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''Lyndonia'', built 1920, was the second steam-yacht bearing the name〔The first, built 1907, became USS Lyndonia (SP-734).〕 and the third yacht built for publisher Cyrus H.K. Curtis by the then Consolidated Shipbuilding Company of Morris Heights, New York. The name is taken from the historic name of his estate, Lyndon, in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. After Curtis' death in 1933 the yacht was purchased by Pan American Airways, converted to a floating hotel for use in the south Pacific and renamed ''Southern Seas'' in a shuttle service from Nouméa to Australia. At the outbreak of World War II the vessel was taken over by the U.S. Army for use as a passenger and cargo ship until grounded on a New Caledonian reef. The ship was salvaged by the U.S. Navy, repaired in New Zealand, commissioned 23 December 1942 as USS ''Southern Seas'' and designated as a Patrol Yacht (PY-32). ==Yacht ''Lyndonia''== ''Lyndonia'' was named "Yacht of the Year" in the May 1920 issue of ''The Rudder'' and described as the largest and most completely fitted vessel of the kind since World War I had put a stop to such construction. She was launched 3 April 1920 with Curtis and a large party of friends as witnesses, including Curtis' captain, A. W. Rich. The ship was expected to be fitted out and ready for the season by 1 June. The yacht had three decks with the Jacobean style dining saloon, the early Tudor style smoking room and some accommodations on the main deck. Half of the lower deck was reserved for the owner and guest with six guest staterooms. The owner's apartments were created to resemble those found in a fine home ashore. The ship had a number of boats, the owner's thirty foot launch and a twenty-four foot crew's launch, two twenty-two foot life boats and an eighteen foot dinghy. She was powered by four Seabury boilers with two oil burners to each and two triple expansion steam engines with cruising speed of about 16 knots and range of 3,000 miles at that speed or 6,000 at 12 knots. Electricity was furnished by a 15 k.w. and a 30 k.w. General Electric generating set. She was fully equipped for navigation and had a ship stabilizer as well as gyro compass built by Sperry Gyroscope Company.〔 In 1925 the steam plant was replaced with two diesel engines.〔 The ship had a crew of 39 and Curtis spent considerable time and did much of his business aboard, stating "“Yachting is not a hobby for me. It is a necessity. I spend half my time on this ship” in an interview with a New York Times reporter. In a 1922 interview with ''New York Times'' reporter Rose C. Feld Curtis stated "Yachting is not a hobby with me. It is a necessity. I spend half my time on this ship." He noted that most of his meetings with his staff or directors were held in the ''Lyndonia's'' dining room and that he stationed the ship to facilitate meetings. Comparing his use, and its position as his second home, he told the reporter "Most yacht owners show an annual run of three thousand miles. Ten thousand miles of cruising is no unusual figure for the ''Lyndonia''. The yacht spent winter months in southern waters with many references to its Florida visits in social pages and returned to Camden for summer with her whistle on arrival signaling "summer" to some. After Curtis' death, 7 June 1933, the ship was laid up much of the time until sold to Pan American Airways in 1940. Records related to the later sale of the vessel to the U.S. Army in 1940 mention "Corres. re: M. V. Southern Seas, including "A narrative relating to purchase and operation of the M.V. ''Southern Seas''"; Bill of Sale from Mrs. Curtis (wife of owner of ''The Saturday Evening Post'') to Pan American Airways, Inc." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lyndonia (1920)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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