No Lights...No Camera... Just Action!
USLSSHA Members Act Out the Beach Apparatus Drill
by Debbie Allyn Jett

            When I received the itinerary for the 2006 USLSSHA Conference on Cape Cod, I got excited about all the wonderful things we were going to do, see and learn. I was especially excited about getting to see an actual breeches buoy demonstration.
            When I was asked by Tom Parsons to participate as a surfman, I was elated! After all, how often does one get asked to be a part of a Beach Apparatus Drill? I had seen the Lyle Gun being fired several times at Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan and had helped retrieve the shot from Lake Michigan. I had also watched Raggedy Ann and Andy being rescued from their wreck pole, but I had never witnessed the real thing with the real equipment and real people. I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve!
            Four lucky members of our group were asked if we wanted to be a part of the demonstration. Based on suggestions from John Galluzzo and Kim Mann, Doug Macdonald, John Stires, Wick York and I were invited to be “surfmen.” After the day’s events on Thursday, Tom met with us and introduced us to Christiana Admiral, Brennan Murray, and Bridget MacDonald, who would be doing most of the functions for the drill along with Dave Spang, as they had done it a lot and were certified.  Tom had us sort through a bag of summer whites to find some that would fit. I found that there were basically two sizes; medium and huge. The medium was too small, so I chose the huge pair of pants. I ended up rolling up the legs four times and they were still a bit long.  (I ended up wearing my regular pants underneath for fear that they might fall down during the drill and I would moon everyone!) We all took our whites with us, along with a short bio of the real surfmen we would represent and a copy of our duties, the info to be recited during the drill. I later found out from Christiana that the whites are made from all natural fibers, which is a requirement by the NPS when using black powder.
               Thursday night, I awoke a number of times, excited about the next day’s events. Rain was forecast for the day and rain, it did! Most of us got a good soaking on our ride on the CG 36500. I was hoping against hope that the rains would let up in time, so that the drill would not be cancelled. My wish was granted and the rain stopped and the sun came out. When we got to the Old Harbor Station at Race Point, we were ushered inside the boatroom to get ready. The door was rolled shut and those of us not already in uniform changed into costume and assembled for our instructions. Tom Parsons portrayed the Keeper and was in charge of the drill. He was responsible for the safety of everyone involved, as well as the safety of those watching, or even just passing by in the distance. Tom has been with the National Park Service for ten seasons, eight at Cape Cod. He learned from, and traded places with, Dave Spang weekly, starting out on the pole, and took over being Keeper full time in 2006.  We listened carefully to his instructions, as many parts of the drill are actually potentially dangerous.
            The Lyle gun would be charged with 1.5 ounces of black powder and would recoil six to ten feet when fired. We were to stay at least ten feet behind or beside the gun once it was charged and to stay completely clear of the line of fire. We were also instructed to not cross over or stand on any lines or go under any lines under tension. It is proper to always go around them. I had heard from Maurice Gibbs the day before about a surfman who was killed when the sand anchor sprang up out of the ground and hit him in the back, causing an infection which later killed him. I kept this info in mind.  Knots were also to be tied correctly and checked.  Any of us could stop the drill at any time if we saw anything that might be unsafe. This was emphasized clearly.
            Upon the command “Ready” we were all to cover our ears, so as not to suffer damage to our hearing from the gun. A surfman would also be stationed up on the dune to be sure the line of fire was clear before the gun would be fired. We were not going for speed, since four of us had never done it.  Once everyone was ready, we were told who would be doing what and with whom. The duties were divided up a little differently than what each of us would recite as our duties, as Tom decided the best way to utilize the “greenhorns.” We were assembled at the beach cart, even-numbers on the right, and odd-numbers on the left, and we were told where to push or pull. The anticipation was palpable in the boatroom, as well as in the audience outside. Tom gave the commands “Open the boat room doors...Man the beach cart...Forward,” the door was opened and we rolled the apparatus down the ramp. Usually, narrator Richard Ryder, whose grandfather served as Keeper at the Old Harbor Station, would be teamed with a ranger, who would give a ten minute intro about the drill, and then have everyone yell “Help!” I could tell our audience was already pumped up and Richard was on his own for this demonstration.  As the door rolled open, letting the sunshine in, everyone watching broke into enthusiastic applause. I tried to keep a serious look on my face, but I know I was grinning.  
