Another memento and reminder, to be highly regarded by the ship’s company of those stirring days, is a letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Naval Forces in European Waters, who desired that his “well done” should be included in this record. It is placed here by way of “good-bye and fare-ye-well,” as the old chantey sang it. Admiral Sims writes as follows: _Naval War College Newport, Rhode Island_ _1 December, 1919_ MY DEAR MR. PAINE: To undertake to write the complete story of any one ship of the American Navy and its experiences in the war zone seems to me a task very well worth while. Needless to say, the work of the yachts and their personnel on the coast of France was splendid, and I am only too glad to have an opportunity to express my appreciation of them. Because of the shortage of vessels suitable for convoy and escort duty, and the gravely urgent circumstances, the yachts were sent across with little time for preparation or training and with few officers and men of the Regular Navy in their complements. They were an emergency flotilla, but I felt confident that they would quickly adapt themselves to the arduous conditions of their service in European waters. What did surprise me was that they were able to weather a winter in the Bay of Biscay and to stay at sea with the convoys when yachts were presumed to be tucked in harbor. This was greatly to the credit of the courage, seamanship, and hardihood of the men who served in them. It was conspicuously true of the _Corsair’s_ encounter with the December hurricane in which she almost foundered, but succeeded in making port at Lisbon. A similar spirit was shown when this vessel stood by the disabled steamer _Dagfin_ and towed her three hundred miles through an area in which enemy submarines were operating. With a steaming record of 50,000 miles on foreign service, with the unusual number of fourteen enlisted men appointed as commissioned officers, and with repeated commendations from the Force Commander in France, such a yacht served with honor to the flag and the Navy and deserves the verdict of “Well Done, _Corsair_.” Very sincerely yours WM. S. SIMS _Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy_ [Illustration: _Copyright by Keystone View Co., N. Y._ ADMIRAL WILLIAM S. SIMS, COMMANDING THE U.S. NAVAL FORCES IN EUROPEAN WATERS] The yacht will always be tenanted with brave memories. And I am sure that to her owner and to Captain Porter, as long as she shall float, the _Corsair_ will seem to have caught and held in the fabric of her somewhat of the spirit of those high-hearted young Americans who manned and sailed and fought her in the war zone. For a ship which has faithfully withstood the manifold ordeals of the sea becomes something more than a mere artifice of wood and steel. She seems almost sentient, like a living thing to those who have shared her fortunes, and therein is the immemorial romance of blue water. FOOTNOTES: