USCG 44' Lifeboat
Anchor Bay 113R

When adverse weather whips up fifty-knot winds and breaking seas generate thirty-foot waves, it’s time to call the 44-Foot Motor Lifeboat to the rescue!

An amazing vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Lifeboat is as sleek as it is practical. Self-bailing and self-righting, these engineering marvels are credited with thousands of rescue missions. When the surf is up, the Motor Lifeboat is ready for duty.

It’s hard to imagine the pounding that these ships can endure, but when overturned, the vessels role harmlessly upright and water drains effortlessly back into the ocean. Provided the crew is safely harnessed on board, the boat and seamen are no worse for the wear.

But even the strongest vessels can encounter conditions beyond mankind’s imagination. A storm of this magnitude struck the Quillayute River area on the evening of February 12, 1997. Two 44-Foot Motor Lifeboats would set out to rescue the distressed crew of a foundering sailboat, but not without paying the ultimate price.

The 31-foot sailboat, sinking on the deadly bar where the Quillayute River meets the ocean, issued the call for help. Within minutes, the four-man crew of the 44-Foot Lifeboat (CG-44363) readied for action. They knew that the driving rain, gale force winds and pitch darkness would make their job nearly impossible, but that didn’t stop them from venturing out in the immense surf.

Just as the vessel reached the river bar, a gigantic wave rolled the rescue boat. Usually this would not pose a problem, but just as the boat righted, another huge wave slammed it into a large rock. Flipping stern over bow, the catapulted crew lost its hold and plunged into the frigid water. Only one crewmember managed to stay aboard, a feat that saved his life. Three other brave seamen, David Bosley, Matthew Schlimme and Clinton Miniken, lost their lives in the stormy waters that night. 

The remains of the 44-Foot Motor Lifeboat beached on nearby James Island. The surviving crewman, Benjamin Wingo, scrambled up the rocks and fired red signal flares. The second Motor Lifeboat on the scene must have had a guardian angel on their side. With incredible skill and more that a little luck, they were able to hoist the two sailboat victims and the stranded seaman aboard. This tragic accident took the lives of three courageous men who sacrificed their own safety so that others many live. 
Coast Guard personnel are ordinary people with extraordinary jobs. When asked to risk it all, they do so without hesitation. Their job has a much better chance of success when provided with the most technologically advanced ships as possible. The 44-Foot Motor Lifeboat is one of those amazing vessels that can, and will endure.