Along the North Carolina coast, thousands of successful rescues were carried out by surfmen in the U.S. Lifesaving Service using surfboats that were hand-launched into the surf and rowed out to sea, often during storms or treacherous conditions. After the U.S. Coast Guard was formed in 1915, surfboats continued in use through the service's early years until gas-powered engines were supplied. Launching a surfboat and bringing it back to shore was a daunting, arduous task that required a highly skilled and well-seasoned crew. The surfboat in the boathouse is a Monomoy, named for Monomoy Island off Cape Cod, MA, where the design originated. It was constructed during World War II by Mort Johnson of Bay Head, NJ, with cedar hull planks, oak hull frames, rub rails, cap, and stemps, mahogany keel, keelson, and centerboard trunk, and ash thwarts; it would have had a mast, tiller, and rudder with bronze hardware. Herbert M. Collins, born in Manteo, NC, on January 1, 1921, fulfilled a childhood dream when he joined the U.S. Coast Guard on February 2, 1939. Because African American men could then enter only as Mess Attendants, his career began in that role, serving food, shining shoes, making beds, and serving senior officers on a ship. In March 1940 he was transferred to Station Pea Island, briefly reassigned to shipboard duty as a Mess Attendant, then returned within months and remained at the station for the duration of World War II; while there, in his personal time, he also earned his private pilot's license at 26 years old. Collins was the last surfman stationed at Pea Island before it closed, and although he was a Boatswain Mate 2nd class, he was often fondly referred to as the last Keeper of the station. He was the last official of the U.S. Coast Guard to lock the doors and turn in the keys when the station was decommissioned in March 1947. After leaving Pea Island, he served on numerous Coast Guard cutters and at several shore assignments before retiring as a Lieutenant in August 1973. In private life he became an accomplished certified flight instructor who taught many men and women to fly. He died on March 14, 2010. His family holds a combined Coast Guard service record of some 400 years dating back to his grandfather, Joseph Hall Berry, who enlisted in 1902 after serving as a temporary surfman under Keeper Richard Etheridge.