ostwind yacht

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• Hitler's Yacht in Jacksonille

HITLER'S YACHT IN JACKSONVILLE

By   Mike Miller  Updated June 12, 2024

In the 1980's, I came across an interesting old derelict sailboat in a Jacksonville boatyard on the Trout River in the north side of Jacksonville.

A worker said the yacht had once belonged to Hitler.

I researched the matter, and found that during World War Two, Hitler had an 85 foot sailing yacht built for himself named "Ostwind".

His plan was to sail into England after Germany had won the war and accept Winston Churchill's surrender aboard the yacht. Hitler's plan didn't work out, and the fate of the "Ostwind" kind of got obscured by postwar history. She reportedly sank in the Miami River and was later towed to Jacksonville.

I was not 100% sure the boat in my photograph is "Ostwind", but I ran across other stories that said in 1989 the yacht was transported from Jacksonville to Miami and sunk in the ocean off Miami Beach.

It had been purchased by a Jewish group headed by former Miami Beach commissioner Abe Resnick , a Lithuanian-American.

They turned the yacht into an offshore reef for fish habitat, and dedicated it to the memory of the voyage of the SS St Louis - "Voyage of the Damned."

A reef is named after the Ostwind. I am not a historian, so this boat may or may not be "Ostwind", but I'm pretty sure it must be. Too many coincidences for it not to be.

Here is the story about the sinking and final watery grave of Hitler's yacht.

ASSOCIATED PRESS ARTICLE ABOUT HITLER'S YACHT

Hitler’s Yacht Sunk Off Miami Beach - Again

BRIAN MURPHY June 29, 1989

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ The remnants of Adolf Hitler’s yacht, sent to a watery grave recently by a group of Holocaust survivors, were refloated and sunk again Thursday in a deeper resting place off Miami Beach.

Air bags were used to raise the skeleton-like remains of the Ostwind from atop a shallow reef, where it was mistakenly dumped June 4 during ceremonies observing the 50th anniversary of the ″Voyage of the Damned.″

″We’ve said all along that ship has bad vibes,″ said Linda Arter, a marina worker at A-1 Marine and Commercial Wrecking in Jacksonville. ″It just doesn’t seem to want to go away quietly.″

The yacht, intended as an artificial reef, threatened marine life on the coral reef and was a hazard to ships.

An apparent navigational error caused the yacht to be dumped into 25 feet of water as 27 survivors from the SS St. Louis’ 1939 voyage watched.

The ceremony commemorated the United States’ refusal that year to accept the ship carrying 937 Jewish refugees, many of whom perished later in Nazi concentration camps.

A tugboat spent more than three hours Thursday pulling the 85-foot yacht underwater to a 250-foot-deep spot two miles offshore, where the steel cable was cut with a blow torch and the ship sunk to the rocky bottom.

The event was supervised by state environmental officials.

″This is an opportunity to retell the story of the Voyage of the Damned,″ said Rabbi Barry Konovitch of the Cuban-Hebrew Congregation in Miami Beach. ″A bit of good may have come from this event.″

The Fountainebleau Hilton hotel on Miami Beach put up $10,000 to move the Ostwind into deeper water.

The Army Corps of Engineers ordered the yacht moved or government crews would dismantle the remains and bill Miami Beach officials.

Prior to the sinking a Senate proclamation acknowledging the Voyage of Damned was read by State Sen. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami, a Republican candidate to succeed the late congressman Claude Pepper.

The Ostwind was commissioned in 1938 by Hitler as an Olympic racing vessel, but it was never entered in competition and was used instead by Nazi officials.

Hitler apparently only used the vessel once or twice.

The United States took possession of the Ostwind as a war prize and it was used as a training craft at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., until it was sold as surplus in the late 1950s.

The yacht was then held by various owners in Florida and sold in the mid-1970s to a Nazi memorabilia collector from Massachusetts.

The collector brought the Ostwind to A-1 Marine and Commercial Wrecking for repairs. But the collector never completed work on the vessel and failed to pay for the dock space.

Marina owner J.J. Nelson took possession of the yacht in 1981. The boat was repeatedly vandalized and Nelson rejected an offer by a Nazi group in Chicago to buy the vessel for a shrine.

Last year, Nelson contacted Miami Beach officials about using the remains as a reef. It was transported last month from Jacksonville aboard a large barge.

Boats International Article About Hitlers Yacht

OUR VISITORS COMMENTS ABOUT HITLER'S YACHT

July 4, 2022 by: Valerie Robinson

Hi Mike, a friend forwarded your article to me about Hitler’s yacht Ostwind. In the comments section anonymous mentions the name Bill Robinson (with an incorrect date of 1995) and my friend wondered if it was my husband. Long before I moved to Florida, in the early 80’s my husband bought a property in Mandarin, on the river from a woman who was the mother of Horace Glass. My husband can’t recall her name since he dealt mostly with her son.

Horace had the Ostwind moored to the pilings at the end of a derelict 550 food dock at the property. My husband asked that the vessel be removed prior to him taking possession of the property.

That didn’t happen and the boat sat there for a while while my husband was clearing the property to build a house. Horace tried to fix the ship, but did not have the means to make it happen.

My husband recalls that one day Horace brought an old yacht up to the side of the sailboat, lashed the old vessel to the side of it and towed it up river to “a place by Jackie’s Seafood Kitchen”.

Horace would likely be in his early to mid 80’s if still alive. My husband agrees with a comment made by someone that Horace’s wife was named Jody.  A little aside, one day Horace putted up in a small boat with his tools to work on the Ostwind. He tied up to the side, hopped aboard and turned on the bilge pump.

When he came up for his tools he discovered he’d sunk his boat along with his tools because he’d tied up near the bilge pump pipe. This sort of sums up the poor man’s trials with Ostwind! My husband thinks his address was 12432 Mandarin Road or thereabouts. He had one of the longest or maybe even the longest docks since it had to accommodate commercial boats way back when it was “The Mandarin Dock”. So, the plot thickens! Keep up the great work.

