USS Yankee
Auxiliary Cruiser · United States · Lost 1908 · Buzzards Bay & Vineyard Sound
The former liner El Norte foundered in Buzzards Bay after being refloated from Spindle Rock in 1908.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built as El Norte in 1892, the vessel was acquired by the United States Navy in 1898 and renamed Yankee. It served in the Spanish-American War and later trained naval personnel. It grounded on Spindle Rock in September 1908 and was refloated on December 4. Heavy seas caused it to founder under tow the following day.
Vessel
- 1892
- El Norte: US official number 136316
- Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
- Newport News, Virginia
- Iron
- 406.1 ft
- 48.4 ft
- Not established
- Steam, propeller; triple-expansion engine
- Southern Pacific Company; United States Navy
Loss
- December 5, 1908
- Storm
- Buzzards Bay, three miles east of Round Hill Point
- Buzzards Bay
- New Bedford, Massachusetts
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Maximum 55 feet
- Large low-profile hull pieces spread over the seabed; sections rise up to ten feet.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Round Hill Point, Massachusetts
No coordinates transcribed; no position inferred from locality descriptions.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (87/100)
The casualty total and present condition have not been independently verified.
Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources — USS Yankee
Vessel particulars, loss account, historical background and site information; full opened page preserved in sources/uss-yankee.txt.
