The 13th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association

In the summer of 1893,
It blew in off the Carolina Coast,
A cool ominous breeze.
Born by the wind in the Cape Verde Islands,
The storm blew into a lusty full grown hurricane,
And it picked up speed.
Racing north of the Caribbean headed west,
She pushed between Cuba and Bermuda,
Destination...the USA.
No warning of the danger 'til she struck,
All ships at the mercy of her wind,
And the cries for help began.
And the angry sea did hurl,
From the belly of her soul,
Sailor's tales off Frying Pan Shoals.
As time stood still,
The storm turned the hours into days,
The long day began for Dunbar Davis.
Mariners on their way.

            - "The Long Day of Dunbar Davis," by Scearce & Ketner

 

                From Lockwood Folly to Frying Pan Shoals, we’ll retrace the steps of legendary lifesavers Dunbar Davis and J.L. Watts as for the first time, USLSSHA explores the heritage of southeastern North Carolina. Destinations will include Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard Stations, maritime museums, lighthouses and historic forts. Cape Fear’s “Siren Song” beckons us all.

                Further enhancing the experience – and continuing to expand our horizons as well as our thinking – the program will also incorporate a look at the preservation of our maritime heritage through the arts. Along with bricks and mortar the arts represent yet another important tool of preservation

                Lodging will be in early 1900s cottages at historic Fort Caswell, now the oceanfront headquarters of the North Carolina Baptist Assembly. The comfortably furnished cottages feature six to ten en suite rooms each, so be thinking about fellow members and friends with whom you might like to share a cottage.

                Our program will begin on Thursday, October 9 when local historian and USLSSHA member Captain Bert Felton will speak to us on life-saving stations of the Lower Cape Fear. We’ll tour historic Fort Caswell before moving on to the 1889 Oak Island Lifesaving Station – today a private residence – where lunch will be served. The program there will include a lecture by United States Coast Guard Historian Bob Browning. Tours of USCG Station Oak Island and the Oak Island Lighthouse will follow. 

            We’ll then move on to Southport for a private tour of the North Carolina Maritime Museum. A welcome reception will take place at historic Fort Johnston, followed by a traditional dinner of Eastern Carolina Barbecue. The evening will conclude with John Golden – a much-loved local folk singer specializing in sea chanteys – in concert. Members of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society will join us for the reception, dinner and concert. The concert will be open to the public and benefit the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport.

            We’ll board a bus early Friday morning for the North Carolina Maritime Museum and Watercraft Center in Beaufort. From there it will be on to Coast Guard Station Fort Macon and Coast Guard Station Emerald Isle where we will tour a renovated 1939 Coast Guard lifeboat station. On the way back, we will tour the 1905 Emerald Isle Lifesaving Station, now a private residence relocated to Swansboro. For lunch and dinner, we’ll order off the menu from restaurants. On-board presentations will complete the program.  We should return to Fort Caswell no later than 10:00 p.m.

            On Saturday, October 11, we will hold the 13th Annual Meeting of the United States Life-Saving Service Heritage Association. When business has concluded, we will ferry to Bald Head Island where we will have lunch and tour the Old Baldy Lighthouse and Smith Island Museum. We’ll also tour a 1922 boathouse, now a private residence. Bald Head Island is known for its modern-day renditions of the Life-Saving Service, and the afternoon will conclude with a panel discussion of the ramifications of blending old with new.

            A reception and closing dinner will conclude the 2008 Conference.

Cape Fear escaped the dreadful fury,
Eight ships just disappeared swallowed up in the storm,
Fifty-six souls lost at sea.
Keeper of the Oak Island Station,
With a crew of seven god-fearing men,
But not enough pay.
Dunbar Davis eyed the waves,
The wind blew a gale and the sea ran high,
Kissed his wife and kids goodbye.
His wife knew at anytime,
He'd have to go out and that’s a fact,
But nothing says he has to come back.

 

Click here for the complete itinerary (PDF file)

U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association, P.O. Box 213 Hull, Mass. 02045