Since 1889, United States Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard crews at Point Reyes have risked their lives to save shipwreck victims. Highly trained crews worked in some of the worst conditions in North America, sacrificing comfort, family, and even their lives to help others while using tools and technology designed for gentler conditions. They faced frustration, misfortune, and tragedy, yet carried out heroic rescues and came to be associated with the motto, "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back." Point Reyes Beach, though often seen as beautiful and dramatic, was regarded by the Life-Saving Service as hazardous and deadly, and the station there was established to stop the growing loss of ships and lives along that coast. Tragedy also struck the rescuers themselves, and in the first four years of the station's existence, four crew members died. These crews, including surfmen and motor lifeboat crews, were the heroes of the coast, always on duty, always prepared, and always willing to sacrifice to save mariners in distress.