Lightship Relief (WLV-605)
The lightship currently known as Relief was launched in 1950 and began her service in 1951 at the Overfalls station, which was located at the mouth of the Delaware Bay on the East Coast of the United States. The station was discontinued in 1960 and the vessel was moved to the West Coast.
Lightship Overfalls from the United States Lighthouse Society’s J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog. The image is originally from the collection of the United States Coast Guard Historian’s Office.
She was assigned to the Blunts Reef station, which was off Cape Mendocino, California. She served there until 1969, when she was designated as a relief vessel for other lightships on the West Coast. As Relief, she was active until she was decommissioned in 1975.
Relief tied up at the pier just west of the Oakland Ferry Terminal. 2 August 2024.
After Relief was retired from service, she was first owned by the city of Olympia, Washington and then by a private individual. She was donated in 1986 to the United States Lighthouse Society, which worked to restore the vessel.
Relief was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1990. She is currently located in Oakland, California and is open to the public by appointment only.
