The Navy had planned to use her as a minesweeper based out of Kittery, Maine; however, Utowana spent most of her service time operating as an armed patrol craft, responsible for escorting Allied ships across the dangerous North Atlantic Ocean.

Utowana (SP-951) -- a yacht built in 1891 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Neafle & Levy for colorful architect William West Durant and rebuilt as a trawler at Staten Island, New York, in 1917 for the Commonwealth Fisheries Co., Boston, Massachusetts—was acquired by the Navy during the summer of 1917 for service as a minesweeper in the 1st Naval District and placed in commission on 30 October 1917.

In addition to the European bases such as Brest in France and Queenstown in Ireland, ships of the Patrol Force operated in such diverse areas as the Caribbean and the Azores.

While no records have been found indicating where Utowana served before arriving on the French coast early in 1918, she operated briefly at Bermuda and perhaps for a short period at Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

Apparently, Helenita and Utowana remained behind in Bermuda when the other four yachts—augmented by Cythera (SP-575), Artemis (SP-593), and Lydonia (SP-700) departed Hamilton on 18 November bound for Ponta Delgada.

1 – 2, a photo in the Gambia River on p. 9, an extensive description on p 186 (On the Utowana to Teneriffe), 221 (Grand Canary and Lanzarote), 234 (Balearic Islands), Ceylon (282), and West Africa (457).