P.S.  I found a really interesting article that puts many of the pieces together. I don’t think I saw a link for it on your webpage so I’ve attached it below. 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1989-01-22-8901220012-story.html

Aug 02, 2019 Ostwind by: Craig B. As a ten year old, I lived walking distance from the yacht which was moored in a cove just north of N.W. 27th Ave. and N. River Drive in Miami. You could plainly see the name of the ship, as I recall it was painted white. We would climb aboard and jump into the river.

Jun 22, 2019 Hitlers Sailboat by: Anonymous Around 1995. Hitler's boat was secured at the end of the dock at the home of Mr. William Robinson who lived in Mandarin and had recently bought the property. We all saw it there. Bill Robinson, of course, no longer wanted it and had it removed. He currently lives in Jacksonville at Epping Forest. He would be able to fill in the details of the boat's last days.

Mar 04, 2019 Ostwind, Just Island,Miami. FL 1957 by: Marlene Hilton I lived on a sailboat docked at Just Island up the Miami river from 1953 through 1957. At sometime in 1956 or 1957 the Ostwind also docked at the island. It had been purchased by a newly retired naval commander. John Lyman had just brought it down from the Chesapeake Bay area. The yacht was in good condition but was strictly a sailing vessel. It had no motor, and had to be towed.John had plans for a charter business but as usual life turned out differently. John bought a home just a bit further up river and docked the Ostwind there. I lost track of the Lymans and the Ostwind by the mid sixties.The yacht was very nice but not luxurious. It was quite chopped up into staterooms with sparse galley and lounge areas.

Feb 09, 2019 Museum by: Mike I did some bottom work on her in the 70’s she was secured up in water on the St. John’s river. Pretty bad shape though you could walk the decks, go below and visualize what remained intact of the staterooms.

Dec 02, 2018 I worked down the street from this boat... by: Moonshine In the very early 80's I worked as a boiler operator for a paper mill which was part of a well know sheet rock manufacturer on the waterfront on Jacksonville. While working a night shift I read in a Rollingstone magazine article about "Hitler's yacht". It mentioned the location and I realized it was a couple of addresses down from my location After work I walked to where it was. It seemed so surreal to see this vessel in person. I later heard that it had been moved to South Florida and sunk.

Aug 05, 2018 The boat or the people ? by: Timothy Dobbins Thank you for your response. The night I was invited to sail on her was dark, little moon and many mosquitoes.Since all of the people were new to me, I heard very little about the details of the boat and the tour was quick. I felt a little strange sailing downriver toward Mandarin, where she was berthed, on a boat owned and perhaps sailed by one of the most evil men In history. And in some sense, it was even somewhat difficult to enjoy the serendipitous moment of being invited to join my new friends given the association of the boat with the Fuhrer himself. In this case, the people dominated the night and the memories that followed, not the means of transport. However the boat -the Ostwind- ,has found her place as a ghost ship in the recesses of my mind where memories lurk of an evening sail down the Saint John’s River, with three new friends and a fourth numinous spirit who haunts me and the world to this day.

Aug 04, 2018 I Was Invited for a Nice Cruise by: Timothy Dobbins In the Summer of 1978, I was invited to board the Ostwind and help guide her under power for a cruise one evening with the owner and his wife and a beautiful young woman named Brenda. I had met the three of them that summer and we attended a Lou Rawls concert. That evening I began a relationship with Brenda, and I invited her down to Gainesville a few weeks later to hear me speak at the graduation of the senior class of Gainesville high school 1978. So many stories about the Ostwind, and it’s owner and his spouse were friends with Brenda. There’s more to the story but more important to me, I would love to be in touch with Brenda Counsel, and Jody,the owner’s wife if they are still around. Tim Dobbins [email protected]

Aug 05, 2017 Hitler's yacht by: Tom White In the 80s when I was restoring a wooden Snipe the owner of the salvage yard allowed me to remove boards from the hull. They were two inch mahogany of which I still have half a dozen. I also was able to get several bronze four inch screws. I also took some pictures of the boat that is like the first picture in this story. If you have questions my email is [email protected]

Mar 31, 2017 Re: the Ostwind by: Liz Gavilan According to my deceased husband Bob L. Gavilan, owner of The Old Book Shop on Beach Blvd in St. Nicholas, one of his customers, Horace Glass and his wife Jody, owned the Ostwind and was in the process of repairing it. Commemorative bars from the lead ballast were fashioned and sold to raise money for this project. I do believe it was a storm that came through that partially sank the boat and the Glass couple abandoned the project. It is my understanding they relocated to the north but I do not know where. I do remember seeing one of the commemorative bars and some associated paperwork, like maybe a flyer, in my husband's book shop. I am thinking this was sometime during the 80's. I seem to remember that the ship was anchored in the Mandarin area. [email protected] if anyone would like to contact me. Thanks, Liz

Jan 06, 2017 Hitler's Yacht by: Ed Drury I have a Certificate of Authenticity (dated 1972) issued by the Ostwind Museum of a piece of the mainsail from the Ostwind along with a reproduced picture of the yacht sailing off the coast of Florida. Caption under picture says the yacht was owned by retired Navy Commander John Lyman.

Nov 12, 2016 Hitler's Yacht by: Hans Braun I am a German. I was born in 1945 my father was a Kreigsmarine officer and He told me Hitler had only luxury vessel, a yacht named Grille. After the war, the US Government decided to scrap Hitler’s luxury vessel, then one of the biggest private yachts in the world. The Americans didn’t want it to end up as some kind of memorial to the hateful regime. EDITOR SAYS Thanks for telling us about "Grille". I looked it up on Wikipedia and it was a huge vessel and like you say, it was scrapped. The yacht described in our article was one of two identical sailboats. This one was named "Ostwind" and the other named "Norwind". The citizens of Miami Beach had enough belief that Ostwind was truly Hitler's yacht that the purchased it and paid to have it towed from Jacksonville to Miami Beach. It was intentionally destroyed and sunk in the ocean off Miami Beach. You can read the New York Times article by scrolling down to our comment on July 29, 2014.

