Life and Death at Cape Disappointment: Becoming a Surfman on the Columbia River Bar

by Christopher J. D'Amelio, Reid Maruyama (Editor)

Overview

The ocean is one of the few untamed places on earth—unpredictable and unsympathetic to the lives lost there. For this reason, people remain fascinated by its tides, currents, and mysteries. Life and Death at Cape Disappointment is Christopher J. D'Amelio's first-hand account of life as a surfman at one of the Coast Guard’s most dangerous stations.

Cape Disappointment is one of the most notorious Coast Guard units on the Pacific Coast. Its area of responsibility is referred to as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” This book focuses on five of the most significant search and rescue cases during D'Amelio's tour and how such work affected him and his colleagues mentally and physically. It’s armchair entertainment for those enthralled by the ocean.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493071968
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2023
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	267,892
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Christopher D’Amelio was born and raised in Aptos, California. At the age of nineteen he joined the United States Coast Guard, where he quickly achieved the rate of Boatswain’s Mate working in stations and on boats up and down the Pacific Coast from Alaska to South America. In 1998 he was assigned to Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington. During his tenure at Station Cape Disappointment, he amassed over 2,200 hours of underway time, routinely operating on the Columbia River Bar, where he earned a reputation as one of the most skilled boat handlers in the Coast Guard. He has worked on and supervised more than 430 search and rescue cases. He has received five commendation medals, two achievement medals, two letters of commendation, and the highly coveted Association for Rescue at Sea Gold Medal. He retired as a Chief Warrant Officer at Station New Orleans. He currently lives in Slidell, Louisiana, with his wife and two of his three children.

Table of Contents

Introduction Dr. Dennis L. Noble vii

Prologue Dave Hofkins ix

Chapter 1 Red Shoes 1

Chapter 2 Imperium Neptuni Regis: Crossing the Line 15

Chapter 3 Welcome to Cape Disappointment 37

Chapter 4 Reacting to the Conditions 49

Chapter 5 Short Tow, Long Tow 59

Chapter 6 The Graveyard of the Pacific 75

Chapter 7 Worst-Case Scenario: The Linnea 93

Chapter 8 Helmets on Dead Men 103

Chapter 9 "Always Ready" 109

Chapter 10 The Peacock Spit Case 123

Chapter 11 The Association for Rescue at Sea 143

Chapter 12 Last Tow 157

Chapter 13 Farewell 169

Epilogue 187

Acknowledgments 189

Index 193

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"There's nothing like learning from those who have seen and experienced the most extreme conditions the ocean can offer. D’Amelio's stories of search and rescue at Cape Disappointment are nothing short of riveting."—Michael Tougias, New York Times bestselling author of The Finest Hours and A Storm Too Soon.

Editorial Reviews

"There's nothing like learning from those who have seen and experienced the most extreme conditions the ocean can offer. D’Amelio's stories of search and rescue at Cape Disappointment are nothing short of riveting." —Michael Tougias, New York Times bestselling author of The Finest Hours and A Storm Too Soon

From the Publisher