USS Voyager (SP-361)
Encyclopedia
USS Voyager (SP-361) was a wooden-hulled motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. She was built at Bay City, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
, by the Defoe Boat and Motor Works
Defoe Shipbuilding Company
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J...
company, was acquired by the Navy from H. J. Defoe in July 1917.
Although listed in the 1918 edition of Ship's Data: U.S. Naval Vessels as being delivered and commissioned on 25 July 1917, Voyager's extant logs do not begin until on 1 September 1917. Nevertheless, they indicate that the first men actually reported on board for duty as early as on 13 July 1917, 12 days before the delivery/commissioning date given in the Ship's Data: U.S. Naval Vessels for 1918.
U.S. Navy service
Attached to the 9th, 10th, and 11th Naval District local patrol forces and based at Sault Ste. Marie, MichiganSault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
, for the duration of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Voyager operated actively on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
until winter ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
stopped navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
. Her first recorded duty in September appears to have been standing off a navigable channel off Pipe Island, guarding the wreck of the U.S. Steel Corporation boat Mitchell, which was apparently blocking part of the channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
.
Voyager operated out of Sault Ste. Marie into mid-November 1917 before she shifted to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, in company with the old gunboat . She was subsequently placed out of service between 18 and 21 November, and was decommissioned "for the season" on the 23rd. She remained inactive until on 8 May 1918, when she was ordered to return to Sault Ste. Marie. Departing on that day, Voyager set out in company with Isla de Luzon, , , , and .
Rough weather during the first night of the voyage forced Voyager to drag anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
and run aground, but she was pulled off soon thereafter. Her motor broke down on 11 May, however, necessitating the SP boat's being towed back to her home port of Sault Ste. Marie. Voyager operated out of that Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
port through the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
on 11 November 1918, and was decommissioned on 13 May 1919. Simultaneously struck from the Navy List
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...
, Voyager was turned over to the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
for use by the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
at Chicago, Illinois, on 15 September 1919.