            We pushed the cart out into the deep sand, and I immediately got a much better appreciation of what the real surfmen faced when doing the same. The cart is extremely heavy and, in spite of the large sand wheels, very difficult to push. I could not imagine having to push it for miles down the beach. On the “Halt” command, we stopped pushing, and stood at parade rest. Tom gave an introduction, using a state quarter from North Carolina showing the Wright Brothers in their first flight. He asked if anyone knew who took the photo. Some of us knew it was a surfman from the nearby USLSS, but didn’t know his name (In case you were there and already forgot, his name was John Daniels).
            We were then told to fall in and we all lined up in order of our number. I was number 6. Each of us recited which number we were, the real surfman we were representing, along with a short bio of the man, then recited our duties. I had memorized my surfman information, but forgot to put my list of duties in my pocket, so I had a moment of fear that I wouldn’t do it right, but I borrowed the papers from Doug and Wick, so I was able to recite my duties. I thought to myself, if this was a real drill, I would be dismissed! 
            Tom called “Action” and directed where the Lyle gun and sand anchor were to be placed. Due to the time it takes, the pit for the sand anchor had already been dug. Tom and Dave unloaded, set up and elevated the Lyle gun. Bridget and I unloaded the faking box from the cart and set it up next to the Lyle gun. I had trouble getting the wooden pin out of its slot to remove the lid. The wood was probably swollen from the wet weather, but Bridget got the pin loose and we emptied the shotline into the lid and set it up at its proper angle.
            At the same time, Wick and Brennan buried the sand anchor, while Christiana and John stretched out the tackle. Brennan and Wick attached the tackle to the sand anchor pennant. Brennan and Christiana unreeled the whip from the spools on the front of the beach cart. The crotch was also unloaded and laid out by the tackle.   
            Tom directed Dave and Bridget in aiming the gun, using the commands “Right, Left and Well.” Tom loaded the gun and got it prepared for firing. He notified all the surfmen that the gun was loaded, while we waited back by the beach cart. Brennan was dispatched to the top of the dune to make sure the line of fire was clear. Bridget wet the end of the shotline to keep it from burning, and bent (tied) the shotline onto the shot using three half hitches. Dave loaded it into the muzzle, then stood back by the cart with the rest of us. Tom called “Ready” and everyone covered their ears. Richard also told everyone watching to do the same.  Tom called “Fire,” pulled the lanyard, and nothing happened! The gun did not fire. Our audience groaned. The proper amount of time, which is one full minute, was observed and still the gun did not go off.  Tom carefully removed the cocking piece and the primer, keeping to the side of the gun in case it went off, and examined the .32 caliber black powder blank. He discovered that it was faulty, so another one was put in and we tried again. The gun again did not fire. The third attempt did not work, either, so Dave, who is a Certifying Officer in the use of the Lyle gun and the use of black powder, gave the order to “Flood the gun.” I quietly asked Doug if they had ever had a misfire at Sleeping Bear. He said it had only happened rarely, and he was interested in seeing exactly what had to be done in this situation. 
            Dave flooded the powder bag through the shot hole, using a baster, and then carefuly removed the shot and flooded the bore of the gun. Dave removed the wet powder bag and tossed it aside, to be disposed of later, and carried the shotline down to the pole, climbed up and secured it. Dave stayed on the pole, which is not normally the duty of the #1 surfman, but since he is the only one qualified to tie the proper knots, he stayed on the pole. If the knots are not tied correctly, the apparatus can fall, injuring the person riding in the breeches buoy. Dave is also responsible for inspecting the pole and wrote the standard operating procedures for the drill at the Old Harbor Station at Race Point. In the 1980’s, a drill pole actually broke during a drill, so inspection of it is extremely important!
            Bridget and Brennan then bent the shotline to the whip, using two half hitches and a clove hitch, then we all “Manned the weather whip” and “Hauled off” by pulling on it and each of us taking a section and running with it toward the beach cart. We each laid our section out in the sand to keep it from tangling.  At the same time, Dave pulled it to the pole by pulling on the shotline, then tied the tail of the whip to the pole using two turns around the pole, then tied two half hitches.  He then dropped the shotline down onto the ground behind the pole and out of the way.  The hawser, on which the breeches buoy will ride, was bent onto the whip and hauled out, and then attached to the pole above the whip. We then “Manned the hawser” while Tom made sure it ran properly through the traveler block, and that the breeches buoy was correctly attached to the whip. We all then pulled on the hawser to make it tighter, making sure it was between the top X of the crotch.
