<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDecked out in canvas \u201csummer uniforms,\u201d (which are much less comfortable than a modern bathing suit), the volunteer team pulls a half-ton wagon across the unforgiving sand to the edge of the oceanfront dune line. From here, a Lyle Gun is fired to set the pulley system that will eventually haul the people in peril to shore, while other members of the team set up the crotch poles and heavy rope lines that will keep the pulley system stable and operational.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a flurry of movement, with ropes flying in every direction, surfmen climbing to the top of a wreck pole hovering over the dunes, and a loud gunfire that startles any onlookers. And the volunteers who perform the demonstration every week are time travelers, with spectators easily forgetting that they are, in fact, witnessing a reenactment, instead of a regular routine of lifesavers from a century ago.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an impressive demonstration, and for folks who have never seen a century-old life-saving rescue operation in person, (which will likely be the majority of attendees at the upcoming Maine event), it\u2019s a unique look into a slice of Hatteras Island history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis trip all started with an inquiry from the President of the Board of the Wood Island Life-Saving Station,\u201d said Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Executive Director John Griffin. \u201cWe have been following this story because it\u2019s an incredible restoration that raised $18 million dollars. It\u2019s on a little island off the coast, and they are having their grand opening for the station, and hosting their annual meeting of the Life-Saving Service Heritage Association at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The Lyle Gun used in the demonstration.<\/p><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThey asked us if we could come up and do the drill, and the more we explored it, the more it became feasible,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a feasible trip for sure, but not an easy one.<\/p>\n
The performance at Maine\u2019s Wood Island Life-Saving Station is scheduled for Saturday when there should be quite a crowd who have never seen a live drill before. But in order to get there, the 13 volunteers have to fly or drive all the way up the coast, while taking all the heavy gear required to perform an accurate demonstration.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, team members hauled the beach cart, Lyle Gun, ropes, and all equipment into the back of a U-Haul truck \u2013 a hefty load that was more than 1,000 pounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we get there, we\u2019ll then have to put the cart with all the equipment on a barge, which will then go out to the island,\u201d said Griffin. \u201cIt\u2019s quite a trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the long drives and flights ahead, (with roughly four days of round-trip driving required for the short Saturday afternoon show), the volunteers are looking forward to spreading the history and notoriety of Chicamacomico to a new corner of the U.S. coastline.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity,\u201d said Griffin. \u201cIn 2018, we hosted the [USLSSHA] conference in the middle of a hurricane, so everything they were going to do except visit Chicamacomico got canceled. This is a chance to put Chicamacomico back in the [spotlight.]\u201d<\/p>\n\n
A snapshot of the live demonstration in Rodanthe. Photo by Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site & Museum<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n