Rosinco Shipwreck, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Built in 1916 by shipbuilders Harlan and Hollingsworth, in Wilmington, Delaware the Rosinco (U.S. #214160) was put to sea as Georgiana III.
Georiana III was the third yacht built for William G. Coxe, president of Harlan and Hollingsworth, and designed chiefly by the company’s naval architect, A.M. Main. The vessel’s overall length was 95 feet 2 ½ inches.
The 240 hp diesel engine had four cylinders, each 9 inches in diameter, with a 13-inch stroke.
The hull was divided into seven watertight compartments by six bulkheads, four of which had watertight doors. The upper decks were narrow planks of white pine fastened from below by brass screws and glued together. They were edged by mahogany margin planks.
The deckhouse was paneled in mahogany, with a large davenport and card table, and with large plate glass windows for good views. Below deck, the main salon was paneled in oak, with English tapestry for wall panels and upholstery, and with three built-in sofa beds, oak furniture, an 8-person dining table, and two sideboards with glazed and leaded glass. The grand stateroom contained a 3/4 bed, a Pullman bed, two dressing tables, and a bathroom.
During the spring of 1917 Edward T. Stotesbury of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania purchased the yacht from Coxe and turned her over to his stepson, James H. R. Cromwell.
On 3 May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired the yacht by free lease from her owner, J. H. R. Cromwell for World War I service as a Section patrol vessel. The Navy took control and commissioned the yacht as USS Georgiana III with the designation SP-83 on 11 May 1917. Georgiana III went to Wilmington on 26 May 1917 for conversion into a Section patrol craft by Harlan and Hollingsworth, with the ship being fitted with two 3-pounder (47 mm) guns. After conversion the vessel was assigned to the 4th Naval District.
On 25 July 1917 she reported for harbor entrance patrol duty at Cape May, New Jersey. For the remainder of World War I she patrolled the entrance to Delaware Bay, cruising between Cold Spring Harbor, New Jersey, and Lewes, Delaware. Fitted with underwater listening gear in July 1918, she also escorted ships through the Defensive Sea Area of Delaware Bay.
Georgiana III was decommissioned at Essington, Pennsylvania, on 30 November 1918 and returned to her owner.
In 1918, she was purchased by W. L. Baum of the Chicago Yacht Club and renamed Whitemarsh. Robert Hosmer Morse of Fairbanks-Morse bought the vessel in 1925 and gave her the name Rosinco. He had the original engine replaced with a Fairbanks-Morse model 35 diesel engine from his own company.
On the 18th of September, Robert Hosmer Morse left Milwaukee to visit the Fairbanks-Morse plant in Beloit, Wisconsin and Rosinco was to return to Chicago. In the early morning hours of the 19th, the Rosinco reportedly struck something in the water and it began sinking rapidly.
All on board managed to board lifeboats just as the Rosinco headed to the bottom. While all humans aboard survived, the ship’s mascot, a canary, did not. In the darkness and heavy seas, the men headed for the Kenosha lighthouse. Soon their vessel took on a leak, and all hands began bailing as they continued towards shore. After about two hours, the Kenosha Coast Guard Station spotted their distress call and met the seven men in a surfboat that then took them in tow to Kenosha. Speculation on the object that struck the Rosinco included a pile driver (barge) that was reportedly adrift on the lake or floating dock timbers that had broken loose from a Kenosha dock that was undergoing repairs and replacement. Investigations by the Coast Guard failed to confirm either of these theories. At the time of her loss, the Rosinco (the flagship of the Chicago Yacht Club) was valued between $100,000-$150,000.
The Rosinco which is about 10 miles east of Kenosha is intact and sits upright in about 195 feet of water. The vessel is structurally intact and well preserved. Despite looting, there are still artifacts associated at the site, including silverware and china.
GPS Location: 42º37’30.0″N 87º37’37.2″W
