title: Lifeboat Sailors: Disasters, rescues, and the Perilous Future of the Coast Guard's Small Boat Stations
author: Dennis L. Noble
description: "Noble's research [proves] that...[i]f you wish to see heroes, find the nearest U.S. Coast Guard small boat rescue station." -- <i>Proceedings, June 2000</i><br /><br />I have read many thrilling accounts of lifeboat rescues by services the world over, and Lifeboat Sailors has several that are truly spine-tingling. But perhaps more importantly, it gives the reader the most intimate view of the lives of the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard who man the small boat stations that I have ever seen. Despite all the frustrations of performing great acts of individual heroism within the strictures of a necessarily large government bureaucracy, the men and women of the Coast Guard today share with their forebears one overwhelming characteristic: they are driven to do what they do that others might live. Lifeboat Sailors is for the lifesaving community what The Perfect Storm is for the fishing community: a well-written, intimate look inside a fascinating world. -- <i>D.D. Chomeau, President, Association for Rescue at Sea, Inc.</i><br /><br />Lifeboat Sailors is an excellent tribute to the crews of the U.S. Coast Guards small boat stations and their selfless efforts to save the lives of those in peril in dangerous waters. It also offers a perceptive insight into the Coast Guards management of its small boat stations and raises concern for the future. For those interested in that future, it is a must read. -- <i>William D. Wilkinson, Director Emeritus of the Mariners Museum</i>
zlib_text: ![](images/00001.jpg)  
    
  www.blackmask.com
  
  * * *
  
  Saved by the Lifeboat
  
  
  CHAPTER ONE. THE WRECK IN THE BAY.
  
  CHAPTER TWO. DESCRIBES A MERCHANT AND HIS GOD, AND
  
  
  CONCLUDES WITH “A MESSAGE FROM THE SEA.”
  
  CHAPTER THREE. SHOWS WHAT SOME MEN WILL DO AND DARE
  
  
  FOR MONEY, AND WHAT SOMETIMES COMES OF IT.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR. THE RESCUE.
  
  CHAPTER FIVE. THINGS BECOME SHAKY, SO DOES MR
  
  
  WEBSTER, AND THE RESULTS ARE AN ILLNESS AND A VOYAGE.
  
  CHAPTER SIX. DESCRIBES THE PRESENTATION OF A NEW
  
  
  LIFEBOAT TO COVELLY, AND TREATS OF THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT
  
  
  INSTITUTION.
  
  CHAPTER SEVEN. THE STORM AND THE WRECK.
  
  CHAPTER EIGHT. CONCLUSION.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This page copyright © 2003 Blackmask Online.
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  # Saved by the Lifeboat
  
  
  ### R.M. Ballantyne
  
  
  This page copyright © 2003 Blackmask Online.
  
  
  http://www.blackmask.com  
    
  
  * CHAPTER ONE. THE WRECK IN THE BAY.
  
  
  * CHAPTER TWO. DESCRIBES A MERCHANT AND HIS GOD, AND
  
  
  CONCLUDES WITH “A MESSAGE FROM THE SEA.”
  
  
  * CHAPTER THREE. SHOWS WHAT SOME MEN W