Sep 03, 2016 Ostwind by: Anonymous The boat was in the St. Johns River my friend and I actually went up to it many times. It was beached in the shallows in Mandarin.

Aug 17, 2016 I saw the Ostwind too near Mandarin, Fl. on east side of St John's river. by: Bruce Taylor Yes I too recall the Ostwind moored for extreme renovations next to a very big old Chris named Camelot. The gent that met us just said we couldn't go aboard because of the deck being so wrecked. The man wanted to sell off Camelot & move on. His dream was to get backers for building some sort of attraction out of it. Last note: I recall the transom lettering quite good as it was professionally done with a bit of flair. If you know or remember a Bruce Taylor, owner of a boatyard in Orange Park, I was with Dr. David Scales in a small boat we came in from my business. I guess we were invited as prospects for Ostwind. Great article.

Aug 14, 2016 Hitlers yacht by: J. Byrd Was docked near Jackie's Seafood kitchen years ago. Rumor was Jackie's brother owned it but may have been just docked there. Was just east of Trout River bridge. I boarded it covertly one evening and secured a rusted deck bolt for a souvenir. I still have the bolt.

Oct 05, 2014 Jacksonville, Late 1960's by: Jon The Ostwind has created many tales, and apparently two were built, identical. The Jacksonville ship I was told about, was in Mandarin at one point, or very close proximity. A friend of my Father's had bought it for the lead ballast. We went one morning, early during shrimp season, probably late August back around the late 60's and shrimped from the decaying deck area as it was tied up to the owner's dock in the river. It was dark and I don't remember much other than my Father and his friend talking about the boat, name and why he had it.... so the tales continue.

Aug 02, 2014 HITLER YACHT by: Anonymous I goofed.. The yacht was named "GRILLE"..and was kept in BAVARIA.. After the war ..she was at the Great Kills Boat Marina on Staten Island , N.Y. Then....she was next heard of in California... Been a long time...seem to get things backwards....:-)

Aug 02, 2014 HITLER YACHT by: Anonymous Yup...BAVARIA was Hitlers Yacht.... Last I heard - she was in California. Was the Yacht that you see all the pictures of..with Ava and the gang aboard...

Aug 02, 2014 Mandarin Point by: Anonymous I remember the Ostwind during the 1980s being up on braces about 200 feet off the eastern shore of the St. JohnsRiver somewhere near Mandarin Point, just south of the Buckman Bridge.

New York Times Article About Ostwind

BOAT HITLER BUILT IS SUNK IN CEREMONY By JEFFREY SCHMALZ, Special to The New York Times Published: June 5, 1989 Never mind that the rumors are exaggerated and that the Ostwind was not really Hitler's personal yacht. He ordered her built and was aboard her a few times. And that was enough for the 100 Holocaust survivors. As an airplane flew overhead pulling the sign ''Never Again,'' the 85-foot sailboat Ostwind - or, more accurately, what little was left of her - was sunk just off Miami Beach today as the survivors looked on from a nearby boat and applauded and cried.

Jun 12, 2014 HITLER YACHT ??? by: Gene COL HAROLD THOMAS LENTZ, at the end of WW2, was made a military Governor of some sort in Bavaria.  His office was Hitler's yacht. But, was it the yacht that was rusty and sunk in Florida? I seem to remember it in California? Was there a yacht named Bavaria that belonged to Hitler?  Anyone know for sure? I have many SS items and an arm band from the Yacht Col Lentz used as his Office. He also dismantled a bar in the town there that Hitler hung out in, and it is now in a home in Maine. There were also a bunch of SS marked with SS ruins. Mail me if you know about another yacht..or cabin cruiser? [email protected] I'm in Washington State now; back home in CO by June 19..

Jan 20, 2014 Hitler Yacht by: sail buff Hitler's Yacht After the war, the yacht went to England as a prize of war. It was donated to Canada and turned into a training ship. The navy renamed it the Tim. It was put for sale by the Canadian government. It changed hands 2 or 3 times because of the expensive repairs to put it in shape. The boat was renamed Helgoland.

Apr 18, 2013 Seen it ..... by: Anonymous I have recently seen the ship in a very good condition on a wharf in Gaete(Italy). It is beautiful despite its former owner. And yes it looks like the ship on your picture.

Mar 16, 2013 Hitler's Yacht rebuilt in Jacksonville by: Arron About 25 or more years ago, A person was rebuilding one of Hitler's personal Yacht. A storm or hurricane hit Jacksonville and destroyed the Yacht. This person did not want to rebuild it again and was towed to a junk yard at North Main Street. I would like to contact this person. please contact me at [email protected]

Oct 16, 2012 Bridgetender Thanks by: Editor Ron, thanks for your observations about the Ostwind as she was towed past the Spanish River Bridge. I have cruised up and down the waterway for years, and you bridgetenders do a good job and make the trip a lot more fun. I'll bet you could write a book about the things you've seen.

Oct 07, 2012 Bridge Tender's Memory of Hitler's Yacht by: Ron in Cocoa, Florida Hi, I was a bridge tender in 1989 working on the 40th Street bridge A.K.A. Spanish River bridge that goes over the Intracoastal waterway in Boca Raton, Florida.

I was working the graveyard shift when a tugboat with a barge was heading South. When I opened the bridge there was a very old looking hull of a sailboat on top.

If I correctly remember there was a swastika painted on the rear or front deck of the boat. (It was faded but still recognizable). I had very strong spotlights so I was able to get a good look.

Sep 23, 2012 Video by: M Kratzer I have video from 8mm film of the Easwtind (Ostwind) while owned by Commander Lyman in the 50's my father (ex navy) was crew on the yacht during sailing excursions on the Chesapeake (Maryland).

The film was made (I was told) to promote leasing of the ship for private trips or parties. If interested in the video please email me [email protected].

