USS Canandaigua (IX-233)

For other ships going by the same name, see USS Canandaigua.

History
United States
In service	20 September 1945
Out of service	5 January 1946
Fate	Sold for scrap 1946

The Ladona is a two-masted, wooden-hulled Schooner was designed by William H. Hand Jr. and built in 1922 as a private yacht and launched in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, USA. Its home port is Rockland, Maine and it is part of the Maine Windjammer Association fleet, which offers sailing cruises booked by cabin berths.

History

Ladona was commissioned by Homer Loring in 1922 and launched out of Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

In 1923, Ladona won first place in the Schooner category of the Bermuda Cup race.

The Coast Guard acquired her from Hobart Ford of Norwalk and Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1942, and the schooner served as a coast guard patrol boat with the designation CG-81006 and used her on offshore patrol duty in the 3rd Naval District from 2 November 1942 to 30 October 1945.

Later renamed USS Canandaigua (IX-233), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, it was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Canandaigua, New York. A Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) dispatch of 20 September 1945 authorized the Commander of the 3rd Naval District to accept CG-81006 from the Coast Guard for permanent transfer to the Navy. A CNO letter of 9 October 45, approved by the Secretary of the Navy on 15 October 1945, changed the classification of CG-81006 to IX-233 and named her CANANDAIGUA. She was transferred by the Coast Guard on 30 October 1945, was placed in service the next day, and assigned to the Underwater Sound Laboratory at New London, Connecticut. She foundered there on 22 November 1945 due to hull damage inflicted alongside her pier during a nor'easter gale and was considered a total loss. She was placed out of service in January 1946 and sold for scrap on 31 October 1946.

The boat was renamed the Jane Doré and served as a dredge fishing vessel in the port of Stonington, Connecticut.

In 1971, the schooner underwent a refit to become a training ship, renamed Nathaniel Bowditch . It joined the Maine Windjammer Association fleet. With nine cabins, it accommodates 17 passengers for 3- to 7-night cruises along the Maine coast from June to October.

The original name Ladona was restored in 2014 when the ship was extensively rebuilt by its co-owner J. R. Braugh.

Awards

• American Campaign Medal
• World War II Victory Medal

Links

• Ladona website

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.