Park visitors are invited to see a historic shipwreck rescue drill come to life at the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum. Interpreters dressed in period uniform will partner with active duty Coast Guardsmen to reenact one of the most exciting and significant practices used to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners at the turn of the century.

The United States Life-Saving Service (precursor to the modern-day Coast Guard) was established in 1871 and was used to launch rescue missions to assist victims of shipwrecks along America’s coastlines. For the fearless men employed in the service, 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 one hundred years ago.   

This reenactment will take place at the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum located on Route 1, just 3.5 miles south of Dewey Beach and 1.5 miles north of the Indian River Inlet. The cost for this program, which includes a admission to the museum, is $6.50 for adults, $5.00 for seniors (age 62 and older), $4.00 for youth (ages 6-12), and free for children (ages 5 and under). Pre-registration is not necessary. For more information about this or other programs at the Indian River Life-Saving Station, call 302-227-6991.