Life Savers' Motto

 "  You have to go out, but 

you do not have to come back!"

"A ship was stranded off Cape Hatteras on the Diamond Shoals and one of the life saving crew reported the fact that this ship had run ashore on the dangerous shoals.  The old skipper gave the command to man the lifeboat and one of the men shouted out that we might make it out to the wreck but we would never make it back.  The old skipper looked around and said, "The Blue Book says we've got to go out and it doesn't say a damn thing about having to come back."

Clarence P. Brady's account (Retired US Coast Guard) of Patrick Etheridge's remark while Commanding Officer and Keeper of the Pea Island Life Saver Station       

Wooden Oar Life Saver Rescue Boat Which Brought 42 of the Mirlo Crew to Shore

Chicamacomico Life Saving Station 

1874-1954

Who might have used this type of boat and for what reason?
How did a 1,000 lb. boat of this nature get from it's storage shed to the ocean to conduct the Mirlo rescue in 1918?
What kind of physical condition did the seafaring crew need to be in to make rescues in high seas?
What might they have done to train for such rescues during this time period?
What can you infer from this photo about boat technology of the time period?
What does the photo tell us about the life and times of the people who made it and used it in their occupation?
Why has the boat survived for almost 100 years?

Introduction of WWI U-Boat Blog & My Take on North Carolina's U.S. Life Saver Motto

"You have to go out, but you don't have to come back!"

Welcome to my blog on the history of the early U.S. Coast Guard Life Saving Stations of North Carolina and the heroic rescue of the  British Tanker, Mirlo's sailors on August 17, 1918.  As for myself, I have every intention of returning to shore after my delightful sail on the Pacific high seas just off San Diego Bay. I am sailing on an eighteen century replica vessel called the California at the San Diego Maritime Museum and I am having a fabulous time!  

I first became interested in the life saving stories of  North Carolina's early coast guard about 4 years ago when I visited the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station as part of my Ocean studies course. My bog will introduce you to a piece of local Carolina History  with the Mirlo Rescue. The British tanker's problem in the Outer Banks of N. C. was really part of a larger global problem which eventually brought the US into WW I. You will be introduced to Germany's wartime submarine policy and the grip it held on Europe.  As you view the photos, cartoons and read the primary source documents you will gain a better understanding of why the US entered WW I.  My goal is for you to think about history with a critical eye and to view events from multiple perspectives. 

Begin with the April blog entries and then proceed to the May entries. As the story unravels, come to your own conclusions.  I have developed DBQ questions to guide you through your discoveries. Enjoy your investigations! 

Ahoy mate! It is time to hoist the sails and be on my way!
As you learn to discover you will discover to learn!

Mrs. Nelson

Note:

"The Californian is a replica of the 1847 Revenue Cutter C.W. Lawrence, which patrolled the coast of California enforcing federal law during the gold rush. The Revenue Cutter Service, along with four other federal maritime agencies, was consolidated into the United States Coast Guard in 1915."

San Diego Maritime Museum website.  Photo by Mrs. Nelson's camera.