Verbena, 1944
WAGL / WLI 317
Any of various New World plants of the genus Verbena, especially one of several species cultivated for their showy spikes of variously colored flowers.
Builder: Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa
Length: 100'
Beam: 24' 7"
Draft: 5' 4"
Displacement: 178 tons (fl)
Cost: $186,287
Launched: 2 October 1944
Commissioned: 13 November 1944
Decommissioned: 1 September 1977
Disposition: Sold
Machinery: 2 Murphy 6-cylinder diesel engines; 330 BHP (1944); 2 Waukesha diesels; 600 BHP (1965); twin propellers
Performance: 10.0 knots (maximum); 3,000 nm range @ 6.5 knots
Deck Gear: 5 ton boom capacity; hoist was air-powered
Complement: 16 (1944); 15 (1965)
Electronics: SPN-11X (1965)
Armament: None (small arms?)
Tender History:
Verbena, an inland buoy tender and one of eight Cosmos or Bluebell-Class tenders that entered service, were designed by the Coast Guard and constructed by the Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works of Dubuque, Iowa. She was commissioned on 13 November 1944 and was assigned to the 5th Naval District and was based at Coinjock, North Carolina and was assigned to tend aids to navigation as well as law enforcement and search and rescue duties when necessary.
She transferred to Morehead City, North Carolina on 6 June 1945. She patrolled the President's Cup Regatta in Washington, DC on 20 September 1951. On 3 March 1953 she assisted in fighting a fire at Wilmington, North Carolina. On 1 May 1953 she transferred to Washington, North Carolina. On 10 February 1955 she assisted the cutter Linden which was aground. On 7 January 1959 she assisted the CG-30456 which was aground at Briery Hall Point. On 17 February 1959 she searched for a downed Navy blimp near Pinetown, North Carolina. On 1 March 1963 she transferred back to Morehead City. In 1964 she transferred to Fort Macon, North Carolina. In the 1960s her engines were replaced with Caterpillar D353 diesels.** In 1965 she was redesignated WLI-317.
She was decommissioned on 1 September 1977 and was sold in February, 1978. Her new owners converted her to a menhaden fishing vessel and renamed her Nancy Lee. The new owners added a 33-foot section between the pilot house and bow to serve as the fish hold. She was sunk as an artificial reef in January, 1989 east of Cape Lookout, North Carolina.**
Sources:
**Information provided courtesy of former Verbena crewman Machinery Technician First Class Kerry Lupton, USCG, who served aboard her from 1974 to 1977.
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.