Life Saving Boat, Coast Guard Station Museum at Umpqua River Lighthouse - Winchester Bay, OR
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 43° 39.825 W 124° 11.879
10T E 403411 N 4835224
This old life saving has a long history here at the Life Saving Station near Winchester Bay. Serving faithfully for nearly 50 years, she rescued dozens of sailors and passengers. It is now on display at the Umpqua River Lighhouse Coast Guard Museum
Waymark Code: WM6BY0
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 05/10/2009
Views: 14
The Motor Lifeboat’s only purpose is to save lives; therefore some people think they are the most important boats on the waters. The 36-foot TRS model lifeboat became the main rescue boat of the Coast Guard Life Boat Stations around the country. The boat was developed in 1937 initially with a gasoline engine and later models built of the same design were diesel powered. The boat weighs 20,000 pounds and is designed to be self righting (if capsized it would role back right side up), so the Coast Guard were trained to buckle themselves in and in the event of a capsize to just ride it out and it would come right side up again. It also was self-bailing with a 2000 pound bronze keel. She is planked with Cyprus over white oak frames and fastened with bronze screws.
Traditionally the boats only navigational aid was a compass. She would require a 3-man crew with room for 20 survivors, and had a speed of 9-knots with a 200-mile radius.
Umpqua River Lighthouse
Heroes of the Surf
From 1878 to 1915 the U.S. Life Saving Service was a small federal maritime organization that carried out amazing rescues of those aboard ships off America's coastline. In 1885 the government authorized the Umpqua Life-Saving Station on the North Spit. The crew quarters and boat house were erected in the sand dunes a short distance downstream from the site of Fort Umpqua. Although a windswept and sandy location, the station afforded the surfmen good opportunity to launch their surfboat and row through the breakers to aid vessels in distress. John Bergman, 1st Keeper, had the station fully manned by March 1892. Each crew member received about $300 per year salary.
The assistance rendered by this station was varied. Sometimes in involved rowing far to sea -- in one case up to twenty miles -- to place additional crewmen aboard a vessel in trouble. The surfmen became skilled at towing people to shore quickly. They practiced drills which included firing the Lyle gun and setting up breeches buoys. If a wreck was close to shore, a line was shot to the vessel with the Lyle gun and the survivors brought ashore in breeches buoys which were simply a pair of canvas pants sewn onto a life preserver.
When the schooner
Louise wrecked in April, 1903, on the North Spit near the station, the crew saved the seamen, took them in their boat to their quarters and provided them with dry clothing supplied by the Women's National Relief Association. When the
Lucy wrecked in 1905, they rescued all eight men and took care of the for 16 days at the station.