Cape Cod: A Brief Maritime History

To the mariner, Cape Cod represents both a hazard and a haven. On a sunlit summer day, with balmy breezes and endless sandy coastline, boaters can be lulled into a sense of complacency, blissfully unaware of the treachery that lies beneath. It is the shallow sand bars several hundred yards off the beach that present the greatest danger. Here is where countless storm driven ships have grounded over the years, broken into pieces under the pressure of tons of raging water, and spilled their fragile contents and occupants into the bone chilling surf. So many ships have piled up on the hidden sand bars off the coast between Chatham and Provincetown, in fact, that those fifty miles of sea have been called an “ocean graveyard.”

In the early 1800s, there was an average of two wrecks every month during the winter. It was not, however, until 1872, that a really efficient lifesaving service was put into operation by the United States government. Stations were erected every five miles on the beach. Six or seven surfmen and a keeper lived in each station and kept a continuous watch. When a ship in distress was sighted, a red signal was fired from ashore to let the crew at sea know they’d been seen. Then the lifesaving crew went into action.

If the sea permitted, they launched their special surfboats–some equipped with air chambers (to help keep them afloat), cork fenders (to keep them from being smashed against the sinking ship), and righting lines (to use in case they capsized). When weather and surf were too violent to launch the surf boat, the alternate method of rescue was the “breeches buoy”. The buoy consisted of a pair of canvas breeches fastened inside a life ring and suspended from a life line and pulley system between the stranded ship and shore. A small cannon was used to shoot a lightweight line to the ship, which in turn was pulled on board by the ship’s crew. Simultaneously, the surfmen erected a twelve-foot wooden crotch to suspend the hawser line and breeches buoy above the surf and buried an anchor in the sand. In practice, the whole operation had to be done within five minutes. Only after all this was accomplished could one victim at a time be rescued as the breeches buoy was tediously pulled back and forth from shore. Visitors can view the breeches buoy in action at a drill given weekly during the summer months by National Seashore Rangers.

For a glimpse of the contraption in action, go see the movie “The Golden Boys”, which was filmed on location in Cape Cod in 2007 and, in part, at the Old Harbor Life Saving Station at Race Point in Provincetown. The climatic final scenes of the film depict a rescue at sea off the coast of Chatham. The film is currently playing at movie houses on the Cape and throughout the country.

To mark Cape Cod’s rich maritime history, the Annual Cape Cod Maritime Days is celebrated throughout the month of May. For more information and a schedule of events, which includes lighthouse and walking tours, nautical art exhibits, maritime lectures, boat-building exhibits, and kayak excursions visit http://www.ecapechamber.com/MaritimeDays/

Reminder: While visiting the Cape, we invite you to stay at The High Pointe Inn in West Barnstable, Massachusetts.