She was built as a private vessel, Lancashire Witch in 1878 by R. Steel & Co of Greenock to a design by St Clare John Byrne for the owner, Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet.

[9] She formed part of the British naval contingent involved in relieving the Peking legations during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and surveyed the north channel of the Yangtze prior to the battleship Centurion's navigation of the river.

[12] Socotra Rock was surveyed by Waterwitch confirming a depth of less than 18 ft (5.5 m),[13] and she met severe gales in the Formosa Channel in 1903 and lost three men overboard.

[14] In 1908, under Lieutenant Percy Douglas, she surveyed around Singapore and Klang,[15] with work in this area continuing under other commanding officers until her fatal accident in 1912.

The launch's sharp prow pierced Waterwitch's wooden side, and she then compounded her error by putting her engines hard astern.

[19] A Board of Trade inquiry was held at Singapore from 20 to 23 September 1912 and found that the collision was due to the negligence of Seamew's captain and, to a lesser degree, her First Officer and Chief Engineer.

[23] The purchaser of Waterwitch, local Italian businessman Captain Giovanni Gaggino, ordered her refit at Tanjong Pagar as a private yacht.

[27] However, there is an audit trail from Lloyd's Yacht Register for the White Ladye showing that she was in private hands from the day she was built to when she was dismantled in 1935 and this is supported by contemporary newspaper articles.