We began the day in the RV finishing up some chores but, around noon we headed out to visit a Life Saving Station half way down Cape Hatteras. Because the shoals are so shallow and so changeable around Cape Hatteras, not only did the Federal Government decide to build some lighthouses, it also decided to develop a Life Saving Service which eventually melded into the Coast Guard. There were 29 stations all together built about 6 to 7 miles apart to cover the vast amounts of ocean. This one, the Chicamacomico (Chi ca ma comm’ ico with the accent on the ‘comm’ with the ‘’ sounded as if in box) was the first in operation on North Carolina’s shores and it is the only complete Life Saving Station remaining in the US. Interestingly no one thought of actually saving a drowning person until 1784 when a British physical spoke in Boston about actually’reviving’ an apparently drowned person. Most thought drowned meant dead but now people thought that if some one could be saved quickly enough, they might actually live. Thus this station was built in 1874 and surfmen hired. Cool design.
The building to the side is the kitchen. Since buildings were made of wood, kitchens with their wood stoves were seldom incorporated into the actual building but were built separate.
Inside this station is a 26’ long lifesaving boat with all the tools of the trade in the corner: a beach rescue cart, poles, buoys, a canvas sling that mariners could get into and slide down a rope slung between the mast and the rescue boat and other rescue implements - along with the oars used to get the rescue boat out to the sinking ship. Heavy boat, heavy hooks, heavy oars - the life saving crew was strong. They had to row out to the sinking ship mostly in bad weather with towering waves, gusty winds at night with pelting rain. Ships didn’t usually flounder and need help on Sunny days with calm seas. One veteran life crew captain said: ‘The book says you have to go out, it don’t say nothing about coming back.’
They trained every day and thus, they saved 177,286 out of 178,741 endangered sailors.
One of the most famous rescues was the rescue of the 10 crewmen of the Priscilla by Rasmus Midgett, singlehandedly. The Priscilla was heading for Brazil with the Captain, his wife, his son, Elmer and a crew of 12 including a second son. He was out on patrol on horseback when he saw the Priscilla floundering. The waves were so strong that the Captain’s wife, son and 2 crewmen were washed away. Midgett didn’t have time to go back for others so he went into the water himself without equipment. He actually swam out to the ship to rescue the 3 crewmembers trapped on board. For this he received a Gold Life Saving Medal from the Secretary of the US Treasury.
The second life saving station was built in 1911 to replace the smaller 1874 one. It had a watch tower with a wonderful view out over the Cape. A surfman was always on watch in rotating 4-hour shifts. They had only binoculars, a chart book and a podium type desk - no sitting down on this job.
There was also a 1907 home that was on the island to see what life was like on the island at the turn of the century.
Very nice, informative museum.
On the way back, we saw this duck blind out in the water with a ladder on the side so when you tie up the boat, you can climb up into the blind.
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