Xarifa (S.P. 581)
1918-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(S.P. 581: tonnage 378 (gross); length 192'0"; beam 27'0"; depth of hold 15'5"; draft 13'6" (mean); speed 11.0 knots (maximum), 7.0 knots (cruising); complement 71; armament 2 3-pounders, 2 machine guns)
Xarifa, a composite-hulled, single-screw yacht equipped with an auxiliary steam engine, was built in 1894 at Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, by John S. White & Co., Ltd., for Franklin M. M. Singer, son of the American inventor and entrepreneur. Heralded as "one of the largest and finest steam yachts of modern times" she cruised as Xarifa until 1899, when she was sold to a Maj. F. Shuttleworth. She then served as Ophelie before she was purchased by C. N. Nelson in, or sometime before, 1911. She then resumed the name Xarifa and operated out of Port Washington, Long Island, N.Y.
After the outbreak of the Great War [World War I], the Navy acquired the graceful yacht under free lease on 9 August 1917 for service in European waters and assigned her the identification number S.P. 581. However, while the ship was being fitted out, she was found to be unsuitable for "distant service" and was prepared for duty on local section patrol duties instead.
Assigned to the Third Naval District, Xarifa was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 23 February 1918, Lt. (j.g.) Frederick J. Littlefield, USNRF, in command; and patrolled the approaches to New York harbor through the Armistice. Decommissioned on 31 March 1919, she was returned to her owner on 4 May 1919.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
23 November 2021
