What Happened To John Wayne’S Yacht The Wild Goose?

John Wayne, a legendary actor, owned the 136-foot Wild Goose yacht, which became an integral part of his life. However, the fate of this iconic vessel took a mysterious turn when the Norwester, his former yacht, sinks off the San Juan Islands. The vessel sustained damage to its hull in mid-April. The owner is now working to salvage the yacht and join over 200 other boats on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Wild Goose, a converted minesweeper originally built in 1943 in Seattle as YMS-328 for John Wayne’s favorite boat, has been given historical protection by joining over 200 other boats on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hollywood it hunted mines in World War II, hosted Richard Nixon on its wooden decks, and co-starred in a movie with Groucho Marx. The yacht remains in use today, owned by Hornblower Cruises Events, as a rental yacht for private events in Newport Beach, California.

In 1962, John Wayne bought the yacht and went through a major renovation. He changed her name to Wild Goose and kept the ship for the last 17 years of his life. The yacht was later sold to Wayne for 116,000, a tidy sum in those days. Wayne further altered the yacht for his needs, and the Wild Goose continues to sail the seas under the stewardship of Hornblower Cruises.

John Wayne passed away on June 11, 1979, of complications from cancer, and is buried in an unmarked grave in Pacific View Memorial Park, Newport Beach, California. The yacht became eligible because of her association with the late actor John Wayne.