Jul 26, 2012 That Probably is Ostwind by: Anonymous I remember the Ostwind and that photo looks a lot like her. She was supposed to be the prototype for the Volkboats. My father had one of those but it sank in the Intracoastal waterway in Ft. Lauderdale.

I was under the impression that it languished for years in limbo due to an ideological battle which ended with a certain politically correct group towed it out into the Trout River and scuttled it.

I remember that you could still see the hulk at low tide from the old location of Jackies Seafood Kitchen. That would definitely tie into the picture - if someone managed to rescue it.

I always thought it was such a shame to do that to such a beautiful boat - especially since the limo of the same owner sold for millions recently. Who was it that said "those who deny history are destined to relive it"?

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How Holocaust survivors reclaimed and sunk Hitler's $1 boat

Sold for a dollar and then sunk by Holocaust survivors below a banner reading "Never Again" - before being lost to sea as a result of hurricane - Adolf Hitler's yacht had a long and contentious life. BOAT unpacks the story of Ostwind, the yacht that started out as a symbol of German sovereignty...

Ostwind is German for "East Wind". An insidious name for those familiar with the Nazi party's ideology. The Generalplan Ost ("Master Plan for the East") was the blueprint for the Nazi regime's genocide and large-scale ethnic cleansing of the populations of Central and Eastern Europe. These associations would follow Ostwind like a shadow through her life, turning her into a symbol of the monstrous regime she was built under.

The story begins with Germany's poor showing at the 1936 Olympics. Hitler commissioned a series of Olympic racing yachts in retaliation, built in Bremen-based yard Burmeis & Wain to a design by noted naval architect Heinrich Gruber . Though she never ended up competing, the 26.2-metre Ostwind was delivered in 1938 as part of this fleet.

From here, the accounts deviate. Some claim Hitler went on board Ostwind once or twice; others, that he and Eva Braun would frequently use her for pleasure cruises. In a particularly chilling account, historian and biographer Michael Miller wrote that Hitler had visions of riding the yacht into England to accept Churchill's surrender. However many of these are fiction, the fantasy credited to Hitler thankfully never materialised.

Following the defeat of the Nazi party in 1945, the United States took possession of Ostwind as a war prize and used her as a training craft at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She was later sold as surplus in the 1950s. For decades, Ostwind bounced around the country under the stewardship of several owners, some of which would later swear she brought them bad luck.

This included Plymouth developer Charles Sanderson, who famously purchased Ostwind for $1 with plans to convert her into a World War II museum in Massachusetts. The proposal infuriated local officials and residents, work never materialised and Sanderson eventually failed to pay for the dock space.

Ostwind was then handed over to marina owner J.J. Nelson, who brought her to Jacksonville, Florida. For years, she sat in storage, accumulating dust but otherwise well maintained. Until word got around that she was Hitler's yacht.

Everything imploded; Ostwind was repeatedly vandalised, stripped by souvenir hunters and even set alight. Nelson received onslaughts of threatening letters at the same time a neo-Nazi group offered him $500,000 to convert the yacht into a shrine.

The offer was naturally rejected and Ostwind was instead donated to Abraham Resnick, a Holocaust survivor and Miami Beach City Commissioner. It was decided that what remained of Ostwind was going to be destroyed – sunk and transformed into an artificial reef just off the coast of Florida.

The sinking was scheduled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of St. Louis , also known as the Voyage of the Damned. Nine hundred Jewish refugees fled Nazi occupation on board the ocean liner, only to be denied entry by both US and Cuban officials who claimed they had exceeded their yearly immigration quotas. St. Louis was forced to return to Europe, where nearly a third of her passengers were murdered.

And so, Ostwind was rolled off a barge and sunk on 4 June, 1989. The ceremony was attended by 27 of the original St. Louis passengers, who held one another and sang the Hatikva (the national anthem of Israel) as the creaking debris disappeared into the water. An airplane flew overhead with a banner streaming behind that read "Never Again".

Strangely, Ostwind would live up to her doomed reputation one final time. A navigational error had landed her on a delicate coral reef only six metres below the surface, posing a threat to marine life and passing ships. After less than a month, officials were forced to refloat and resink her.

A few years later, Hurricane Andrew would ravage Florida and obscure the precise location of Ostwind 's ruins.

While ambitious divers and treasure hunters have tried in the years since, Ostwind 's troubled life and worse end means there is likely very little of her left to be found.

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• Purchase Prints

Hitler’s Yacht

« Prev Next » May 10th, 2011 , 13:50H · Topics: Famous And Not So... , Getting Around · Print

“This is what was left of Adolph Hitler’s yacht.  People took parts of it for souvenirs, and someone started a fire and this hull was what was left.” LS

Typed on back of the print  “This is to certify that these pictures were taken Wednesday, August 30, 1950, approximately 2:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. by–Loyd Sandgren”

(Under Sandgren’s name is the name Robert Stedeford)

The Ostwind was one of two sailboats commissioned by Hitler in 1936 and it came to the United States after the war changing owners a half dozen times. It ended up in Jacksonville where it sat in disrepair until the 1980’s.  It was given to a Jewish Miami Beach Holocaust survivor who ultimately burned and sank it in the Miami Harbor.  There is apparently no evidence that Hitler ever set foot on the Ostwind.

Tags: boat , Hitler , Hitler's Yacht , Ostwind , vandalized , Yacht

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Your site is a pleasant stroll down memory lane.

A minor correction you may wish to address concerns the photo on your site by Lloyd Sandgren attributed to being Adolf Hitler’s yacht the Ostwind.

The photo may be of some other, smaller watercraft connnected to Hitler, but it is not the 85 foot long Ostwind.

This photo is dated 1950, but the Ostwind was relatively intact up until the early 1980’s when she was finally dragged ashore on the northside of Jacksonville by J.J. Nelson and later sold to the group in Miami that sank the Ostwind 2 miles offshore in 1989.

