 |
| The Old Harbor Life-Saving Station at Race Point |
The seas and sand bars off Cape Cod, a lonely peninsula
sticking 25 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, were treacherous to mariners. 3000 sailing ships ran aground on the shifting
sand bars off the beach, and were often pounded apart by furious seas during violent
storms.
In 1877, the US Government created the U.S. Life-Saving
Service to protect Cape Cod and other dangerous coastlines. There were 14 Stations along Cape Cod. They were built about 4 miles apart. The Stations were staffed with an Officer
(called the Keeper) and 6 surfmen. They
lived in the Station year-round, except for two months in the summer when they went
home. During the days, they would follow
a strict regimen doing lifesaving drills and maintaining equipment.
 |
| Surfmen prepared their meals on a coal stove. |
 |
| The Keepers quarters. Coal hub heaters warmed the rooms. Each station used an average of 16 tons of coal a year |
Each night, surfmen would walk two miles (one headed in each
direction) away from the Station, meeting up with a surfman who was walking
from the next Station down (or up) the beach at a small halfway house. They would exchange badges to prove they had
made the walk, and then return to their respective Stations. Upon their return, another set of surfmen
would retrace the walk. This was exhausting
work, particularly during a storm. If a
surfman spotted a wreck, he ignited a flare.
 |
| Oar-powered rescue boat |
 |
| Larger engine-powered rescue boat |
Surfmen would drag, or use a horse to pull, rescue boats from
out of the Station to the water’s edge.
They would row out into the storm, bringing back 5 shipwreck victims at
a time in the small boat. Later boats had
engines and propellers. The small size
of the boat, and the few number of people who were rescued at a time, meant that the
surfmen had to repeat the dangerous trip out to the wreck multiple times.
 |
| The shot line for the breeches buoy was carefully wrapped in the "faking box" so that it would not become tangled |
If conditions were too risky for a rescue boat, they used a
contraption called a breeches buoy, basically a life ring, with a pair of
canvas breeches fastened inside. The
surfmen would use a small cannon called a Lyle Gun to shoot a light weight line and pulley system from the shore to the ship.
The ships’ crew would attach the line to the ship, and the surfmen would
erect a 12-foot-tall wooden crotch on the shore to suspend the shore end of the
line. Then, one victim at a time would “sit”
in the breeches buoy and be pulled to shore.
 |
| The locations of the US Life-Saving Stations on Cape Cod and the Islands |
In 1914, the Cape Cod Canal was opened, and ships could travel safely between New York and Boston without going around the Cape. The Life-Saving Stations were disbanded on the Cape. In 1915, The U.S. Life-Saving Service was incorporated into the U.S. Coast Guard.
While there was a Life-Saving Station at Race Point, the Old Harbor Station building
located there now, was originally built and used further down the Cape in
Chatham. It was moved to the current
location in 1978. It is the last
remaining Life-Saving Station on Cape Cod.
 |
| Note the huge sand dune on the left that has grown between the Station and the beach |
When it was relocated, the Old Harbor Station building was placed close to the
waters' edge on the beach, as the original Station would have been, giving the surfmen
easy access to move their boats from the building into the water. In the almost 50 years since then, a huge
dune has formed between the shoreline and the Station. Proof that Cape Cod is always changing, and
that its sands are always shifting.
 |
| All you can see of the Station behind the dune from the beach |
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in Rodanthe, NorthCarolina is also open to the public, and a favorite stop of ours. Both Station museums honor the brave men who
risked their lives in incredibly dangerous circumstances.
No comments:
Post a Comment