USS Saluda (IX-87) was a wooden-hulled, yawl-rigged yacht of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. Built in 1938 by Henry B. Nevins, Inc., City Island, New York as the Odyssey, the yacht was acquired by the Navy on 31 July 1942 from Mrs. Barklie Henry of Old Westbury, New York

Old Westbury, New York

Old Westbury is a village in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 4,671....

, converted to diesel auxiliary power in August and September at Port Everglades

Port Everglades

Port Everglades is a port in Broward County, Florida. As one of South Florida's leading economic powerhouses, Port Everglades is the gateway for international trade and cruise vacations. Already one of the three busiest cruise ports worldwide, Port Everglades is also one of Florida's leading...

, Florida, and placed in service on 17 October.

U.S. Navy

Saluda was assigned to the Port Everglades Section Base under the administrative control of the Commandant, 7th Naval District and remained there for outfitting. She was commissioned on 20 June 1943, Lt. (jg.) Edward F. Valier in command, and assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance

Bureau of Ordnance

The Bureau of Ordnance was the U.S. Navy's organization responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval ordnance, between the years 1862 and 1959.-History:...

 for experimental work at the Underwater Sound Laboratory, at Fort Trumbull

Fort Trumbull

Fort Trumbull refers to a fort in New London, Connecticut and to a nearby neighborhood.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood of Fort Trumbull was demolished as part of plan for the economic development of New London. The plan was appealed in a case that reached the US Supreme Court, Kelo v...

, New London, Connecticut

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

. In December, she sailed south to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and thence proceeded to various Caribbean ports before returning to Mayport, Florida, for overhaul during the summer of 1944.

In August, Saluda was ordered back to New London and duty with the Sound Laboratory. She continued operations there until she was decommissioned and placed in service in October 1945, to be retained at New London under the operational control of the Commandant, 3rd Naval District.

Saluda was recommissioned on 20 May 1946 for further service as an experimental test vessel. She engaged in hydrographic work with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands...

, until September and then returned to New London for duty at the Sound Laboratory through December. Again decommissioned and placed in service on 7 January 1947, Saluda remained at New London under district control until transferred to the 11th Naval District on 8 January 1948. On 26 May, she entered the Thames Shipyard

Thames Shipyard

Thames Shipyard is a historic shipyard on Farnsworth Street in New London, Connecticut.It was founded in 1900. The shipyard was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975....

 for overhaul preparatory to sailing for the west coast.

Saluda departed from New London on 16 June and arrived at San Diego, California, in July to begin a long career of service with the Naval Electronics Laboratory

Naval Electronics Laboratory

The U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory was created in 1945, with the consolidation of the Navy Radio and Sound Lab and its wartime partner, the University of California Division of War Research...

. Operating as a silent platform, she was used in tests on experimental SONAR

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

 equipment and techniques developed for undersea warfare. On 29 June 1968, she was reclassified YAG-87.

Saluda was placed out of service (date unknown), and struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

, 15 April 1974.

Sea Scouts

Reverting to the name Odyssey, the yacht found a new home with the Pacific Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

 in 1978, and now serves as a sail training vessel with the Sea Scouts of Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

.

External links

• SS Odyssey website