Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment
Encyclopedia
United States Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, situated near Cape Disappointment, Washington
at the mouth of the Columbia River
, is the largest United States Coast Guard
search and rescue
station on the Northwest Coast, with 50 crewmembers assigned. Cape Disappointment Station is also the site of the oldest search and rescue station within the Thirteenth Coast Guard District. The station’s Area of Responsibility reaches from Ocean Park
on the Washington Coast south to Tillamook Head
on the Oregon Coast
.
The station has five search and rescue boats, including the 52 feet (15.8 m) motor lifeboat
Triumph (52'-SPC-HWX), two 47 feet (14.3 m) motor lifeboats (47'-MLB), and two 25 feet (7.6 m) Defender class response boats
(25'-RBS). The 52'-SPC-HWX and the 47'-MLB have all been designed for operations in heavy surf conditions and are capable of being rolled over by breaking swells and re-right themselves with minimal damage.
Also colocated with the station is the oldest lighthouse
on the Northwest Coast of the United States, Cape Disappointment Light, marking the north side of the Columbia River Bar
. Less than two miles (3 km) to the northwest is North Head Light, which provides a beacon for the northern approaches to the Columbia River Bar.
The station's primary missions include providing search and rescue to commercial and recreational mariners within 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) of the Columbia River entrance and providing a maritime law enforcement presence near the approaches to the Columbia River including execution of homeland security
missions.
Commonly known as Station Cape "D", station crewmembers respond to 100-200 calls for assistance every year. The station's heaviest workload occurs during the months of early June through mid-September, when an abundance of recreational boaters transit the Columbia River entrance in search of salmon and bottom fish.
This area is regarded as one of the most treacherous river bars in the world. Because of the large number of shipwreck
s near the river entrance it is often called “The Graveyard of the Pacific
.” During winter storms, wind-driven ocean swells often reach a height of 20–30 feet (6–9 m) at the entrance of the bar. With the combination of strong outgoing tides and large incoming swells, large surf conditions can exist in and around the bar entrance.
The Cape Disappointment headland was first charted as “San Roque” by a Spanish explorer named Bruno de Heceta
while exploring the Northwest Coast in August 1775. Heceta recognized this was probably the mouth of a large river but was unable to explore the entrance, since his crewmembers were weak, suffering from scurvy.
Using Heceta's navigational charts during an expedition along the West Coast of North America in 1788, Lieutenant John Meares
of the British Royal Navy
attempted to locate “San Roque.” After exploring the area, Lt. Meares decided that no river entrance or channel existed among the shoals at the base of “San Roque” so Lt. Meares changed the name of the rocky headland to Cape Disappointment, a name that has described the headland since July 1788.
Captain Robert Gray first accomplished crossing the bar several years later on May 11, 1792 aboard the Columbia Rediviva
. Gray and his crewmembers successfully crossed the treacherous bar and anchored in Baker Bay to trade goods with the Chinook Indians
who populated the region. The river was named in honor of this first passage.
The first U. S. Life-Saving Service
station at Cape Disappointment was built on the site of Fort Canby in 1877. For the first five years volunteers manned the station entirely. In 1882, the first full-time Life Saving Service crew was sworn in at this site. Then in 1915, the Life Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service
to form the United States Coast Guard
. The existing station was first occupied in February 1967 and is currently the site for Station Cape Disappointment and the National Motor Lifeboat School.
.
Cape Disappointment (Washington)
Cape Disappointment is a headland located at the extreme southwestern corner of Washington State on the north side of the Columbia River bar, at . The point of the cape is located on the Pacific Ocean in Pacific County, approximately two miles southwest of the town of Ilwaco...
at the mouth of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, is the largest United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
station on the Northwest Coast, with 50 crewmembers assigned. Cape Disappointment Station is also the site of the oldest search and rescue station within the Thirteenth Coast Guard District. The station’s Area of Responsibility reaches from Ocean Park
Ocean Park
Ocean Park may refer to:*Ocean Park, Denham, a public aquarium in the Shark Bay area near Denham, Western Australia*Ocean Park , a neighbourhood of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada*Ocean Park Hong Kong, a theme park on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong...
on the Washington Coast south to Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head is a high promontory on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located in west-central Clatsop County, approximately 5 mi southwest of Seaside. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff on the ocean, approximately 1,200 ft high, forested with...
on the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
.
