Diosa Del Mar - Overview

Overview

The two masted wooden schooner was designed by A. Cary Smith and built in 1898 by the firm of A.C. Brown and Sons of Tottenville, NY. It was originally christened Uncas after the famous chief of the Mohegan tribe. Through various owners, the name was subsequently changed to Wal Gar, Bonnie Doone, and finally Diosa del Mar. In Lloyd's Register of American Yachts it appears as Bonnie Doone until finally disappearing from the registry in 1959 under the ownership of a Dr. Irving E. Laby in Los Angeles, California.

The yacht was originally built as a staysail craft for the children of the wealthy Vanderbilt clan. As originally built she weighed 30 tons, was 66 feet 6 inches (20.27 m) long, had a total sail area of 3,321 square feet (308.5 m2), and a draft of 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m). The Diosa was perfectly capable of deep ocean travel. Following the installation in 1916 of a Sterling gas engine, the vessel's capabilities were quite advanced. By 1925 she sported a full keel (modified from her original keel with auxiliary centerboard) and a GM Diesel engine.

According to Lloyd's, the Diosa was burned and rebuilt in 1927. By 1951 she had been refitted with a 6-cylinder Chrysler engine and was operating out of Newport Beach, California.

In 1979 she won the Serena Cup as the fastest schooner in the Newport to Ensenada Race (California to Mexico). Subsequently, she sailed from Los Angeles to Hilo, Hawaii where she operated as a charter until 1982 Under the ownership of Roy Eugene "Gene" Deshler and Margo Deshler along with their two children Karen Smith and Stephen A. Smith. After returning to Los Angeles, she placed second place in the Newport to Ensenada race of 1983. For most of the rest of her life she operated as a charter out of Long Beach, California.

The yacht's demise came about near the end of the 10th annual Firemen's Race in 1990 off the coast of southern California. A small powerboat failed to spot the racing Diosa. The powerboat hove out of the Isthmus of Catalina, cutting in front of the doomed ship. Rather than risk injury or death to the driver and passengers on the smaller craft, Diosa's owner and captain Eddie Weinberg steered hard to starboard crashing his ship against Ship Rock The wreckage of the schooner was a favorite of divers for many years before finally breaking up beneath the waters of the Pacific Ocean. On July 2, 2012 captain Eddie Weinberg died at the Veterans Hospital in Long Beach.

The salvaged stern and mast from the Diosa Del Mar was on display at the Isthmus on Catalina Island, California for a number of years.