Subtitled Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard, this very complete record of the people, technology, architecture and exploits of the U.S. Life-Saving Service is a large-format book illustrated with 446 photographs and maps. It is especially strong on the wonderful and regionally varied architecture of the Service's stations, of which there were more than today's mariners or beachcombers can imagine -- 41 on the New Jersey coast, 31 on Lake Michigan, 13 on Cape Cod alone. In the last half of the nineteenth century, when coasting vessels numbered in the tens of thousands, the stations and their beach patrols were a necessity, and the surfmen managed dramatic rescues, many of which are recounted here.

From 1878 to 1915 the U.S. Life-Saving Service was a small federal maritime organization that carried out amazing rescues of those in distress close to shore. Working from small stations scattered along the coastlines of the United States and using only oar-powered boats, none longer than 36 feet, crewmembers came to be known as "storm warriors" as they pulled off rescues that almost defied belief. Considered one of the most valorous organizations ever run by the U.S. government, the service carried out thousands of rescues, and many of its men lost their lives in the effort to save others. Yet since its incorporation into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915, the feats of this life-saving service have been largely confused with those of its successor or forgotten altogether. Now for the first time in a full-length book, the author presents an operational history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and places the agency within a national context, shedding light on a little-known aspect of maritime history. The book includes numerous photographs and other illustrations of the people, equipment, and exploits of this service and covers many out-of-the-way stations about which little has been published. Dennis Noble also examines the formation of the service, its organization, and its rescue equipment and explores the lives and routines of early watermen. In a clear and precise style, he describes how rescue efforts were conducted and includes gripping stories of the fate of such schooners as the George Taulane and J. H. Hartzell. These legendary sea rescues that presaged the modern-day Coast Guard were previously addressed only on a local or regional basis.

From the Civil War to the turn of the century, this is the true-life story of the original Coast Guard and one crew of African-American heroes who fought storms and saved lives off America's southeastern coast. 31 halftones.

Provides detailed history and technical design information on each and every type of small rescue craft ever used by the United States Life-Saving Service and United States Coast Guard.

Jutting out of Wisconsin into the blue waters of Lake Michigan, the scenic peninsula of Door County is endowed with the longest coastline of any county in the nation. Since the mid-1800s, the region has boasted a strong maritime industry, dependent on the constant vigilance and efforts of U.S. Coast Guard units. The county has been home to as many as 12 historic light stations, as well as three life-saving stations. Beginning with Pottawatomie Light in 1837 and Sturgeon Bay Canal Life-Saving Station in 1886, keepers and surfmen survived both boredom and peril to ensure safe navigation and commerce, while rescuing those in distress. Through archival photographs, stories of shipwrecks, rescues, service, and pride spring to life. Rare rescue images of the Otter, a schooner which wrecked in 1895, are especially noteworthy.

More than 6,000 ships have met their doom in the waters along the North Carolina coast, weaving a rich history of tragedy, drama, and heroics along these picturesque beaches. Men have lost their lives and fortunes, and heroes have been made where the combination of mixing currents, treacherous coastline and shifting underwater sandbars spells disaster for even the most seasoned sailor. These are the stories of daring rescues, tragic failures, enduring mysteries, buried treasure, and fascinating legends.

Driven from his home by the Ku Klux Klan and still reeling from the death of his mother, Nathan moves with his father and grandfather to the desolate Pea Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to start a new life. Fortunately, life on Pea Island at the end of the 19th century is far from quiet. The other island residents include the surfmen--the African American crew of the nearby U.S. Life-Saving Station--and soon Nathan is lending an extra hand to these men as they rescue sailors from sinking ships. Working and learning alongside the courageous surfmen, Nathan begins to dream of becoming one himself. But the reality of post-Civil War racism starts to show itself as he gradually realizes the futility of his dream. And then another dream begins to take shape, one that Nathan refuses to let anyone take from him.