On February 8, 1895, a small skiff with one passenger became stuck in the ice in the Albemarle Sound. Three local men tried to help but were unable to pull their own vessel back to the shore due to a strong gale that was starting to blow. The Kitty Hawk LifeSaving Station Keeper, Samuel J. Payne, happened to be nearby in his own sailboat and saw what was happening. He ended up loading up all four men onto his sailboat and towed the skiffs back to shore.
All in a Day’s Work
Sometimes it is about dealing with disappointment: On October 23, 1889, a furious storm raged overnight and beach patrols were on high alert for looking out for stranded vessels. The north patrolman from the Nags Head LifeSaving Station was unable to complete his route due to beach conditions and rising tides. He spotted debris in the surf and strained to see as far as possible but saw no other indication of a vessel in distress. Debris in the surf was not uncommon during a stormy night due to vessels losing their cargo overboard in the rough water. Being forced back about a half mile away from his meeting point, he returned to the station to report that he was not able to complete his route and also informed Keeper Van Buren Etheridge of the debris. In the meantime, the south patrolman from the Kill Devil Hills Station was able to arrive at the meeting point but after not meeting his counterpart, he pushed on a bit further trying to discover why the meeting didn’t happen. About a quarter of a mile later, he saw a vessel half submerged and bottoms up in the breakers. His immediate thought was of the crew but no one was seen or heard so he retraced his steps to report his findings to his station keeper. Keeper Jesse Patridge telephoned the Nags Head Station since it was in their patrol limits and Keeper Etheridge along with his crew immediately headed towards the beach. They found the half-buried hull but realized there was no possible way anyone could still be clinging to the remains due to the persistent breaking surf. The surfmen then began the unpleasant task of searching for human remains. Only one unidentified sailor was found entangled in part of the rigging still attached to a broken mast and he was given a proper burial later in the day. Lumber and shingles were recovered from the surf but there was no other indication of what vessel had been destroyed in the storm. Two weeks later, a second body washed ashore nearly 30 miles southward and was recovered by the Gull Shoal Station crew. This sailor had identification so when his relatives came to retrieve his body, it was learned the vessel lost that stormy night was a schooner named the Francis E. Waters. Her cargo comprised of building supplies and had a six man crew onboard. While details of what exactly happened to the schooner will never be known, evidence found after the storm indicated the vessel had broken up prior to encountering the breakers. She would have been far enough away that even if the Nags Head patrolman had been able to complete his route, the distance and stormy weather would have prevented her from being seen. Even if she in some way been spotted in the midst of the storm, launching the surf boat would have been a fruitless endeavor nor could a line of communication have been established for either the breeches buoy or life car due to the distance. While unfortunate, there was nothing that could have been done by the Nags Head crew to prevent the loss of the Francis E. Waters crew.
For more stories like these, visit the Chicamacomico LifeSaving Station where history is alive.