Point of No Return - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

History sign along the Cove Trail.
Marker Name: Point of No Return
Marker Text: “You have to go out . . . you don’t have to come back.” - Surfman’s motto
It’s dark, the wind is gusting out of the south at almost 100 miles per hour, the waves are approaching 20 feet in height, and driving rain is blowing up the hill defying the laws of gravity - a Pacific storm is battering the Oregon coast. A vessel is in distress off the rocky headlands. The lives of the crew are at risk.
Into these conditions, the surfmen - the rescue crews of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Port Orford Lifeboat Station - launched their small but reliable motor lifeboats, knowing that their skills meant the difference between life and death for the sailors on the stricken vessel. When most ships and boats were seeking harbor, the “Coasties” were putting out to sea.
Unique among Coast Guard facilities, the Port Orford Lifeboat Station boathouse was located in Nellies Cove almost 300 feet below the crew quarters and operations building - connected by over 530 steps. The boathouse was constructed between 1932-1934.
The boathouse could house two 36-foot motor lifeboats out of the water. When needed, the boats were placed into the water with a rail-mounted carriage and launched out of the cove into the often-raging surf. Once out in the ocean, the boat crew was at the mercy of the elements, often having to ride out the storms at sea after rescuing sailors in distress.
The boathouse was destroyed by fire in the 1970s. The pilings, portions of the boat carriage rails and the breakwater are all that remain.

Please upload a favorite photograph you took of the waymark. Although visiting this waymark in person is the only thing required of you to receive credit for your visit, taking the time to add this information is greatly appreciated.

Be creative.