USS YMS-328, Historic yacht in Newport Beach, United States

USS YMS-328 is a decommissioned US Navy YMS-1-class yard minesweeper built at Ballard Marine & Railway in Seattle, with a hull of three-inch vertical grain Douglas fir. Now named Wild Goose, it operates dinner cruises in Newport Beach, California. Its white hull carries a dark blue stripe, the name WILD GOOSE in dark capitals, a white cabin with rectangular windows and a blue-trimmed roof.

The vessel was built in Ballard, Washington, as a YMS-1-class minesweeper and participated in World War II operations in the Aleutian Islands until Japan surrendered. After the war ended, it was decommissioned from military service and later converted into a private yacht.

John Wayne bought the vessel in 1962 and renamed it Wild Goose, hosting well-known figures such as Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan aboard. Over the years, many social gatherings took place on deck, turning the ship into a floating meeting point.

The Wild Goose operates dinner cruises in Newport Beach under Hornblower Cruises, boarding in the harbour rather than at a fixed street address. The vessel is a converted wooden minesweeper, so decks and stairways are compact; wear flat shoes and mind the low overheads and railings when moving between levels.

The hull is built from three-inch vertical grain Douglas fir, which was a special construction method for wooden warships in the 1940s. This design gave the ship exceptional durability and resistance to rough seas.