Originally owned by Edward W. Brown in 1929, it was used as a patrol schooner by the United States Navy during World War II.

The plans for the schooner were originally presented to Edward W. Brown by naval architect John Alden in 1929.

[6] Bauer sold the Puritan for $1 to the United States Navy on 7 December 1941, the day of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

[7] Beginning active duty with the U.S. Navy, commissioned as USS Puritan (IX-69), the schooner was assigned to the Western Sea Frontier, 11th Naval District in San Diego, California.

As part of the San Diego Coastal Patrol, Puritan kept vigil against such threats throughout her naval career.

The schooner was struck from the Navy Register on 28 June 1944 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration for return to her former owner on 18 November 1944.

In 1957, he allowed the American Museum of Natural History in New York to use the Puritan as a base of operations for an expedition.

[8] The expedition focused on the Gulf of California and logged more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) while collecting specimens and studying the region.

[10] In 1963, the boat was purchased at auction for $90,300 by Doyle D.W. Downey after sitting in mooring for two years after Bauer's death.

[11] Downey had previously purchased the Satartia (later known as Southwind) from Bauer, another schooner designed by John Alden.