autumn . She performed patrol and escort duties between Gibraltar and Funchal , Madeira ; Ponta Delgada and the Canary Islands ; and Tangiers and Safi , Morocco . On occasion , she also transported mail and people . After escorting the Naval Overseas Transportation Service cargo vessel from Ponta Delgada to Gibraltar between 16 and 21 October , " Wadena " remained at Gibraltar into the second week of November 1918 . An hour into the afternoon watch on 11 November , her quartermaster recorded : “ At 1 : 00 ( pm ) received word that Germany had signed the armistice and that hostilities had ceased at 11 : 00 a . m . ” While the ship lay at Gibraltar , she was inspected by Rear Admiral Albert P . Niblack , Commander , Squadron 2 , Patrol Force . Eventually getting underway on 11 December 1918 to return to the United States , she made part of the passage in company with gunboat s , , and the Coast Guard cutter " Manning " . " Wadena " employed her sails for most of the passage , sailing via Ponta Delgada and Bermuda , and reached New London in company with " Manning " on 3 January 1919 . Placed in reserve , " Wadena " remained at New London into the spring of 1919 . Although stricken from the Navy Register on 24 April 1919 , she remained in commission . As squadron flagship , she departed New London on 5 May 1919 , bound for the New York Navy Yard , reaching there the following day in company with converted yachts , , , and . Later that day , the process of removing her guns and other Navy equipment began . After shifting to the Marine Basin at Brooklyn a week later , " Wadena " was decommissioned on the afternoon of 19 May 1919 . Offered for sale by the Navy , the ship was awarded to Morris Levinson who paid and received title to " Wadena " on 3 September 1919 . On 8 September 1919 , the Navy Department discovered a higher bid from S . H . Johnson of New York City had been received and misfiled , and attempted to rescind the transaction with Levinson by refusing to deliver the yacht to which he held title . Johnson filed suit , with the Navy Department joining as a stakeholder , but the U . S . district court ruled in favor of Levinson . Johnson then appealed to the U . S . court of appeals who threw the Navy out of the suit and reversed the finding , awarding the boat to Johnson . Levinson then appealed to the Supreme Court who restored the decision of the district court , awarding the boat to Levinson . Later career . Little is known of " Wadena " ’ s final years other than she changed hands at least twice more . The yacht was purchased in 1921 by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co . of New York , who in turn , sold the ship later in 1921 to Aeromarine Engineering Sales Co . of Keyport , New Jersey . The ship was abandoned and scrapped in 1931 .