Chatham Lighthouse and Coast Guard station.


This monument is just north of the lighthouse. The Monomoy Disaster occurred when the crews of two stranded ships tried to salvage them from Shovelful Shoals. The crew on one of the ships became stranded by a gale and sent out a distress signal, resulting in the Monomoy Life-Saving Station crew (surfmen) coming out to save them. Only one man survived the return trip thanks to onrushing waves and the panic of the men being rescued preventing appropriate action from being taken. That man was Seth Ellis, and Capt. Elmer Mayo saved him by rowing over from the other ship. Henry Mack was the owner of the barge whose crew perished and one of the deceased, and thus also one of the men who helped cause the disaster, so it's rather inappropriate to have the monument in his name given the backstory. The remaining crew are inscribed on the south side of the monument, and the surfmen (not shown) are on the north side.


Now that we're past all that unpleasant business, enjoy the views of the Chatham shore, Chatham Harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.

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