Wild Goose Yacht
“Every time you turn around expect to see me. ‘Cause one time you’ll turn around and I’ll be there,” John Wayne said in the movie Red River. Now the famed western hero is said to haunt a U.S. Navy minesweeper commissioned in 1942, which later became a luxury yacht he purchased shortly before his death in 1979. Wild Goose was to be Wayne’s personal lounge – apparently he intends to get his money’s worth from beyond the grave. Reports of lights turning on and off, wine glasses moving, door locks bolted from inside empty rooms, and mysterious footsteps have been relayed by past caretakers.
Today, the Wild Goose is available for private parties and special requests. Sara Copping, director of marketing for Hornblower Cruises and Events, still hears stories, but does not advertise them to her clients. “We don’t like to say too much; we don’t want to scare anyone. But we just hear these stories passed down from former owners and those who worked there, and we pass them along.”
Wild Goose is located at Newport Harbor, Newport Beach. To arrange a visit or gathering, call (949) 646-0155 or visit hornblowerweddings.com
