On several occasions during her long Coast and Geodetic Survey 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
great Mississippi River flood of that year
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
USS Lydonia (SP-700)