Ha`aheo O Hawai`i - The Pride of Hawaii

She was the first of her kind in America. She traveled the world in splendor before being traded to King Kamehameha II for sandalwood. Today, what remains of her lies at the bottom of Hanalei Bay. She will be remembered as the Pride of Hawaii, the first royal yacht of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Originally owned by George Crowninshield Jr.'s one of Salem, Massachusetts nouveau riche, she built in 1816 by local ship maker Retire Becketlocal, and christened Cleopatra's Barge. She was America's first ocean-going yacht and measured 83 feet on the waterline. She was accented with golf leaf, and had a port side hull that was painted with bright horizontal stripes and a starboard side finished in a bright herringbone pattern. Her interior was luxurious and comfortable. Guests were served on pink luster ware and dined with ivory handled utensils. The decor was opulent with Grecian with goddesses carved into the bulkhead panels and cabinets filled with porcelain and silver.

She journeyed across the Atlantic and called on many ports including Gibraltar, Barcelona, Marseilles, and Genoa. Soon after her Mediterranean journey, George Crowninshield Jr. died and she was soon sold at auction.

Meanwhile, in Hawaii, Liholiho had ascended to the throne as King Kamehameha II upon the death of Kamehameha the Great. As Liholiho was viewed as less threatening than Kamehameha the Great who forcefully unified the Hawaiian Islands, interest among New England sea merchants in trading with Hawaii grew steadily. Soon traders began to make their way to Hawaii in search of resources and profit. China traders eventually bought the ship, and Liholiho received it in exchange for $80,000 of Hawaii's abundant and highly sought-after sandalwood.

In 1820, the yacht sailed from Boston to Hawaii under the command of Captain John Suter. After her arrival in the island kingdom, she was renamed Ha`aheo O Hawai`i or "The Pride of Hawaii." It was said that Liholiho was madly in love with his new royal yacht, and used it as a diplomatic ship of state to travel around his tropical kingdom amid much revelry and ceremony.

In 1823, the ship was left with aides while Liholiho was on an extended diplomatic trip to England. The yacht had sailed into Hanalei Bay on the north shore of Kaua`i. On April 5, 1824, the ship ran aground on a reef in just five feet of water. Reports indicate the crew and perhaps the captain were drunk at the time.

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