Established in 1874, the Chicamacomico Station had one of the toughest assignments… to patrol the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”. Named for the Algonquin Indian word for “land of sinking sands”, Chicamacomico was one of several Life Saving Stations guarding the Outer Banks area. Risking their lives almost daily, the courageous crew patrolled the beaches on foot and horseback, with countless stories of triumph and tragedy ensuing.

Lost in dense fog and overpowered by waves, the British ship Strathairly beached a half-mile offshore in 1891. The 23 crewmen aboard tried to lighten their load, dumping iron ore overboard in an attempt to free themselves but their efforts were to no avail. The crew readied the lifeboats just as a heavy swell overtook the ship and smashed it into the shoals. Half the ship, along with the lifeboats, washed away and the frightened crew was left clinging to the rigging. The captain and his officers lost their lives when the mainmast broke, casting them into the frigid water.

On shore, the Chicamacomico crew had heard the ship’s distress whistle, however, the fog was so thick that they could only estimate the its location and condition. The seas were too heavy for a small boat to maneuver. With only the sound of the frightened crew’s voices to guide him, the Head Keeper at Chicamacomico fired his Lyle gun at the ship, attempting to send a line out to the crew. After several attempts, they had four lines in place, however, by this time the crew was too weak from exposure to pull the lines and retrieve the heavier rope that would guide the breeches buoy out to them. Nearly 12 hours after the wreck, the seventeen remaining sailors decided to swim for shore. Only seven made it alive.

This tragic event was followed by heroic success stories, including the courageous act that earned the Chicamacomico Surfmen the “Grand Crosses”. In 1918, a submarine torpedoed the British tanker Mirlo. Some men died in the explosion, while the survivors were left to endure the burning water around them, ignited by gas and oil floating on the surface.
Without regard for their own lives, six men from the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station bounded into the inferno, searching through the wreckage and smoke to rescue 47 of the 57-man crew. A grateful British nation awarded the men with Gold Life Saving Medals. This was followed by the presentation, from the U.S. Government, of the “Grand Crosses of the American Cross of Honor”.