USS Olympic

History
United States
Name	Olympic
Owner	Frank Wright (1917)
Builder	E. W. Heath, Seattle, Washington
Completed	1913
Fate	Acquired by U.S. Navy 15 May 1917
Notes	Civilian yacht
History
United States
Name	USS Olympic
Namesake	Previous name retained
Operator	United States Navy
Acquired	15 May 1917
Commissioned	9 June 1917
Fate	Transferred to U.S. Public Health Service 13 September 1919
United States
Name	USPHS Bailhache
Namesake	Preston H. Bailhache (1835–1919), U.S. Marine Hospital Service physician
Operator	U.S. Public Health Service
Acquired	13 September 1919
Fate	Sold 10 February 1934
United States
Name	Moby Dick
Namesake	A fictional white whale in the 1851 Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick
Owner	H. W. McCurdy (1934); S. Catherine McCurdy (1941);
Acquired	10 February 1934
Fate	Acquired by U.S. Army December 1941
United States
Name	USAS Q-108
Operator	United States Army
Acquired	December 1941
Out of service	1945
Fate	Returned to owner 1946
United States
Name	Moby Dick
Namesake	A fictional white whale in the 1851 Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick
Owner	S. Catherine McCurdy (1946); Michael R. Uttecht (1949); Subsequently various owners;
Acquired	1946
Fate	Sank 24 May 1989; Refloated, stored, and scrapped;
General characteristics ; (as U.S. Navy patrol vessel)
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	40 gross tons
Displacement	28.4 tons
Length	64 ft (20 m)
Beam	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Draft	4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) mean
Propulsion	One 55 hp (41 kW) 3-cylinder Standard gasoline engine, one shaft
Speed	9.4 knots
Complement	18
Armament	1 × 3-pounder gun; 2 × machine guns;
General characteristics ; (as USPHS vessel, private yacht, cargo vessel, and passenger vessel)
Tonnage	40 gross tons (1920); 38 gross tons (1948);
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

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive USAS Q-108 ex-USPHS Bailhache ex-Olympic (SP 260)
^ Zeller, Bob (21 January 2022). "Abraham Lincoln Excelled in Wrestling—What Other Sports Did He Play?". history.com. History. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^ "Preston Heath BAILHACHE". genealogytrails.com. Illinois Genealogy Trails. Retrieved 10 November 2023.

External links

Photo gallery of USS Olympic at NavSource Naval History

[navsource-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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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v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1989
Shipwrecks	7 Jan: Lavia 21 Jan: USS Muliphen 28 Jan: Bahía Paraíso 15 Feb: Maassluis 8 Apr: K-278 Komsomolets 25 Apr: USS Parsons 24 May: Moby Dick June (unknown date): USS Blenny 20 Aug: Marchioness 10 Sep: Mogoșoaia 29 Oct: Murree 4 Dec: USCGC Mesquite Unknown date: HMS Leander, YO-257, ROCS Tze Yang
Other incidents	17 Jan: USS Norfolk, USS San Diego 16 Mar: NOAAS Oregon II 24 Mar: Exxon Valdez (oil spill) 19 Apr: USS Iowa (turret explosion) 19 Jun: Maxim Gorkiy 25 Jun: K-131 19 Aug: Ross Revenge 20 Aug: Bowbelle 29 Sep: USS Pennsylvania October (unknown date): HMS Spartan 19 Dec: Khark 5 (oil spill)
1988 1990