07.22.2026
« Return to News#7 – Where Surfmen Are Made: Inside the Coast Guard’s National Motor Lifeboat School
By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
Where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, powerful river currents collide with incoming swells to create one of the most dangerous stretches of navigable water in North America.
Mariners know it as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
Since 1792, nearly 2,000 vessels have been lost in these waters, where changing tides, shifting sandbars and breaking surf can quickly overwhelm even experienced crews.
For the U.S. Coast Guard, it’s also where some of its most experienced boat operators come to sharpen skills they’ll need when lives are on the line.
Each year, the National Motor Lifeboat School brings together heavy weather coxswains from across the fleet for Surfman training. By the time they arrive, they’ve already spent years operating rescue boats in demanding conditions. The school isn’t about learning to drive a boat; it’s about refining the judgment required to operate safely when there is zero margin for error.
Built for Heavy Weather
The Coast Guard’s 47-foot motor lifeboat was built for conditions that keep nearly every other boat tied to the pier.
Capable of operating in 20-foot breaking surf and winds approaching 50 knots, the vessel is designed to continue operating even after a complete rollover. Its self-righting hull returns the boat upright in about 12 seconds, allowing the crew to continue the mission.
The boat is impressive.
But ask anyone at the National Motor Lifeboat School what makes a Surfman, and they’ll tell you it isn’t the platform. It’s the person behind the helm.
“The surfman course is the culmination of years of a boat driver’s career,” explained Chief Petty Officer Victoria Hansen, an instructor at the school. “It can take upwards of six years for a person to gain the experience that will earn them that certification. So, what we can offer them…is opportunity to come and…do nothing but drive in those conditions.”
For many boatswain’s mates, earning the Surfman insignia represents the highest operational qualification they’ll pursue.
“They…tell you it’s the highest qualification you can get as a boatswain’s mate, and that’s what I wanted to do,” said Melissa Hiatt, a recent student at the school
Learning to Read the Ocean
One of the first lessons surprises many people.
“The primary objective of a surfman is actually wave avoidance,” explained Hansen.
Success isn’t measured by charging through the biggest waves. It’s measured by understanding the water well enough to avoid putting the crew in unnecessary danger while still reaching those who need help.
Students learn to recognize the peak of a wave, identify the near and far shoulders, and decide whether to slow, accelerate or square the bow into the approaching surf. Those decisions happen in seconds, and every wave presents a different problem.
Running for the far shoulder is one of the most challenging maneuvers they’ll practice.
“You’re trying to get to the farthest shoulder of that wave… before it breaks on top of you,” explained Hansen. “It’s probably one of the most fun things to do, but also one of the most dangerous because you’re never really sure you’re going to get there.”
The ocean doesn’t care how much experience someone has, but it rewards good decisions and exposes bad ones.
Every Evolution Is a Lesson
Every training evolution is recorded.
Students return to the classroom and review video from each run with their instructors, breaking down the decisions they made on the water and discussing how they could improve before the next evolution.
During one debrief, a student reflected on a decision to run for the far shoulder.
“We made the decision to run for a far shoulder, and it wasn’t the right call,” said Hiatt of one training evolution. “There wasn’t enough time for us to outrun that wave.”
The takeaway wasn’t the mistake itself, but it was what came next.
“Not every read is going to be a perfect read, and you have to be able to move from that and make the corrective actions,” said Hiatt.
That philosophy extends well beyond the surf zone. Every mission presents new variables, and every crew must be prepared to adapt.
Carrying Forward a Tradition
Surfman is more than an operational qualification.
The insignia traces its lineage to the U.S. Life-Saving Service, connecting today’s graduates with generations of surfmen who launched open rescue boats into pounding surf long before modern navigation equipment or self-righting rescue boats existed.
“There’s a lot of rich history behind it, a lot of great rescues,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Bryan Rojas, a former student of the school. “Hopefully, I get to be part of a rescue someday that makes it down into history and keep bringing credit upon Coast Guard Surfmen.”
That history remains part of every class that comes through the school.
Training for the Mission Ahead
The goal of the National Motor Lifeboat School isn’t simply to complete a demanding four-week course.
It’s to prepare crews for the day when training gives way to a real rescue.
That reality was demonstrated during a previous Surfman course in 2023, when students received a mayday from a disabled vessel near the Columbia River Bar. The class joined other Coast Guard assets in responding to the emergency, helping rescue a mariner after the vessel capsized in heavy surf. The unexpected mission became a powerful reminder that the lessons learned at the National Motor Lifeboat School can be called upon without warning.
While Surfman Course 01-26 focuses on refining the judgment, boat handling and decision-making required to operate safely in heavy surf, every evolution is designed with that same objective in mind: preparing crews for the day someone’s life is on the line.
The Drive That Can’t Be Taught
Boat handling can be taught but reading the water comes with experience.
But instructors believe the willingness to push into the most challenging conditions to save another person’s life comes from somewhere deeper.
“To really get to that level, to where you’re getting someone that wants to push themselves into the most challenging conditions, that’s going to stem from within,” said Chief Petty Officer Eric Ceallaigh, an instructor at the school. “That’s not something that I think any instructor, any schoolhouse, could really teach.”
Then he offers the simplest definition of what makes a Surfman.
“I think that drive itself is what makes the surfman what it is today.”
Every class that graduates from the National Motor Lifeboat School leaves with more than another qualification.
These surfmen with a deeper understanding of the ocean, a greater appreciation for the Coast Guard’s Surfman tradition and the judgment to make sound decisions when the conditions are at their worst.
Whether operating on the Columbia River Bar or responding to emergencies along America’s coastlines, Surfmen represent generations of Coast Guard boat crews who have earned the trust to answer the call when conditions are at their worst.
Watch Video #7
Watch National Motor Lifeboat School Surfman Course 01-26, the No. 7 entry in the 2026 U.S. Coast Guard Top 10 Videos of the Year competition.
Then vote for your favorite by liking, commenting on and sharing the video across the Coast Guard’s official social media channels. Public engagement helps determine the People’s Choice Video of the Year, which will be announced following Coast Guard Day.
Every $1 donated to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance in support of Video #7 counts as five votes, helping provide emergency financial assistance to Coast Guard members, retirees, civilian employees and their families during times of unexpected need.
Photo & Video Credits
Featured Video: National Motor Lifeboat School – Surfman Course 01-26
Photography & B-roll
U.S. Coast Guard imagery courtesy of Thomas Molloy, U.S. Coast Guard Northwest District.
Additional historical imagery and information courtesy of Petty Officer 1st Class Travis Magee and the National Motor Lifeboat School.