Last summer while senior editor of the Star and his wife were on their trip to the west coast and Canada, they were the guests of Willis Dewees of Vancouver, British Columbia, on his $100,000 private yacht.The luxury ship, which had just come in from a cruise to Alaska, was 110 feet in length and was much smaller than a previous yacht which Mr. Dewees owned and which he said was sold to the government for use in World War II.
There was quite a story about the yacht, and the Star copies it, as follows:
From the Vancouver Daily Province.
The romantic career of the famous old Vancouver steam yacht Moonlight Maid, veteran of the Spanish-American and First Great War, and a rum runner, has come to an end in Seattle.
On Saturday her interior was soaked with oil and her wooden fittings gutted by Foss Launch and Tug Co., of Seattle, who are breaking her up for her steel. Launched in 1893 at Philadelphia as the yacht Columbia, she was built by a New York millionaire, J. Harvey Ladew, as a wedding present for his son.
Pride of Fleet
With her length of 168 feet, luxurious fixtures, and fine clipper lines, she became the pride of the New York Yacht Club, and subsequently the commodore's flagship.
In 1898, when the United States declared war on Spain, the Columbia was taken over by the U. S. Navy and commandeered as the sloop of war USS Wasp.
She was sent to the Philippines and took part in the Battle of Manilla Bay, and at one period in the battle was engaged simultaneously with one Spanish sloop and two smaller Spanish gunboats. She was hit more than 30 times and subsequently sank the sloop.
Sold to Canada
After the war she reverted to her former status as a yacht until the First Great War broke out. when she was purchased by the Canadian government and converted into the depot ship HMCS Stadacona at Halifax. Her name is preserved today in the big Canadian navy shore establishment at Halifax.
After the war she came round to Esquimalt where she was decommissioned, and subsequently converted into a rum-runner.
Once again her identity was changed, this time to the weird name Kuyakuzmt. It is said that it was intended to call her Juyakuz, after a mountain in Alaska, but someone made a mistake and telescoped Kuyakuz Mt. into Kuyakuzmt.
Ran Liquor
She loaded liquor in England, which was landed mysteriously off the Mexican coast, but the heyday of the rum-runners was coming to a close, and after a short career in this trade, she was re-converted into a luxury yacht. Once again her name was changed, this time to Lady Stimson.
Then in 1929, she was sold to W. P. Dewees, veteran Vancouver theater owner, who made a lot more changes, making her one of the most luxurious yachts on the Pacific coast.
Became Tow Boat
He continued to own the old veteran until 1941, when she was sold to Capt. Paul Armour of Armour Salvage and Towing Co., who stripped out the luxurious fittings and converted her into a tow boat. She still had her original 1200 h. p. engines.
There was still plenty of good service left in her stout iron and steel hull, and in 1942 she was purchased by the U. S. government and was used to tow supplies to U. S. Army bases in Alaska and the Aleutians.
After surviving three wars, her years of usefulness were over, so she was sold to the Foss firm of Seattle, who have stripped her fittings and now only the stout old hull remains.
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
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