attached. This block travels along the hawser and carries the breeches buoy back and forth from the vessel by means of the whip. Breeches buoy: The breeches buoy essentially is a life ring sewn into a pair of short pants. It is used to transport the wreck victim from the ship to the beach. It is attached to the traveling block which rides along the hawser and pulled back and forth by the surfmen manning the whip line. Fall: The fall is a block and tackle pulling device used to place tension on the hawser. The fall consists of an inner block and outer block and has a ratio of 4:1, giving five surfmen the pulling strength of twenty. The outer* block is painted blue to indicate that it faces seaward and the outer* block is painted white to indicate that this block faces shoreward and is attached to the sand anchor pendant. *One of these is Wrong, recheck ... Strap: The strap is a rope tied to itself to form a loop and is used to attach the fall's outer block hooks to the hawser by means of a knot named a cat's paw . Crotch pole: The crotch pole is used to keep the victims and equipment traveling along the hawser above the crashing surf. It consists of two boards approximately long fashioned together similar to a pair of scissors. Once tension is placed on the hawser by means of the surfman pulling on the fall the Keeper will give the command to raise the crotch pole in position. Now the hawser is high above the surf and is ready to transport equipment. Sand anchor: The sand anchor is used to secure the shore-side of the fall to the beach. It consists of two wooden planks connected loosely together with an eye bolt with pendant attached. The pendant is used to attach the fall to the sand anchor. A narrow trench is dug in the fashion of a cross to a depth of approximately . The anchor is placed in it and buried with care given not to cover the pendant. Pick, shovel, and bucket: The pick and shovel are used to dig the trench to place the sand anchor. The bucket is used to carry water to wet a section of the shot line and to flood the Lyle gun barrel in the event of a misfire.