Wakiva II Yacht - Lamon V. Harkness
- Don Schueler
- May 10, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 16
Clearly, Lamon V. Harkness loved traveling. Lamon had two "Wakiva" yachts, Wakiva I and Wakiva II. Wakiva I , a 192-foot steel-hulled steam yacht launched in 1903. Lamon chartered Wakiva I out for a few years but it was sold to fellow oil man Edward Doheney and the Huasteca Petroleum Company in Los Angeles in 1913.
The LV Harkness yachts Wakiva I and Wakiva II, C.W. Harknesses Agawa and W.L. Harknesses Gunilda yachts were all built by Ramage & Ferguson in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Wakiva II was delivered to Lamon on March 1, 1907.
Men and boys of the Ramage & Ferguson smith and fitting shops and engine smiths and engineers, 1911. © Edinburgh City Libraries.
Given the dates of the Ramage & Ferguson team photos above it's likely many of these men worked on the Harkness yachts.
Early in 1908 Lamon took the Wakiva II on a 16,000 mile cruise through the West Indies and South America all the way to Buenos Aires. Guests included his son, Harry S. Harkness and his wife Maree, along with a Miss Barber and Mrs. S. M. Cooper. Everyone had to remain in quarantine initially upon return to New York since they were worried about bubonic plague.
This was a long and arduous trip, but Lamon had more in mind. He planned a trip to Montreal, Labrador and Newfoundland. So in June of 1908 he and his guest and crew embarked to the north.
His guests for this trip included daughter Myrtle and her husband King Macomber, Lamon's cousin Emmons Harkness from Clyde, Ohio and Emmons's niece Irene Davenport. In addition they had onboard Mr. and Mrs. Kellam from Pasadena, California and friends Mr. and Mrs. Sykes and of course the dog "Miss Pompey"Wakiva II was built in 1907 as a no-holds-barred pleasure and excursion yacht. Wakiva II was 239 ft long and 909 tons. This made the Wakiva II the largest of all the Flagler/Harkness yachts.
Lamon had frequent traveling companions on Wakiva. His cousin from Clyde, Ohio Emmons D. Harkness was a frequent guest. Emmons D. Harkess is the grandson of Dr. W.G. Harkness. Emmons also often brought his nieces, Mrs. E.A. Meeker and Ms. Irene Davenport on these trips. Lamon also often entertained Emmons and his nieces at Walnut Hall and visited them in Clyde, Ohio.
In 1909, during one of his adventures on the Wakiva, Lamon met up with Rear Admiral Peary on his way to the North Pole.
In 1909, during one of his adventures on the Wakiva, Lamon met up with Rear Admiral Peary on his way to the North Pole. Here are Peary's notes about the chance encounter.
THE NORTH POLE
ITS DISCOVERY IN 1909 UNDER THEAUSPICES OF THE PEARYARCTIC CLUB
BY
ROBERT E. PEARY
At Cape St. Charles we dropped anchor in front of the whaling station. Two whales had been captured there the day before, and I immediately bought one of them as food for the dogs. This meat was stowed on the quarter-deck of the Roosevelt. There are several of these "whale factories" on the Labrador coast. They send out a fast steel steamer, with a harpoon gun at the bow. When a whale is sighted they give chase, and when near enough discharge into the monster a harpoon with an explosive bomb attached. The explosion kills him. Then he is lashed alongside, towed into the station, hauled out on the timber ways, and there cut up, every part of the enormous carcass being utilized for some commercial purpose.
We stopped again at Hawks Harbor, where the Erik, our auxiliary supply steamer, was awaiting us with some twenty-five tons of whale meat on board; and an hour or two later, a beautiful white yacht followed us in. I recognized her as Harkness's Wakiva of the New York Yacht Club. Twice during the winter, she had lain close to the Roosevelt in New York, at the East Twenty-fourth Street pier, coaling between her voyages; and now, by a strange chance, the two vessels lay side by side again in this little out-of-the-way harbor on the Labrador coast. No two ships could be more unlike than these two: one white as snow, her brasswork glittering in the sun, speedy, light as an arrow; the other black, slow, heavy, almost as solid as a rock—each built for a special purpose and adapted to that purpose.
Mr. Harkness and a party of friends, including several ladies, came on board the Roosevelt, and the dainty dresses of our feminine guests further accentuated the blackness, the strength, and the not overly clean condition of our ship.
What was it like onboard?
What was it like on the steam yacht of this era? Here is a great video of a 1900s era steam yacht still in service. Note that the Yacht Ena in the video below was half the size of the Wakiva. Remember, the captain had to balance between using coal, which the boats had limited storage for, and sails. Steam power was used when they needed to have better navigation control and when there weren't favorable winds available for sail.
There were many trips on the Wakiva as noted below:
In 1911, the captain of the Wakiva II, Capt. Spinney, caught a cold coming back from the Azores. Spinney died shortly thereafter. Lamon was never again to be aboard Wakiva II after Capt. Spinney passed away in 1911.
Wakiva II at War
Note that the William L. Harkness yacht Agawa was also given to the war effort at this time. Agawa survived WWI and then served in WWII. She was unfortunately lost in that war. That is covered here Wakiva II, originally a pleasure craft, was converted into a man-of-war for "distant service." It served as a convoy escort in Brest, France and had multiple encounters with German submarines. In November 1917, the ship was credited with probably seriously damaging a submarine. Tragically, while escorting a convoy in May 1918 during foggy conditions, Wakiva II was accidentally rammed and sunk by USS Wa
bash (ID-1824). Two crew members aboard Wakiva II lost their lives in the collision and sinking. Captain Thomas P. Magruder chose Wakiva II as his flagship and assumed command as Commander, Squadron Four, Patrol Force, on August 18, 1917.
Wakiva's commanders while in service were:
LCDR Thomas R. Kurtz, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross - Retired as Rear Admiral 6 August 1917
CDR Guy Erwin Davis, USN - Awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal - Retired as Captain November 1917
LCDR Ezra Griffin Allen, USN - USNA Class of 1905
Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Rear Admiral 22 May 1918
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