Rescue at Sea

Rescue! Perhaps no other word conjures up the courage and selflessness of brave men at the peak of heroics. But the idea of launching a large, wooden rescue boat through pounding surf during a fierce winter storm is more than most of us wish to imagine. But prior to the opening of the Cape Cod Canal in 1914, it was the job of the men in the U.S. Lifesaving Service to man the 13 lifesaving stations found along the Cape Cod coastline and rescue mariners who had fallen victim to the Atlantic Ocean.

Over 3,000 shipwrecks occurred off Cape Cod prior to the opening of the Cape Cod Canal (See our Close-up on the canal in the Historic Cape Cod chapter). Enough was enough: In 1872 Congress created the U.S Lifesaving Service.

From 1872 to 1915 this agency rescued shipwreck victims. Sometimes the wind and surf were too strong to allow them to launch their double-ended, rescue boats. In such circumstances they shot a "breeches buoy line" from a Lyle Gun (a small cannon) out over the helpless vessel and hauled the crew ashore in a basket.

The U.S. Lifesaving Service played an integral role in easing the hardships faced by Cape Codders who depended on the sea for their livelihood. Historically, townsfolk often attended the surfmen's drills, making them a popular local activity.

For 21 years the Cape Cod National Seashore has been staging a reenactment of the Beach Apparatus Drill at Old Harbor Life-Saving Station in Provincetown. Held at 6 PM, Thursdays in July and August, the reenactment is the same drill the U.S. Lifesaving Service performed at the turn of the century. Park Rangers take on the turn-of-the-century surfmen and demonstrate the firing of the Lyle Gun and use of the breeches buoy. Though there is no ship to be rescued in the demonstration, you will leave with a better understanding of how the breeches buoy allowed the Lifesaving Service to rescue shipwreck victims when the surf or weather made rescue boats unsafe. Cape Cod National Seashore currently is the only unit of the National Park system that provides this visually powerful demonstration.

Old Harbor Life-Saving Station is located at Race Point Beach. Cost to view the demonstration is $3 for adults and $1 for seniors age 62 and over. Children age 16 and under are admitted free. For more information, contact the Province Lands Visitor Center, (508) 487-1256.