The Medea is a 1904 steam yacht preserved in the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Named after Medea, the wife of Jason, she was built on the Clyde at Alexander Stephen and Sons shipyard at Linthouse by John Stephen for William Macalister Hall of Torrisdale Castle, Scotland. She holds the distinction of being one of only two vessels surviving that fought in both World Wars. (The other is the battleship USS Texas.)
During World War I, the French Navy purchased Medea and armed her with a 75mm cannon for use in convoy escort duty. (Her name under the French flag was Corneille.) Between the wars, she was owned by members of Parliament. During World War II, the Royal Navy put her to work anchoring barrage balloons at the mouth of the Thames. After World War II, Medea passed between Norwegian, British, and Swedish owners before being purchased by Paul Whittier in 1971. He restored the yacht to its original condition and donated her to the Maritime Museum of San Diego in 1973. Medea was featured in episode 53 ("Steam Ship Cleaner") of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs, when Mike Rowe cleaned the inside of the boilers of the yacht.
Specifications
- Length: 109.7 ft (waterline), 140 ft (overall)
- Beam: 16.65 ft
- Draft: 9.4 ft
- Gross tonnage: 111.84
- Net tonnage: 57.17
External links
- Medea at the Maritime Museum of San Diego
- Brief article with specifications
- HNSA Ship Page: Steam Yacht Medea
