USC&GS Lydonia (CS 302)

USC&GS Lydonia was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in from 1919 to 1947. From 1917 to 1919, she served in the United States Navy as the patrol vessel USS Lydonia (SP-700) after the Navy's acquisition of the yacht Lydonia II from William A. Lydon.

Construction
Lydonia II was the second yacht of the name built by Pusey and Jones, Wilmington, Delaware as hull #348 under contract #1205 for William A. Lydon, Commodore of the Chicago Yacht Club, and was more than 250 tons larger than the Lydonia I completed just two years earlier. The ship was designed by William A. Gardner with construction started in early April, 1911 and launch on July 25, 1911. Fitting out took nine months with sea trial on May 1, 1912. She was described as "queen of the Great Lakes fleet" and "the finest on the Great Lakes."

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service
Lydonia, previously acquired by the Navy and commissioned as USS Lydonia (SP-700), was transferred to the Coast and Geodetic Survey at Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 August 1919 and became USC&GS Lydonia (CS 302). She fitted out for service in California until September when she departed for San Francisco, California, outfitting for surveys during October. In November she surveyed between Cape Mendocino and Point Arena, underwent repair and outfitting for departure to Alaska June 20, 1919. She later served primarily along the United States East Coast and in the Atlantic Ocean while with the Survey.

On several occasions during her long career, Lydonia assisted mariners in distress. On 7 August 1921, she assisted in helping survivors and searching for bodies in the wreck of the steamboat SS Alaska on Blunt's Reef off the coast of northern California. On 17 January 1927, she came to the aid of the United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Modoc (WPG-46), which was aground at the entrance to the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, joining a tug in refloating Modoc at high tide. In May 1927, she and the survey ship USC&GS Hydrographer were sent to Memphis, Tennessee, to help victims of the great Mississippi River flood of that year. On 23 August 1933, she was with the Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ships USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26) and USC&GS Gilbert at Norfolk, Virginia, when the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane struck; the three ships handled considerable radio traffic for the Norfolk area, including U.S. Navy traffic, during the storm. On 24 April 1935, she directed the United States Coast Guard to the fishing trawler Malolo, which was disabled off the coast of Virginia. And in January 1937, Coast and Geodetic Survey personnel from her crew and from that of Oceanographer were detached to join three Coast and Geodetic Survey launches at Kenova, West Virginia, where they performed flood relief work under the direction of the Red Cross.

Lydonia was retired from Coast and Geodetic Survey service in 1947.