P a ge 43 t opside V olume 79 , I s s u e 2
USCG Auxiliary District 5 NR USCG Station Histories Written by 5NR Historian Steve Marthouse , 5NR Historian
USCG Stations Manasquan and Shark River
The northern most active duty Coast Guard Station in the present 5th Northern Region is Shark River . The original USLSS Station at Shark River began construction in 1871 and was commissioned in 1872 . William A . Harvey was appointed the first keeper and served until he died on May 3 , 1875 .
John C . Patterson , born in 1834 , joined the USLSS as a surfman in 1870 at Sandy hook . In 1876 , he was appointed keeper of that station and held that position until he was transferred to Shark River as Keeper on November 15 , 1883 . He resigned from the service on January 13 , 1886 .
Steve Marthouse 5NR Historian
ADSO-PB History
USCG Photo Shark River 1941
As noted in the Life-Saving Service Annual Report for 1887 , Patterson and his crew were subjected to an extreme test of their skills and endurance in July 1885 . On Monday , July 27 , during a heavy onshore gale , they responded to the foundering yacht Foam . While on a pleasure cruise from Jersey City to Barnegat Bay , with three crew on board , the Foam had anchored offshore of Long Branch , New Jersey to ride out the gale that had developed a day earlier . On the morning of the 27th , the yacht ’ s crew discovered their vessel had dragged anchor down-coast to a position about half-a-mile off of Avon , New Jersey . With the yacht taking on water , the crew signaled shore for help .
At that time of the year , the Lifesaving Service station crew had not begun its seasonal operations . Fortunately , Patterson spotted the distressed vessel and notified his men who lived in the nearby towns of Ocean Grove and Asbury Park . Borrowing a team of horses , the crew pulled their beach apparatus cart of rescue gear to a point adjacent to the sinking yacht . After four unsuccessful attempts to fire a shotline to the yacht to rig a breeches buoy , Patterson decided to deploy the station ’ s surfboat .
He and his men returned to the station , hauled the surfboat to the shore and launched it ; however , heavy winds and severe currents prevented them from getting to the yacht . Patterson and his crew returned to shore and waited for the sea to subside . While waiting , Patterson received word that his brother was dying and wanted to see John before he expired . But shortly thereafter , the heavy surf and high winds eased and Patterson and his crew had to return to the struggle preventing Patterson from seeing his dying brother .
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