In 1950 the Ostwind was being sailed as a training vessel by the US Naval Academy in Maryland. Later that year the yacht was sold to Navy Commander John Lyman who sailed and lived aboard the Ostwind with his wife until he sold it in 1966.

Visit http://bootyforsale.com and view the “about’ page for a more detailed history of the Ostwind.

Again, your site is enjoyable.

I saw the Ost Wind in Jacksonville, Fl.. It was in very poor condition, but afloat. I don’t know the year, probably the late1980’s.

Asa, I appreciate your addition to the post. You may well be right. I am working from notes left behind by the photographer and I have found minor inconsistencies from time to time. Most of the notes Loyd Sandgren wrote were written and attached to his photographs later in his life as he was going through the vast collection of images from his 40 plus year career. I know I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast from time to time so it would be no surprise if the fog of time blurred some of the details from 30 years prior. In his defense, Loyd was very sharp right up to his passing. I can only hope to be so lucky.

This photo is not of the Eastwind. My father was sailing on her at that time with his friend and past commander, whlle in Naval Intelligence, John Lyman. They sailed the Chesapeake Bay and I still have the black and white movies of my parents and their friends having a wonderful time on a beautilful day on a beautiful boat.

How could I get a copy of that video? My father was John. G LYMAN. Thank you.

Hello Julie: By accident I was reading about Ostwind when I saw your comment. Your father and I were great friends, both announcers at SEAQUARIUM and I knew you as a little girl. For many years I wondered where I could find you and Charlie. Please give a reply when you have a chance. Sincerely, Bruce

Dear Bruce: My son came upon this article while looking up my step father and mentioned your name as a commentator. I hope your are well and would be pleased to correspond with you if you wish.

Thank you Carol, What a great story. I think there may be a level of urban legend surrounding the rotting hull that was in Jacksonville. There are a lot of stories and a lot of memories but little solid documentation to back them up. I don’t think I have seen any other photos of the ship during the time it was said to have been in Jacksonville. I always welcome information to fill in the information gaps.

Hi Bob, if you would like a copy of the movies my father took, I would be happy to send them to you. She’s under full sail on the Chesapeake Bay with many happy sailors and their wives aboard. Carol

I am in possession of a piece of lead ballast from the Ostwind. There is a box and inscription about the Ostwind as well as the number 153 on the edge of the lead souvenir.

Can you shed light as to the authenticity of the object.

Once you respond I can email photos for you to review.

I have a same piece of the lead ballast that you’re talking about came in a fancy box with the satin lining we bought it from the man who owned the Ostwindi in Mandarin at one time his name was Horace Glass he was a diver. He took us out in a small rowboat and we actually got to climb aboard the vessel when it was on an anchor 50 ft off of his dock the mast for the boat was laying in his yard facing the river. You could see the boat when you drove across the Buckman bridge it looked like a giant white banana.

Did your father know John Lyman?

I’m sure it was in Jacksonville FL. It was dock on the water at my father’s cousins home in Mandarin for several years. He later sold it and it was docked of Trout River in North Jacksonville in bad shape. There were some news articles regarding this in the Florida Times-Union paper. I then heard in was sold to someone in Pennsylvania

My Father’s cousin Horace Glass in Jacksonville Fl purchase the yacht back in the 80’s. I heard that if was brought in from Flager Beach. He had it dock off his home in Mandarin for many years. and then was docked off trout river in north Jacksonville. He sold parts off of it to raise money to restore it for a museum however it never take off. I do have a piece of the Mass that has been authenticated.

Debbie, your account matches what I was told by my late husband Bob L. Gavilan, owner of The Old Book Shop on Beach Blvd in St. Nicholas, one of his customers, Horace Glass and his wife Jody, owned the Ostwind and was in the process of repairing it. Commemorative bars from the lead ballast were fashioned and sold to raise money for this project. I do believe it was a storm that came through that partially sank the boat and the Glass couple abandoned the project.

It is my understanding they relocated to the north but I do not know where. I do remember seeing one of the commemorative bars and some associated paperwork, like maybe a flyer, in my husband’s book shop. I am thinking this was sometime during the 80’s. I seem to remember that the ship was anchored in the Mandarin area.

Your account about bringing the boat up from Flagler Beach triggered a part of the story I had forgotten until reading your post but now I remember my husband had told me that too.

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I am writing a book on characters and boats of the Miami River. The “Ostwind” is one of them. She sat in rough shape for years at a decrepit dock just east of the 27th Avenue bridge. And then poof she was gone. But among the many stories of Mr. Lyman and this boat there is one that I am not sure of. It was said that Mr. Lyman was injured by a winch handle – and possibly lost sight of an eye. And this contributed to his waning interest in the boat.

Her sister, the “Nordwind” is still sailing.

You are so right Bob. The Ostwind sat for years in the Miami River docked behind a house on NW 20th Street. I worked for Southern Bell in that area and I saw it practially everyday. The story I heard back then was a fixed span bridge was being built or mabe a draw bridge was being replaced with a fixed span bridge and the Ostwind was moved because of it’s mast it would not be able to be moved from that location. The house was mabe 4 or 5 houses East of the 27th ave bridge and was very visable from the bridge.

There is a story about the background of the boat and it’s owners up through it’s sinking from NPR’s This American Life radio program. It’s very interesting. J.J. Nelson was the final owner of the ostwind before he gave it to a Jewish group who sunk it in Miami harbor.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/189/hitlers-yacht

I remember seeing a boat up on blocks near the river in Jacksonville that rumor had it as Adolf Hitler’s boat. That was about 1985 maybe. I thought they said it was made of concrete. There was a nice restaurant on the water nearby. GH.

My grandfather Herman Yake build shrimp boats as a hobby in our fab shop and sailed one of his boats along the ostwind for the sinking . His boat was docked at the same marina that the ostwind was at here in Jacksonville . He was giving a large piece of the ship that also includes a port hole My aunt in Coca Beach still has it .

