Blue Dolphin (schooner)

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Career (Canada) Canada
Name: Blue Dolphin
Owner: S.H. Valie (Blue Dolphin Limited)
Port of registry: Shelburne, Nova Scotia, 1928-1935
Builder: Shelburne Shipbuilders Limited
Launched: 1926
Fate: Sold to Amory Coolidge, Boston in 1933
Notes: official number 152577[1]
Career (USA) 100x35px
Acquired: 17 March 1942
In service: 6 April 1942
Out of service: 28 June 1945
Struck: 11 July 1945
Fate: Sold
General characteristics
Displacement: 91 tons
Length: 99 ft 8 in (30.38 m)
Beam: 22 ft 5 in (6.83 m)
Draft: 12 ft (3.7 m)
Speed: 8 knots
Complement: 8

Blue Dolphin was an auxiliary schooner built in 1926 at Shelburne, Nova Scotia by the Shelburne Shipbuilding Company as an adventure yacht. She served as US Navy auxiliary, IX 65 in World War II and as a postwar reseach vessel made famous by a Stan Rogers song.

Blue Dolphin was designed by the famous naval architect William Roue, designer of the famous racing schooner Bluenose. Sometimes called a sister ship to Bluenose, Blue Dolphin was in fact considerably smaller but reflected the overall style of legendary Bluenose. Blue Dolphin was built for S.H. Felie of Kansas City. A rich businessman interested in "long foreign voyages", Felie ordered a fishing schooner style vessel with an extra re-enforced hull but luxurious cabins in place of a fishing hold. She was registered at Shelburne for the beginning of her career which her owner used as a base for adventure trips to the north.[2]

In 1933, Blue Doplhin was purchased by Boston businessman Amory Coolidge who transferred her registry to Boston, Massachusetts in 1935.[3]

Blue Dolphin was designated a miscellaneous auxiliary, IX 65, and acquired by the Navy on 17 March 1942 from Amory Coolidge for the nominal fee of $1.00. She was designated a miscellaneous auxiliary, IX 65 and placed in service at the Section Base, Boston on 6 April 1942.

Blue Dolphin spent the next 38 months serving as station vessel at Casco Bay, Maine. Shortly after Germany surrendered, she was placed out of service at Boston on 28 June 1945. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 11 July 1945, and she was delivered to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration for disposal on 14 September 1945.

After the war, Blue Dolphin was apparently sold to a Mr. David C. Nutt who was involved in oceanographic research in conjunction with various universities, civilian research organizations, and the Office of Naval Research. Mr. Nutt was also a naval reserve commander. On 3 April 1949, she was designated as “suitable for use as a naval auxiliary in time of war” by the Chief of Naval Operations. She was also authorized to fly the Naval Reserve Yacht pennant. The last information available on her indicates that she continued to conduct oceanographic and hydrobiological research out of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, into the summer of 1954.

The schooner is commemorated in the Stan Rogers song, "Man with Blue Dolphin", part of his From Fresh Water album. The liner notes mention that Rogers wrote the song based on his contact with a photographer named Bruce Kemp who was at the time trying to restore the Blue Dolphin.

References

  1. Canadian Dept. of Marine and Fisheries: List of Shipping, 1926 to 1935
  2. "The Blue Dolphin", The Shelburne Coast Guard, April 21, 1987, p.5
  3. Register of American and Foreign Shipping, 1928 to 1936