            Tom attached the fall line, which is part of the tackle, to the hawser, using a cat’s paw. We then received the command “Marry,” and we grabbed all the lines of the tackle to hold them together while a half hitch was tied to hold the tension on the hawser temporarily.  “Man the crotch” signaled us to raise the crotch up under the hawser, bringing it up in the air and pulling it tighter. It also filled my eyes with sand!  We “Manned the fall” again and gave a “Heave” three times, to pull the hawser even tighter. We married the lines together again by grasping them tightly to keep them from slipping. Two half hitches were tied so it would hold itself and we were ready to “Man the lee whip” and “Haul off” the buoy to the pole. This was achieved again by running with our section of line, carrying the whip line away from the pole. Doug, John, Wick and I were assigned to be shifting persons on the whip, so we ran around behind the apparatus to the lee side of the whip. Christiana went to the pole to be our shipwreck victim and climbed up. We then “Manned the weather whip” and waited while Christiana climbed into the buoy.
            On the order “Haul ashore,” we pulled on the weather whip and brought her safely ashore. Our rescue was successful! Our audience, having been extremely patient during the misfires, broke into a loud ovation!
            Charles and Lorraine Greene were part of our audience and said the drill was entertaining as well as informative. Having seen drills performed at other stations, they said often the participants seemed to be just going through the motions, but at our demonstration, it was apparent that we were all excited and thrilled about being a part of it. The audience was enthusiastic as well, which greatly contributed to the overall atmosphere. They felt that portraying the real surfmen helped to add to our dedication to the performance.
            I wasn’t quite sure exactly how we did what we did, but we did it! Christiana was helped out of the buoy and we then married the lines again, the knots were removed from the fall and the assembly collapsed to the ground. The lines were shaken free of as much sand as possible and put back onto the beach cart. Bridget and I re-faked the shotline back into the faking box. All of the equipment was then put back into the boatroom and the drill was finished.
            I’m still not completely clear on how all of this was achieved, so please forgive me if there are mistakes in this description.  In reality, setting all this stuff up is not as complicated as it reads in the instruction manual. The real drills were timed, with the goal being to achieve the set-up in less than five minutes. If one man was found to be holding up the progress of the drill, he was subject to possible dismissal. Every surfman learned how to do each task, so that all were as proficient as possible. In a real rescue situation, time was most certainly of the essence, as people’s lives were often in grave danger. We did not face the hazards of the terrible weather conditions that almost always were present during a real rescue. None of us were in danger of being swept into high surf or suffering frostbite and we only had to push the beach cart a short distance. Since wrecks rarely occurred right in front of stations, hauling the beach cart a long distance was common. In the early days, if horses were not available, the cart was pulled by the men.
               Reading about the amazing rescues these brave men accomplished gave me great respect for the life-savers of old. Getting to actually participate in a drill and handle the equipment gave me a whole new level of greater appreciation!

            Debbie Allyn Jett is a member of USLSSHA and an editorial assistant for Wreck & Rescue Journal.  She can be reached at debbie_jett@hotmail.com.

The new Old Harbor crew: Keeper Tom Parsons and surfmen John Stires, Wick York, Debbie Jett, Doug Macdonald, Brennan Murray, Christiana Admiral, Bridget Macdonald, and Dave Spang (photo by John Galluzzo).

Christiana Admiral was not only a surfman during the drill, she was also a victim (photo by John Galluzzo).

Although the Lyle gun was uninterested in participating in the breeches buoy drill at the annual meeting, the enthusiasm of the members of the half National Park Service, half USLSSHA volunteer crew could not be denied (photo by John Galluzzo).

USLSSHA members Doug Macdonald, Debbie Jett, John Stires and Wick York took part in the beach apparatus drill at Old Harbor Station during the recent annual meeting (photo by John Galluzzo).

 

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