I first met Commander Lyman in Washington DC in 1953 when he and his wife were living aboard Eastwind, tied up in the basin. He had had the accident that tore out his eye, part of his skull and check bone. I was in touch with John up through the time that we got Eastwind ready for the race Havana to Spain in 1955. I was on the Ticonderoga in the race. Eastwind was taking on too much water so they dropped out of the race. John had Eastwind in the Miami river on Just Island. While there we unstopped the mast and carefully took it apart and rebuilt it as the glue lines has let go. I was at John’s second wedding and remember “big mouth Charlie” The accident that caused John’s injury went like this – they (his wife and others were sailing in the Chesapeake and a squall like came over them. In attempting to lower the Main Halyard, some one let go the main boom topping lift with put the total weight of boom, sail and wind on the main halyard winch with John was holding and lowering on a much too small halyard winch. With the usual crew in Germany of 20 able sailors to tail the winch it was safe but not one man. His wife was able to hold John in her lap and sail Eastwind back into Annapolis. Admiral Karl Doenitz was the ranking German officer to sail on Eastwind and on Northwind. Northwind held the Fastenet Race record until we better the record in 1955 on Mare Nostrum sailed by Woody Pirie and myself and a mix crew. My long time sailing buddy Frank Dratz helped sail the Eastwind to Havana before the race and said that he had never experienced such a powerful sailboat and he sailed on many. They had a nice reach and passed up shrimpers, small freighters and such. Gruber was an outstanding designer and these “Wind” boats were exceptional. Composite hull with unknown metal for frames and great hard wood planking. Sad ending to one of the truly great sail boats and to Commander John Lyman, A great friend. Rusty.

Wow, I thought I was crazy when I would tell people about Hitler’s boat. As a kid we would eat at Jackie’s seafood and then walk with my grandfather along the docks while he smoked cigars. He used to always talk to this man who said he was restoring the boat. I have a piece of wood and a piece of metal from the boat (nothing fancy like a port hole), but they remind me of my grandfather and Miss Jackie. Thank you for having this information.

I lived in MAINE for a while. Up the road from us was a retired US ARMY Colonel — Harold Thomas Lentz. At the end of WW2, Col Lentz was assigned to a town in Austria. . He was a Military Governor there for some reason ?? Col Lentz took Hitlers Yacht Ostwind as his Office and Living Quarters. Col Lentz must have acquired a few items of value because of his wealth after the War when he lived in MAINE in the 1960’s.In his Horse stables under the house , he had a row of beautiful, Black Saddles — all with the SS markings on them.. Up stairs in his dining area was a small area where he could sit and chat with his company. On the walls there was what looked like a old European Bar. He told me it was from Austria – where Hitler hung out with his buddies. Col Lentz had it removed and brought to the US and assembled in this Home in MAINE. It was complete with the bottles of liquor that were on it in AUSTRIA.. while on Ostwind he found many NAZI items and a lot of Medals. Col Lentz gave me all the Medals he found aboard Ostwind.. I still have them. Several Knight’s Crosses — a German Cross in Silver.one was the German Cross in Gold ( i sold it – big mistake) .and a bunch of others.. Col LENTZ was a very open person to me since I had been in the US Military. Col Lentz had a heart attack and died at a Horse Race he had one of his horses running in. The home was sold by his wife Susan . The Bar was still intact. The home today is a sort of INN..?? People stay there like in a Hotel. I do not know if the Bar is still there ?? It would be worth a fortune if it is ??.

Colonel Harold Thomas Lentz had his Office – and lived on the Yacht at the end of WW2- Col Lentz was a Military Governor in the area. I live close to Harry in Maine. He died because of betting quite a sum on his Race Horse … the Horse lost and Harry was out quite a bit of money The loss was a bit too much for him . He had the heart attack and passed. His wife Susie were blasted —so sad. Susie was a real live Princess from South America…she was a DeLeon. She went to Peru after “Tom” died (he wanted me to call him TOM) Her aim was to claim her Silver Items from her family home- some from DeLeon himself. At the Airport on her way back – the animals running the country confiscated it all from her.. Sad indeed…

At the end of the War..Col Harold Thomas Lentz was made the Military Governor for while where the Yacht was… Col Lentz used the sail boat as his hang out and Office for a while..as well as the Eagles Nest…He hauled home MANY items…including about 8 SS Black Saddles. He had Race Horses in Maine. He also had the shelving behind the Bar there where Hitler hung out with is cronies. The shelving and bottles were packed and sent to MAINE also..It was all mounted on the wall in his house. After he passed I am sure no one knew what the hell it was… All the small item, medals – SS sleeve titles from Hitlers Outfit of security guards in here… Good man- We were good friends. His wife was a Princess out of South America.. From the DeLeon Family… Susan…. very small, quiet friendly woman. Col Lents died ( heart attack) after one of race horse lost at a race in MA .. he had bet quite a bit on the critter… Shame.

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Hitler’s yacht sits off the coast of this florida beach. here’s why, the ostwind is one of many strange objects found in florida’s waters.

Anthony Talcott , Digital Journalist

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Nearly 5 miles off the coast of Miami Beach, a yacht sits at the bottom of the ocean.

This vessel — dubbed the Ostwind — has a strange history. It was once owned by Adolf Hitler.

The 80-foot-long yacht was commissioned by the infamous dictator in 1938 as an Olympic racing yacht, though it never actually competed.

According to historian Mike Miller , Hitler’s plan was to ride the yacht into England after Germany’s victory, where he would accept Winston Churchill’s surrender aboard the boat.

However, history had different plans.

After Germany’s defeat, the U.S. reportedly took control of the Ostwind, which was used as a training craft at the U.S. Naval Academy before being sold to a Nazi memorabilia collector in the 1970s, the Ocala Star-Banner reports.

The collector took the yacht to Jacksonville for repairs, but it was ultimately abandoned, and a marina owner then took possession.

Despite offers from a Nazi group to buy the yacht and turn it into a shrine, the marina owner ultimately reached out to Miami Beach officials about using the Ostwind as an artificial reef.

