The Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum on Polpis Road occupies a reconstructed 1874 lifesaving station and tells the story of the men who rowed out into Atlantic storms to rescue crews from wrecked ships. The exhibits include a fully equipped surfboat, the breeches buoy rescue equipment used to haul survivors off stricken vessels, and logbooks documenting hundreds of rescues over the station's history.
The collection also addresses the wrecks themselves — the ships, the cargoes, the losses. Nantucket's surrounding shoals are some of the most dangerous waters on the American coast, and the museum conveys this honestly. It complements the Whaling Museum well, together painting a picture of the sea as Nantucket islanders actually experienced it.