USS Mariano G. Vallejo (SSBN-658), was a Benjamin Franklin-class fleet ballistic missile submarine named for Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, a key proponent of California statehood. The contract to build USS Mariano G. Vallejo was awarded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, August 8, 1963 and her keel was laid July 7, 1964. She was launched October 23, 1965.
USS Mariano G. Vallejo conducted shakedown and training exercises along the United States West Coast, in the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Florida. Arriving at her home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii April 10, 1967 she continued training exercises and sound trials, then returned briefly to Mare Island Naval Shipyard. From there she sailed back to Pearl Harbor, becoming a fully operational unit of Submarine Squadron 15, ready to conduct strategic deterrent patrols.
Decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list March 10, 1995, USS Mariano G. Vallejo went through the Navy’s Nuclear Powered Ship and Recycling Program at Bremerton, Washington, from October 1, 1994 to December 22, 1995. USS Mariano G. Vallejo's sail was preserved. The posted coordinates will take you to the sail now on public display near one of the dry docks at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, and open to visitors daily.
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. MINSY made a name for itself as the premier U.S. West Coast submarine port as well as serving as the controlling force in San Francisco Bay Area shipbuilding efforts during World War II.
Mare Island closed as a Navy base in 1996, and has gone through several redevelopment phases. Explore the variety of wineries, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, art galleries, and other busnesses that have made Mare Island their home, and see the remnants of the shipbuilding era still present. Mare Island was registered as a California Historical Landmark in 1960, and parts of it were declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1975.
(Information taken from Wikipedia, and the navysite.de website).
To log a find on this Virtual cache:
- Visit the coordinates and view the sail, the only remaining piece of the USS Mariano G. Vallejo. Take a photo of you and/or your party, or a personal item, with the sail visible in the photo. (I encourage you to post your photos with your online log, but it is only necessary to email me the photo).
- While looking away from the water, with the sail at your back, look at the red brick building across the way. What is the building number?
Email or message me your photo and the building number, then claim your Virtual find! Please do not post the building number in your online log!
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Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.