USS Onkahye

History
United States
Name	Onkahye
Builder	William Capes
Laid down	1839
Launched	1840
Acquired	1843
Commissioned	1843
Fate	Wrecked 1848
General characteristics
Tons burthen	250
Length	96 ft (29 m)
Beam	22 ft (6.7 m)
Draft	12 ft (3.7 m)
Armament	2 guns

USS Onkahye was a topsail schooner of the United States Navy. A unique ship in the American Navy under sail, the vessel occupied a significant place in ship development, being the only converted sailing yacht to serve on a distant station before the American Civil War. Its design was influential and it is considered the model for modern American sailing yachts. ^[1]

While serving in the anti-piracy/anti-slave trade patrols in the Caribbean, it went down in 1848 off East Caicos, in the Turks & Caicos Islands. A NOAA-supported expedition in 2008 conducted field work in search of the Onkahye and the USS Chippewa, also known to have gone down in that area in 1816.