In the Spotlight: Before the Coasties ...

21 April

... there were the Surfmen of the US Life-Saving Service.  We learned about these valiant men and the amazing rescues they were involved in during our afternoon visit to the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and Museum.

Located in Rodanthe, just over a mile from Camp Hatteras, the site was close enough to walk to, but with the potential for rain in the air, we decided to drive.  After all, who wants to be loaded down with camera equipment and be caught in a deluge?  Not us!

As it turns out, the weather held off, except for a light drizzle.  By timing our visits to the buildings carefully, we managed to scamper from one to the other without getting wet.

We were greeted warmly by the docents at the front desk of the station-turned-museum.  When Mui showed them his USAF ID, they generously gave us the group rate of $5/person ($1/person discount).  The program of the day is included in the admission price, but since they are conducted during the summer months, we made do with a video documenting the history of Chicamacomico and then moved on to a self-guided tour.

illustration of the chicamacomico historic site and museum grounds (A) 1874 Station (B) Wreck Pole (C) 1892 Cook House (D) 1907 Midgett House (E) 1911 Cook House (F) 1911 Station (G) Stable (H) Tractor Shed (I) Small Boathouse [scanned from the museum brochure]

The US Life-Saving Service (USLSS) was founded in 1871 and was managed by the US Treasury Department.  Local men were hired and trained for one primary task: to rescue those in peril from the sea.  Their mission is underscored by the surfman’s motto as stated by a station keeper:

The book says ya gotta go out; it don’t say nothin’ ‘bout coming back!

In 1915, the USLSS merged with the US Revenue Cutter Service to form today's US Coast Guard.

Historic photographs from around the museum.

Left (top to bottom): the breeches buoy was used as late as the 1954 omar babun rescue. the 1874 station with the keeper on the far left; these stations also served as community centers and it was not uncommon to find locals visiting. the wreck of the captain john duke.

right (top to Bottom): the surfboat landing with shipwreck survivors; note the cork life jackets worn by the men. Cape Hatteras was dangerous for sailing ships, yet ships sailed near to get around the cape and to use the lighthouse as a landmark for the quickest route north or south.

Built in 1874, Chicamacomico was the first USLSS station in North Carolina.  It remained in service until it was decommissioned in 1954.  The name comes from the Algonquian family of languages and means, quite appropriately, “land of disappearing sands.”  (Best pronunciation guide I can find … Chic-a-ma-COM-i-co.)

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and Museum as seen from the beach.
Left to Right: The 1911 Station; the 1874 Station; the 1892 Cook House and water tank;
the 1907 Midgett House.
[taken the next morning; hence the clear, blue sky.]

We started our tour in the 1911 Station, which replaced the smaller 1874 station.  The building, which contains the majority of the exhibits, is still on its original foundation.  Although the station was designed for no more than 10 men, over 40 were stationed here during WWII.  Having been inside, cramped would be an understatement in describing the conditions at that time.

The 1911 Station with the Cook House to the right.  the bell is not original to the site;
it was removed and brought here from the Chesapeake Bay.

Before moving on from this building, we climbed the ship’s ladder from the second floor up to the tower.  A second story was added inside the tower to ensure that both the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound could be monitored.  A surfman was on watch 24/7, rotating in 4-hour shifts.  Nothing but binoculars, a chart book, and a podium-type desk was allowed in the tower.  In other words, nothing to distract the men from charting the safe passage of vessels traveling up and down the coast, and remaining alert to ships that might be in distress.

The steep ladder leads into the tower from which we can see the 1874 Station,
the 1892 Cook House, and beach homes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Our second stop was at the 1907 Midgett House, which was brought to the site in 2005.  It was originally owned by the brother of Keeper John Allen Midgett Jr., one of several keepers that shared the surname.

Furnished with items appropriate to the period, the 1907 Midgett House is intended to
interpret daily life on Hatteras Island in the early 1900s.

A peek into life in the early 1900s.

Next we walked through the 1874 Station, which was converted to a boathouse in 1919.  The building has been moved five times; its original location is now under water.  Inside we found some fascinating rescue equipment, as well as Surfboat No. 1046, which was used in 1918 to rescue 42 people from the Mirlo, a British tanker that was torpedoed off shore.  (Rescue account here.)

The Gothic style 1874 Station and the wreck pole in the distance.

On the side facing the Atlantic Ocean, the 1874 station looks more like a boathouse.
In the open doorway, you can see a glimpse of Surfboat No. 1406.  Immediately to the
right is the 1892 cook house and water tank, and next to that is the 1907 Midgett house.

Left: Life Cars were used to rescue people from a wreck.
Right (Bottom): surfboat No. 1406 was used to rescue survivors from the mirlo.

(For those interested in how the life car worked [from signage at the museum]: it was hung unto the hawser [thick, heavy line] and sent to the wrecked ship.  Crew and passengers would climb into the hold, seal the hatch, and be hauled to shore by the surfmen.  Even after the breeches buoy was adopted, stations retained their life cars in the event a ship had an injured crewman or small children aboard.  Up to seven adults could fit into the life car.)

Have you heard of the breeches buoy rescue?  We had not until we visited Chicamacomico.  We were fascinated by what was described in the signage as a British-style rescue method.  The way I understand it, a Lyle gun was used to send a hawser from the shore to the wreck.  A wreck victim would then jump into the ‘breeches’, and suspended in the air, he would be pulled ashore by a pulley-block system.  Once ashore, the victim would ‘jump out of his breeches’, and the buoy would be sent back out to the ship to rescue another person.

Breeches Buoy Rescue Equipment with a photo of a mock-up showing how the rescue worked.

From the 1874 station we strolled over to the wreck pole at the far edge of the property.  The pole, which simulates the mast of a ship, was used by the station crew to hone their breeches buoy rescue skills.  They were allotted five minutes to have all their equipment in place and “rescue” a practice victim, usually a fellow surfman.  Sure, the beach cart was on wheels, but can you imagine how difficult it must have been to roll it through the sand to get it positioned before they could shoot the gun?

Collage of images showing the wreck pole and illustrations of how the breeches  buoy
setup was used in shipwreck rescues.  During the summer months, the US Coast Guard conducts
breeches buoy rescue drills at the station.  The photo in the bottom right
shows the drill team from Oregon Inlet.

It was due to the intense training the surfmen did at poles like this one that the USLSS
was able to come to the aid of 177,286 of 178,741 endangered souls.

We stand in awe of the men (and women) who put their lives at risk to save others from the perils of the sea — then and now.

If you’d like to see the full-size versions of the photos used in the collages, visit our online gallery.