History
United States
NameOlympic
OwnerFrank Wright (1917)
BuilderE. W. Heath, Seattle, Washington
Completed1913
FateAcquired by U.S. Navy 15 May 1917
NotesCivilian yacht
History
United States
NameUSS Olympic
NamesakePrevious name retained
OperatorUnited States Navy
Acquired15 May 1917
Commissioned9 June 1917
FateTransferred to U.S. Public Health Service 13 September 1919
United States
NameUSPHS Bailhache
NamesakePreston H. Bailhache (1835–1919), U.S. Marine Hospital Service physician
OperatorU.S. Public Health Service
Acquired13 September 1919
FateSold 10 February 1934
United States
NameMoby Dick
NamesakeA fictional white whale in the 1851 Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick
Owner
  • H. W. McCurdy (1934)
  • S. Catherine McCurdy (1941)
Acquired10 February 1934
FateAcquired by U.S. Army December 1941
United States
NameUSAS Q-108
OperatorUnited States Army
AcquiredDecember 1941
Out of service1945
FateReturned to owner 1946
United States
NameMoby Dick
NamesakeA fictional white whale in the 1851 Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick
Owner
  • S. Catherine McCurdy (1946)
  • Michael R. Uttecht (1949)
  • Subsequently various owners
Acquired1946
Fate
  • Sank 24 May 1989
  • Refloated, stored, and scrapped
General characteristics
(as U.S. Navy patrol vessel)
TypePatrol vessel
Tonnage40 gross tons
Displacement28.4 tons
Length64 ft (20 m)
Beam13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Draft4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) mean
PropulsionOne 55 hp (41 kW) 3-cylinder Standard gasoline engine, one shaft
Speed9.4 knots
Complement18
Armament
General characteristics
(as USPHS vessel, private yacht, cargo vessel, and passenger vessel)
Tonnage
Length
  • 64.9 ft (19.8 m) (1920)
  • 61.7 ft (18.8 m) (1948)
Beam
  • 13 ft (4 m) (1920)
  • 13.8 ft (4.2 m) (1948)
Draft
  • 5.6 ft (1.7 m) (1920)
  • 6.4 ft (2 m) (1920)
Crew
  • 1 (1948)
  • 8 (1950)

USS Olympic (SP-260) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. After her U.S. Navy career ended, she served in the United States Public Health Service as the boarding vessel USPHS Bailhache from 1919 to 1934. She then operated as the yacht, cargo vessel, and passenger vessel Moby Dick until 1989, except for a period of World War II United States Army service as USAS Q-108 from 1941 to 1946.

The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships erroneously claims that the vessel served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1919 to 1934 as a survey vessel named USC&GS Dailhache.

Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

Olympic was built as a civilian yacht of the same name in 1913 by E. W. Heath at Seattle, Washington. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, Frank Wright of Seattle, on 15 May 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned on 9 June 1917 as USS Olympic (SP-260).

Service history

U.S. Navy

Operating on section patrol duties in the 13th Naval District (headquartered at Port Townsend, Washington) during World War I, Olympic patrolled in and around Puget Sound.

U.S. Public Health Service

Olympic was transferred to the United States Public Health Service on 13 September 1919, and on 12 November 1919 was renamed USPHS Bailhache[1] in honor of Preston H. Bailhache (1835–1919), a prominent physician of the United States Marine Hospital Service who had once served as a doctor for the family of Abraham Lincoln.[2][3] Bailhache served with the Public Health Service at Seattle as a boarding vessel until sold to H. W. McCurdy on 10 February 1934.[1]

Later career

After her sale, the vessel returned to service as a private yacht with the name Moby Dick. S. Catherine McCurdy of Port Townsend acquired Moby Dick in 1941.[1]

The United States Army acquired Moby Dick for World War II service in December 1941 and renamed her USAS Q-108. She remained in U.S. Army service until the end of the war in 1945, and the Army returned her to her previous owner, S. Catherine McCurdy, in 1946. The vessel again was named Moby Dick.[1]

In 1949, Michael R. Uttecht of King Cove, Territory of Alaska, acquired Moby Dick and placed her in service as a cargo vessel. Moby Dick subsequently had a number of owners in the Pacific Northwest and eventually was converted into a passenger vessel.[1]

Moby Dick sank at her moorings on 24 May 1989. She was refloated and placed in storage at Everett, Washington. She eventually was scrapped.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive USAS Q-108 ex-USPHS Bailhache ex-Olympic (SP 260)
  2. ↑ Zeller, Bob (21 January 2022). "Abraham Lincoln Excelled in Wrestling—What Other Sports Did He Play?". history.com. History. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Preston Heath BAILHACHE". genealogytrails.com. Illinois Genealogy Trails. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
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