Brigantine Yankee
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| Career (Germany) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Emden |
| Builder: | Nordseewerke, Emden, Germany |
| Renamed: | Duhnen, 1919 |
| Captured: | May 1945, at Schleswig by Royal Air Force |
| Career (US) |  |
| Name: | Yankee |
| Builder: | Converted at Brixham yards |
| Fate: | Aground on a reef in Rarotonga, 23 July 1964 |
| Status: | Abandoned in place on reef |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Gaff rigged schooner (as built) |
| Tons burthen: | c. 260 t |
| Length: | 96 feet (29.3 m) (overall) 81 feet (24.7 m) (waterline) |
| Beam: | 21.5 feet (6.6 m) |
| Draft: | 11 feet (3.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | 7,775 square feet of sail Auxiliary Diesel |
| Sail plan: | Brigantine |
The brigantine Yankee was a steel hulled schooner, originally constructed by Nordseewerke, Emden, Germany as the Emden, renamed Duhnen, 1919. As Yankee, it became famous as the ship that was used by Irving Johnson to circumnavigate the globe four times in eleven years.[1]
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[edit] Duhnen
The Duhnen, built in 1911, was the last schooner the Germans built before the construction of steam powered ships. It was used for recreation during World War II by the Luftwaffe, and was captured by the British and used as an RAF recreation ship. The Duhnen was refitted and renamed Yankee at the Brixham yards. The new Yankee was 96 feet (29.3 m) overall, with a waterline of 81 feet (24.7 m), a maximum draft of 11 feet (3.4 m). The rig was changed to that of a brigantine with 7,775 square feet (722.3 m²) of canvas.
[edit] Johnsons
The brigantine Yankee was the second Yankee purchased by Irving Johnson and his wife, Electa. They bought it in 1946 with the help of a friend, film star Sterling Hayden. With the Johnsons, Yankee sailed the Caribbean and made four global circumnavigations. The Johnsons' final voyage in the Yankee, made in 1958, was featured in the 1966 CBS/National Geographic television special, Voyage of the Brigantine Yankee. It was scored by Elmer Bernstein and narrated by Orson Welles.
The Johnsons sold the Yankee to Mike Burke of Miami Beach in 1959. Burke used the Yankee and the schooner Polynesia, on 10–14 day Windjammer Cruises in the Bahamas, hiring on amateur sailors.
[edit] Fate
The old schooner was wrecked on a reef a few years later, dragging its anchor in a gale off Rarotonga in the Cook Islands in 1964, owned by Windjammer Cruises, Inc. of Miami, Florida and captained by Derek Lumbers. At the time, Yankee was about halfway through a 14-month global circumnavigation cruise.[2]
