Shipwreck rescue re-enactment set June 28 and July 5 at Seashore State Park
Park visitors are invited to see a historic shipwreck rescue drill come to life at the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum at 1 p.m., Saturdays, June 28 and July 5. Interpreters dressed in period uniform will partner with active-duty Coast Guard members to re-enact one of the most exciting and significant practices used to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners at the turn of the century. The Breeches Buoy system was both the most technologically advanced and the safest method for rescuing passengers from stranded vessels.
Today, the Indian River Life-Saving Station at Delaware Seashore State Park is one of only three sites in the country which re-creates this unique rescue demonstration for the public. Using a small cannon to fire a line out to a wreck pole (simulating the mast of a stranded ship), park staff will rig up a Breeches Buoy system to bring shipwreck victims safely back to solid ground. This is the very drill the surfmen of the Indian River Life-Saving Station practiced routinely on these same beaches just over 100 years ago.
The Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum is on Route 1, 3.5 miles south of Dewey Beach. The cost for this program, which includes a admission to the museum, is $6.50 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 62 and older), $4 for youth ages 6-12, and free for children age 5 and under. Preregistration is not necessary. For more information, call 302-227-6991.
