Harpers Ferry Center volunteer lab assistant, Mick Feeser, restoring Surfboat 1046/NPS, Patricia Owens
Almost 100 years ago, on August 16, 1918, the surfmen of the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station on North Carolina's Outer Banks risked their lives to save the lives of others. The British tanker Mirlo and its crew were engulfed in a raging inferno after being struck by a torpedo launched from a German submarine U-117.
Without hesitation, the Chicamacomico lifesavers immediately gathered their gear and equipment and headed out to rescue the Mirlo crew in Surfboat 1046 (pictured above). Both the United States and Great Britain awarded Keeper John Allen Midgett and his surfmen medals for their gallantry.
In commemoration of this event and to honor the courageous lifesavers, Surfboat 1046 has been conserved by a team from Harpers Ferry Conservation Labs in West Virginia. Conservators Anne Ennes, Curtis Sullivan and Mick Feeser combed every inch of the vessel to meticulously repair and restore the boat to its 1918 appearance.
On August 16, an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Mirlo rescue will be held at the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in Rodanthe, North Carolina. During the event, the Chicamacomico Drill Team will conduct the Beach Apparatus Drill followed by a ceremony that will include remarks by representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, descendants of the crew and others, the laying of the wreath honoring the nine British seaman who perished that day, and a fly over by U.S. Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City. Go here for more details. For more pictures of Surfboat 1046, go to our photo album.
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