Eventually, the boat was taken from Jacksonville down to Miami Beach in 1989, and it was sunk off the coast to around 275 feet deep, state records indicate .

Nowadays, the only way to view the WWII-era relic is to throw on some scuba gear and take a dive.

Of course, the Ostwind isn’t the only strange object to be sunken off of Miami’s coast.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the following items have also been sunk near Miami Beach to create artificial reefs:

• Smoke stacks
• Radio towers
• A water tower
• Oil rig structures
• A railroad barge
• A minesweeper warship

To learn more about the many shipwrecks off of Florida’s coast, click here .

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About the Author

Anthony talcott.

Anthony, a graduate of the University of Florida, joined ClickOrlando.com in April 2022.

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Adolph Hitler’s Yachts — Part 2 : Ostwind and the Offshore Reef

Nordwind, sister to Ostwind Image: ClassicSailboats.org

Yesterday we posted about the patrol ship, the Grille , described by some as “Hitler’s yacht.” Today we will look at a second vessel to bear the same title — the Ostwind .

In 1936, the German government had two racing sailboats built, the Ostwind and the Nordwind , reputedly because the German sailing team had performed poorly in the previous Olympics. The  Ostwind was seized by the Americans in 1947, while the Nordwind  was said to be taken by the British and renamed White Rose . The two sailboats were designed by Heinrich Gruber, a well-known naval architect of the day, and were 85′ overall. 

Was the Ostwind really Hitler’s yacht? It seems doubtful. There is allegedly a photograph of Hitler and his Mistress Eva Braun taken aboard the boat, but there is no real evidence that Hitler spent much time aboard. The legend of the Ostwind as Hitler’s yacht seem to spring up in the 1950s when the boat was in the United States and a group of investors attempted to raise money to restore the boat and make it a museum. Stories of romantic getaways on the yacht arose as did an account that Hitler had a special fondness for the boat and always referred to it as his “special lady.” These tales seemed to originate in the decades after the war, however.

The investor’s plans fell through and for years the Ostwind sat abandoned at a marina in Jacksonville . For a while she was left alone but as word got out that she was “Hitler’s yacht” vandals crept in to strip her, either to collect souvenirs or to attempt to exact revenge on the memory of her notional owner.  

Finally, in 1989 a group of 100 Holocaust survivors bought what was left of the yacht. They understood that she was not, in all probability, “Hitler’s yacht.” Nevertheless, she was built in Germany while Adolf Hitler was in power. They decided to sink her offshore on the 50th anniversary of the ill-fated voyage of the MV St. Louis .

The voyage of the MV St. Louis has come to be known as the Voyage of the Damned. In 1939, more than 900 Jewish refugees set sail aboard the liner bound from Germany to Cuba, only to find that Cuban officials would not admit them.  As St. Louis then passed off Miami Beach, its passengers pleaded to be allowed to enter the United States. The Government refused. The ship returned to Europe, where more than half its passengers eventually fell victim to the Holocaust. 

In early June 1989, as an airplane flew overhead pulling the sign ”Never Again,” Ostwind was sunk in 275 feet of water off Miami Beach , as the survivors looked on from a nearby boat and applauded and cried.

The Ostwind is marked on the charts as the Ostwind Reef , Latitude: 25.77978 Longitude: -80.05683.

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Extraordinary story of why Hitler's yacht rests just off the coast of Miami

• The Ostwind was originally commissioned the Ostwind in 1938 as racing yacht
• The vessel changed hands multiple times, and was eventually sunk in Miami
• READ MORE: Hitler's last 24 hours

By ALEXA CIMINO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 07:28 EST, 18 May 2024 | Updated: 07:44 EST, 18 May 2024

View comments

A yacht that was once owned by Adolf Hitler now lies just five miles off the coast of Miami Beach.

Hitler originally commissioned the 80ft Ostwind in 1938 as an Olympic racing boat after Germany 's poor showing in the 1936 Olympics . 

However, the Ostwind was never entered in competition and was used instead by Nazi officials, including Hitler. 

Florida historian, Mike Miller, who has researched the boat, said the Nazi leader even planned to sail the Ostwind to Britain  if German won the war . 

No definitive record exists of how much time Hitler spent on the boat, however a picture exists of him with mistress Eva Braun onboard the ship.

Historians believe he may have only visited the boat he commissioned for Olympic glory a handful of times. 

A yacht named the Ostwind that was once owned by Adolf Hitler sits just five miles off the coast of Miami Beach. The now 80-foot-long yacht sits at the bottom of the ocean.

However, what is known is that after  World War II  ended in 1945, the U.S. took control of the Ostwind as a war prize and used it for training craft at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 

The navy sold the Ostwind off in the 1950s, and for the next 20 years was sold between various owners. 

In the mid-1970s, a Nazi memorabilia collector bought the vessel and took it to marine wrecker in Jacksonville with the intention of restoring to it to its former glory. 

But he failed to pay for the mooring space and the boat was repossessed by the yard's owner, J.J Nelson, in 1981. 

As word spread that the vessel belonged to Hitler, it was repeatedly vandalized. 

Mr Nelson then rejected a offer by the Chicago-based American Nazi Party wanted to buy the boat and use it as a place to worship Hitler. 

Instead, he  gave the vessel to a Jewish group in 1988.

The Israeli Consulate in Miami then approached the Miami Beach city commissioner, Abe Resnick, who suggested sinking the boat and making it into an artificial reef.

On June 4, 1989, the Ostwind was in such bad condition that the boat was rolled off a barge and sunk into the ocean to commemorate the 50th anniversary of what has come to be known as the 'Voyage of the Damned,' according to state records . 

Hitler (pictured) originally commissioned the Ostwind in 1938 as a racing yacht, but it was never entered in competition and was used instead by Nazi officials.

During this voyage, a group of German-Jewish refugees aboard the boat, lined as the S.S. St. Louis, were sent to Havana, Cuba by the Nazis in 1939. 

