Coast Guard historians have complied a list of the ten all time great rescues conducted by the service since 1790.
On its 217th birthday, United States Coast Guard historians tallied the total number of lives saved by this smallest of the armed services. Since 1790, the Coast has saved the lives of 1,109,310 people. It addition to developing this historic data, the historians have identified the top ten Coast Guard rescue events of all time.
Coast Guard spokesman Captain Jim McPherson sums up these thoughts on being a member of the service, "The saying ‘A life lived for others is a life worth while' truly summarizes being a member of the Coast Guard. For 217 years our brave members rowed through the surf to save lives or flew through storms to make daring rescues. Although the technology has advanced the common theme through the years is the heroism of Coast Guard women and men."
All Time Top Ten Coast Guard Rescues
Hurricane Katrina - During search and rescue (SAR) operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Coast Guard personnel rescued 24,135 lives from imminent danger and evacuated 9,409 hospital patients to safety. Coast Guard aircraft flew 1,817 missions for a total of 4,291 hours of flight time and 5,000 personnel participated in Katrina related operations.
Prinsendam Rescue - The Dutch cruise ship Prinsendam caught fire 130 miles off the coast of Ketchikan, Alaska with 520 passengers onboard. Passengers abandoned the vessel in lifeboats and the cruise ship eventually sank. All passengers and crew of the Prinsendam were saved without any deaths or serious injuries.
Pendleton Rescue - During a severe New England storm on February 18, 1952, the oil tankers SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton broke in half near Chatham, Massachusetts. Coxswain and crew of motor lifeboat CG-36500 rescued the Pendleton's crewmembers one by one off the stern of the stricken vessel. The motor lifeboat crew saved 33 of the 34 crew. All told, Coast Guard personnel saved 62 people from the two tankers.
Dorchester Rescue - Coast Guard cutters Comanche and Escanaba responded to the torpedoing of the transport ship Dorchester off the coast of Greenland on February 3, 1943. Survivors in the cold water had only minutes to live without rescue. This incident saw the first use of rescue swimmers using wetsuits to help pull sailors from the water. Combined, the two cutters saved 230 crewmembers.
Joshua James and the Hull, Massachusetts Life Saving Station - During the period of November 25th to 26th, 1888, Keeper Joshua James and the crew of the Hull, Massachusetts Life Saving Station rescued 28 people from some five different boats floundering in a severe New England storm. Rescues included use of beach equipment and life boats.
Priscilla Rescue - Surfman Rasmus Midgett of the Gull Shoal Life Saving Station, North Carolina, single-handedly rescued ten people off the barkentine Priscilla grounded just off the beach August 18, 1899. Midgett towed and dragged each crewmember, one at time through the surf to safety.
Keeper George N. Gray and the Charlotte, New York Life Saving Station - During the period of December 14th to 15th, 1902, Keeper George Gray and the crew of the Charlotte, New York, rescued five people from the wreck of the schooner John R. Noyes. The rescue saw the life saving station crew under oars for nearly a day and a half in freezing conditions, traveling 60 miles to affect the rescue.
Overland Rescue - At the request of a group of whaling companies, President William McKinley sent a Coast Guard expedition sailing on the revenue cutter Bear to Point Barrow, Alaska to rescue 265 crewmen trapped in the arctic ice. The crew were unlikely to survive the winter. Blocked by the ice, the Coast Guard rescue party traveled 1,500 overland in 103 days to reach the stranded sailors with food supplies on March 29, 1898.
Bermuda Sky Queen Rescue - On October 14, 1947, the flying boat Bermuda Sky was forced down due to low fuel and gale winds. The aircraft's pilot flew his craft towards the Coast Guard cutter Bibb standing by on Ocean Station Charlie. The Bibb used a fifteen-man raft to transfer the aircraft crew and passengers to safety in 30-foot seas. It took more than a day due to the darkness to rescue all 69 people onboard the Bermuda Sky.
Mississippi River Flood of 1937 - Coast Guard personnel, "removed from perilous positions to places of safety," 48,853 stricken by the great 1937 flood of the Mississippi River. There were more people rescued in this incident than that experienced in Hurricane Katrina operations.
The Coast Guard has complied a video of rescue videos available for viewing on YouTube.
The copyright of the article Top Ten Coast Guard Rescues in Boating & Sailing is owned by Alan Sorum. Permission to republish Top Ten Coast Guard Rescues in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