The station has five search and rescue boats, including the 52 feet (15.8 m) motor lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
Triumph (52'-SPC-HWX), two 47 feet (14.3 m) motor lifeboats (47'-MLB), and two 25 feet (7.6 m) Defender class response boats
USCG Defender class boat
The Defender-class boat, also called Response Boat – Small and Response Boat – Homeland Security , is a standard boat introduced by the United States Coast Guard in 2002...
(25'-RBS). The 52'-SPC-HWX and the 47'-MLB have all been designed for operations in heavy surf conditions and are capable of being rolled over by breaking swells and re-right themselves with minimal damage.
Also colocated with the station is the oldest lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the Northwest Coast of the United States, Cape Disappointment Light, marking the north side of the Columbia River Bar
Columbia Bar
The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the US states of Oregon and Washington. The bar is about wide and long....
. Less than two miles (3 km) to the northwest is North Head Light, which provides a beacon for the northern approaches to the Columbia River Bar.
The station's primary missions include providing search and rescue to commercial and recreational mariners within 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) of the Columbia River entrance and providing a maritime law enforcement presence near the approaches to the Columbia River including execution of homeland security
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
missions.
Commonly known as Station Cape "D", station crewmembers respond to 100-200 calls for assistance every year. The station's heaviest workload occurs during the months of early June through mid-September, when an abundance of recreational boaters transit the Columbia River entrance in search of salmon and bottom fish.
This area is regarded as one of the most treacherous river bars in the world. Because of the large number of shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s near the river entrance it is often called “The Graveyard of the Pacific
Graveyard of the Pacific
The Graveyard of the Pacific is a nickname for a stretch of the coastal region in the Pacific Northwest, from Tillamook Bay on the Oregon Coast northward to the tip of Vancouver Island...
.” During winter storms, wind-driven ocean swells often reach a height of 20–30 feet (6–9 m) at the entrance of the bar. With the combination of strong outgoing tides and large incoming swells, large surf conditions can exist in and around the bar entrance.
The Cape Disappointment headland was first charted as “San Roque” by a Spanish explorer named Bruno de Heceta
Bruno de Heceta
Bruno de Heceta y Dudagoitia was a Spanish Basque explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Bilbao of an old Basque family, he was sent by the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María Bucareli y Ursúa, to explore the area north of Alta California in response to information that there were colonial...
while exploring the Northwest Coast in August 1775. Heceta recognized this was probably the mouth of a large river but was unable to explore the entrance, since his crewmembers were weak, suffering from scurvy.
Using Heceta's navigational charts during an expedition along the West Coast of North America in 1788, Lieutenant John Meares
John Meares
John Meares was a navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.- Career :...
of the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
attempted to locate “San Roque.” After exploring the area, Lt. Meares decided that no river entrance or channel existed among the shoals at the base of “San Roque” so Lt. Meares changed the name of the rocky headland to Cape Disappointment, a name that has described the headland since July 1788.
Captain Robert Gray first accomplished crossing the bar several years later on May 11, 1792 aboard the Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva
Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...
. Gray and his crewmembers successfully crossed the treacherous bar and anchored in Baker Bay to trade goods with the Chinook Indians
Chinookan
Chinook refers to several native amercain groups of in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, speaking the Chinookan languages. In the early 19th century, the Chinookan-speaking peoples lived along the lower and middle Columbia River in present-day Oregon and Washington...
who populated the region. The river was named in honor of this first passage.
The first U. S. Life-Saving Service
United States Life-Saving Service
The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers...
station at Cape Disappointment was built on the site of Fort Canby in 1877. For the first five years volunteers manned the station entirely. In 1882, the first full-time Life Saving Service crew was sworn in at this site. Then in 1915, the Life Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service
United States Revenue Cutter Service
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...
to form the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
. The existing station was first occupied in February 1967 and is currently the site for Station Cape Disappointment and the National Motor Lifeboat School.
External links
- United States Coast Guard: Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment
- United States Coast Guard: History in the Columbia River Area
- United States Coast Guard: Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
.