Onawa was designed by the renowned naval architect, W. Starling Burgess, of the firm Burgess, Rigg, & Morgan, Ltd in New York City. She was number six of six nearly identical twelve meter yachts built for prominent members of the New York Yacht Club in 1928 by the world famous Abeking & Rasmussen yard of Lemwerder, Germany. US-6 was built for W. Cameron Forbes of Boston and was sailed in the summer seasons out of Hadley Harbor, at the northern end of the Elizabeth Island chain.

Mr. Forbes, also a member of the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass., campaigned his twelve meter vigorously under the watchful eye of Captain Jackson, her professional skipper. Onawa served her original owner for six fine years. In 1934, US-6 was sold to Mr. Horace F. Smith, Jr., of Philadelphia. Mr. Smith sailed his yacht out of Jamestown, Rhode Island under the Conanicut Yacht Club burgee until the Second World War.

During the 1940s, Onawa lost her lead keel to the war effort when it was used for submarine ballast. Her fourth owner, Mr. John F Requardt, Jr., bought her keel-less after the 1941 Harvard-Yale boat race.

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