When the United States entered World War II, the Navy requisitioned a number of private yachts from San Francisco Bay yacht clubs for coastal patrol duty. Yankee was among roughly ten vessels pressed into service. She was commissioned, painted Navy gray from truck to waterline, and sent to sea with a naval lieutenant, a cook, and a member of the Yankee crew — Geoffrey W. Ford — in command. Their mission was to patrol the coast off the Golden Gate, watching for elements of a Japanese fleet believed to be heading toward California. See Chapter V for more on the Ford family.

The duty proved uneventful. Bob Davis, one of the Yankee crew who served aboard, later recounted that the naval officer was perpetually seasick and the cook was useless for any task beyond the galley. The crew soon realized the peril of their situation: if they actually sighted a Japanese warship, their unarmed wooden schooner would be in the water within minutes. They therefore composed a radio message of admirable brevity for the eventuality: “Sighted ships — sunk by same.”

The expected Japanese fleet was ultimately engaged elsewhere. Yankee and the other requisitioned yachts were retired from active service. Her federal registry number, assigned by the Navy, remains her official identity to this day. The Navy radio and a 48-inch brass long glass from her wartime service were kept aboard for decades afterward. Some of the Navy gray paint was still visible below decks well into the twenty-first century. See Appendices for fact-check notes on Midway connection and number of patrol yachts.