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NavSource Online: Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Photo Archive

Garnet (PYc-15)



Call sign:
Nan - Baker - Tare - Charlie
Coastal Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1925 as the steel-hulled yacht Caritas by the Krupp Iron Works, Kiel, Germany
  • Acquired by the Navy 1 December 1941
  • Converted for Naval service at Robert Jacobs Co. Inc., City Island, NY
  • Commissioned USS Garnet (PYc-15), 4 July 1942
  • Decommissioned 29 December 1945 and laid up at San Pedro, CA
  • Struck from the Naval Register 26 January 1946
  • Advertised for sale by the Maritime Commission in the 21 October 1946 edition of the Miami News
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 20 February 1947
    Naval Vessel Register of 1 January 1949 lists transfer to the War Shipping Administration as June 1947
  • Sold 10 July 1947 to I. W. Landers of Baltimore, MD. (See DANFS Addendum below).

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 490 t.
  • Length 156' 9"
  • Beam 25' 6"
  • Draft 9' 5"
  • Speed 12 kts.
  • Complement 50
  • Armament: One 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount, four .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns, and two depth charge tracks
  • Propulsion: Two 640shp Union L-8 diesel engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Yacht Caritas
    Garnet 89k Caritas Jim Rogers
    Garnet 61k Caritas on the cover of the April 1926 edition of Yachting magazine
    ex-Garnet (PYc 15)
    Caritas/Garnet sketch 90k Sketch of Caritas/Garnet on a place mat. Robert Isaacson
    Garnet 85k The ex-PYc-15 sitting "high and dry" next to highway 101 in Northern California. Sam Stokes
    Garnet 108k . Jim Rogers
    View the Garnet (PYc-15)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
    Addendum to Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:

    (The following information was obtained from a place mat at the Best Western "Ship Ashore" Motel, Smith River, OR)

    Built by Krupps in Kiel, Germany, the "Ship Ashore" was originally designed as a private yacht for the use of a New York millionaire. In his hands the ship sailed to many of the ports of the world, until there has been infused into every timber and shroud the romance of the seven seas.

    She was designed in the year 1925, by Cox & Stevens, noted naval architects, and no expense was spared to make her a veritable floating palace. Authors, statesmen, politicians, men and women of wealth and high position, even members of the Royalty, have been among the guests who accepted invitations to vacation aboard this palatial yacht. Sir Thomas Lipton, noted British yachtsman, was frequently a guest, and from the decks of the "Caritas" (the original name of the yacht) he watched his famous "Shamrocks" compete with the yachts of America.

    Her statistics are: Length, 156 ft. 9 in.; beam, 25 ft. 6 in.; draft, 10 ft.; gross tonnage, 480 tons. Her interior is finished in Honduras mahogany and exterior in teak wood.

    There came a time when Uncle Sam had need of just such a ship, and she was bought and commissioned by the U. S. Navy as the U. S. S. Garnet. Her conversion for navy use took place in 1941, when a yacht builder named Robert Jacob, of City Island, New York, did the work of refitting and reconstruction. She then sailed thru the Panama Canal to be stationed at Hawaii where she served as a messenger and weather ship with a crew of 75. Her regular patrol was an area north of Hawaii called Johnson. One of her crew members was a Crescent City boy. In 1946 the navy decided that her usefulness was ended, and she was retired from active duty. Her engines were removed and sold for use in another craft. Her hull is still sound as the day upon which she was first launched. She was bought in Oakland and towed to Eureka, where she was tied up to Hammond Lumber Co. dock 'til the weather and tides were right to bring her to the banks of the Smith River (now the site of Ship Ashore motel) where for 15 years she served as a restaurant, cocktail lounge, gift and tackle shop, motel office and museum. Over the years she became the community's most prominent landmark, where she is affectionately known as "The Ship."

    In the spring of 1965 she took another overland journey from the riverbank to a new location beside Highway 101, where now she not only serves as the landmark for travelers turning into the resort area, but boasts an enlarged museum consisting of local historic artifacts, one of the west coast's largest shell collections, rocks and minerals, natural history and the famous pirates and gift shop.

    Moving her to the new location was no easy task. Twelve large tractors were hitched with cables and all tugged together; even then, over ten hours were required to effect the quarter mile dry land voyage.

    A visit aboard this famous ship is something you will never forget.

    SHIP ASHORE, is a complete all-year resort, noted for its salmon, steelhead and trout as well as all-year ocean fishing.

    Facilities are complete and include a four star RV and Mobile Home Park; dock, boats and experienced guides, also a fine dining room and luxurious lounge. Statues of a Native Hunter and mountain lion greet you from the marquee of a rustic, modern motel, every room featuring a panoramic view of the vivacious Smith River meeting the sea.

    For a day, week or a lifetime, visit Ship Ashore.

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