USS Araner was a wooden-hulled auxiliary ketch

Ketch

A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...

 built in 1926 at Essex, Massachusetts

Essex, Massachusetts

Essex is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, north of Boston. The population was 3,504 at the 2010 census.Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Essex.- History :...

 by the Arthur D. Story Shipyards and acquired by motion picture director John Ford

John Ford

John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...

 in June 1934. Originally named Faith, she was refurbished, and renamed Araner in honor of the Aran Islands

Aran Islands

The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...

, whence his wife's family had come. During the 1930s, the yacht served as a place where Ford could escape the bustle of Hollywood in the company of friends. The film director was appointed a Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 in the United States Naval Reserve in September 1934 and, according to one of his biographers, used Araner off Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

 for intelligence-gathering operations. In 1940, the commandant of the 11th Naval District commended Ford for his "… initiative in securing valuable information…" on that region.

After he was recalled to active duty in the summer of 1941 however, Ford had little use for his yacht. Shortly thereafter, America's entry into World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in December 1941 prompted the US Navy to acquire many private vessels and Araner was among them, for local patrol duties. Taken over on a bareboat charter

Bareboat charter

A bareboat charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible for taking care of such things....

 on 27 January 1942, Araner was delivered to the US Navy at the section base at San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

. Classified as a miscellaneous auxiliary and given the designation IX-57, she was placed in service on 26 February 1942. Assigned initially to the 11th Naval District and then, on 23 July 1942, to the Western Sea Frontier

Western Sea Frontier

The Western Sea Frontier, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, was responsible for the sea defense of the Pacific coast of the United States and Mexico during World War II. The Western Sea Frontier was composed of many forces and commands, including the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth...

, the ketch operated out of San Diego, under sail power for much of the time, patrolling off Guadalupe

Guadalupe, California

Guadalupe is a small city located in Santa Barbara County, California. According to the U.S. Census of 2010, the city has a population of 7,080. It was incorporated as a city on May 19, 1946...

 and San Clemente Islands.

Transferred back to the 11th Naval District forces upon completion of her duties under the Commander, Western Sea Frontier, Araner was laid up at the Naval Frontier Base San Diego on 1 May 1944; and her crew transferred to YAG-6. Delivered to Mrs. John Ford on 12 July 1944, Araner was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 14 October 1944.

Ford continued to use the yacht until her rising operating expenses prompted him to sell her circa 1971. Acquired by Fran M. Dimond, of Honolulu, the craft retained her name into 1974, when she was bought by the San Marino Travel Service. Still homeported at Honolulu, she was given back her original name, Faith in, or about, 1975. Renamed again, to Windjammer, a short time later, she was acquired by the Guam Rent-a-Car Company and served as a tourist-carrying craft into the early 1980s.