| When Germany’s U-boat attacks were wreaking havoc on U.S. and Canadian shipping along Europe-bound shipping routes in WWII, the formidable submarines targeted coastal areas. |
| Particularly off eastern Long Island. |
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After accumulated reports of torpedoed ships, blue-water civilians convinced the Navy that yachts could form a long life-line of craft offshore to rescue survivors from torpedoed merchant ships. |
The call went out for crewmen and seagoing yachts over 45-feet. Those patriots unable to serve in the regular Navy stepped up and hundreds of yachts were donated to the government.
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The Coast Guard dubbed the effort the “Corsair Fleet,” meaning privateers.
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In June of 1942, Congress enacted a bill forming the Coastal Pickets, and the first Coastal Picket was established in Greenport in July. |
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Three hundred men were stationed at the Greenport Coastal Picket Patrol, housed at the Townsend Manor Inn and the Booth House. Three of the largest yachts were the 147-foot brig Madalan, the 112-foot schooner Valor, and George Crowninshield’s own luxurious 109-foot schooner Cleopatra’s Barge. The elegant yachts were all re-painted camouflage gray and were given numerical designations, boldly painted on their topsides. |
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Large and small yachts alike patrolled from the 50-fathom line out to 150 miles offshore for a month at a time. Their primary mission was to find German submarines by listening for underwater sounds on hydrophones and, at night, listening for the enemy's diesel engines recharging batteries on the surface. |
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When a contact was made, radio silence could be broken to notify Navy and Army Air Force anti-submarine units.
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The only other armament - on some ot the largest yachts - was a .50 caliber machine gun - from World War I. |
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Patrolling in the North Atlantic Ocean in the summer had its pleasant moments
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Winter was another story.
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In the winter of 1942, Zaida, a large yawl, was stationed near Nantucket shoals when she was caught by a winter nor'easter, blowing at storm force. She was dismasted, lost radio communication, and struggled for three weeks, finally landing in the Carolinas, after sailing under jury rig over three thousand miles from where she started.
Zaida participated in our Greenport Maritime Festival last year. |
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photo credit: National Sailing Hall of Fame Film Library.
http://www.nshof.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=314&Itemid=28 |
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