They were denied permission by both Cuba and the United States and were forced back to Europe, where more than half its passengers died during the Holocaust.

On June 29, 1989, more than two weeks after its initial sinking, the yacht was refloated and sunk again into a deeper part of the ocean as it posed as a hazard to marine life on the coral reef as well as passing ships. 

The only way to view the Ostwind is by diving with scuba gear on the bottom of the ocean. 

The Ostwind was in such bad condition that the boat was rolled off a barge and sunk into the ocean to commemorate the 50th anniversary of what has come to be known as the 'Voyage of the Damned' on June 4th, 1989, according to state records .

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Hitler’s Yacht

Nearly this entire show is devoted to the story of the boat known as "Hitler's Yacht." It's a modern-day fable about what happens when the free market, the media, the World War II buffs, the Neo-Nazis, and the Jews all collide over a huge Nazi tourist trap. The boat arrived in America after World War II, and though there's no evidence that Hitler ever set foot on the decks, the name was attached to the vessel in the 1950s, and it stuck. Reporter Alix Spiegel describes the story of the vessel as "the biography of a collective fantasy."

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Reporter Alix Spiegel tells the story of the Ostwind, the boat that came to be known as "Hitler's Yacht." (25 minutes)

Alix Spiegel's story continues. (28 minutes)

Act Three: The Port Chicago 50

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What Happened at Dos Erres

A Guatemalan immigrant living near Boston gets a phone call with some very strange news about his past.

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Boat Hitler Built Is Sunk in Ceremony

By Jeffrey Schmalz, Special To the New York Times

• June 5, 1989

Never mind that the rumors are exaggerated and that the Ostwind was not really Hitler's personal yacht. He ordered her built and was aboard her a few times. And that was enough for the 100 Holocaust survivors.

As an airplane flew overhead pulling the sign ''Never Again,'' the 85-foot sailboat Ostwind - or, more accurately, what little was left of her - was sunk just off Miami Beach today as the survivors looked on from a nearby boat and applauded and cried.

''Please don't call this revenge,'' said Rabbi Barry Konovitch of Miami Beach. ''We prefer to dwell on the positive. The boat will form a reef, a home to marine life.

''I think for some this symbolizes the ultimate destruction of the Third Reich. We're here still floating on top; now the other is sunk to the bottom.'' #26 From Voyage Present The sinking was set to mark the 50th anniversary of what has come to be known as the Voyage of the Damned. In 1939, more than 900 Jewish refugees set sail aboard the liner St. Louis bound from Germany to Cuba, only to find that Cuban officials would not admit them.

As the St. Louis then passed off Miami Beach, its passengers pleaded to be allowed admission to the United States. The Government refused, and the ship had to return to Europe, where more than half its passengers eventually fell victim to the Holocaust.

Twenty-six of the original St. Louis passengers were here for the weekend, which included religious ceremonies and an awards program.

The commemoration was the idea of Rabbi Konovitch, who heads the Cuban Hebrew Congregation here. Jews who had been in Cuba 50 years ago, he said, wanted to meet the survivors of the St. Louis and tell them how sorry they were that all they could do in Cuba at the time was to stand on the pier and wave. 'No One Would Help Us'

''It's always with you,'' said Sophi Aron, a 77-year-old survivor of the St. Louis voyage who now lives in Manhattan. ''To go from place to place to place. To think that we sat off here 50 years ago and no one would help us.'' Mrs. Aron hid in France while her husband, Alfred, was in concentration camps.

The tone of the day, however, was more one of celebration than mourning. There was food and drink. Politicians passed through the crowd pressing the flesh. Reporters and television crew members far outnumbered the St. Louis's survivors.

If anything, the day was as much a celebration of how well Jews have done in the Miami area as it was a commemmoration of the St. Louis. More than 300 people were on board the boat that accompanied the barge to the spot where the Ostwind was sunk.

Although no one could give specific numbers, the area is widely believed to be second only to New York in the number of Holocaust survivors. More than a third of Miami Beach's 100,000 year-round residents are Jewish, and today some of them said they recalled days before World War II when signs in hotel windows here read, ''No Dogs and No Jews.'' Target for Vandals

Many Miami Beach Jews had been waiting eagerly for weeks for the sinking of the Ostwind, German for east wind. She was built in Bremen in 1939 after Hitler ordered a series of racing yachts built because of Germany's poor showing in the sport in the 1936 Olympics.

It is the subject of some dispute as to how many times Hitler was actually on board the Ostwind, and there is little documentation on the subject aside from a photo of him and Eva Braun, his mistress, on the boat.

But the consensus is that he visited the boat only a couple of times. After World War II, she fell into the hands of the United States Navy, then was taken over by a series of investors, with some hoping to turn her into a museum.

The investors failed, and the Ostwind wound up in storage at a shipyard in Jacksonville, Fla., for the last seven years. Until a year or so ago, she was in relatively good shape. But as word got around that she was ''Hitler's yacht,'' dozens of vandals slipped in from time to time to strip her.

Some came out of a sense of awe: to take a way a piece of history, however evil and tenuous. Others came out of hatred: to destroy the boat and set her afire. 'Load Off My Shoulders'

''What a load off my shoulders to get rid of her,'' said J. J. Nelson, who owns the Jacksonville shipping yard and who had to hire round-the-clock guards to protect the Ostwind. ''People either wanted to spit on her or to worship her.''

Mr. Nelson said the American Nazi Party wanted to buy the boat to preserve her, but he decided it ''was more principled'' to give her to a Jewish group.

The Israeli Consulate here heard about the boat and brought her to the attention of a Miami Beach city commissioner, Abe Resnick, who came up with the idea of sinking her. The boat was in such bad shape that she was sunk today merely by being rolled off a barge.

''My heart is clear; this isn't done out of any hatred,'' Mr. Resnick said. ''What kind of vengeance can you take against an object that can't defend itself? But we felt we wanted to send a symbol that crime doesn't pay. We wanted to show the world.''