For several months, Egan Maritime has explored island responses to the many sailing ship-era shipwrecks near Nantucket. Virtually all these disasters happened during one of New England’s infamous nor’easters or other seasonal storms. Even the US Lifesaving Service (USLSS) on Nantucket took the summer off: they only worked from September 1 until the end of April. We, too, can pause now and reflect on why Nantucketers successfully rescued mariners facing the dangers of the sea.