Saving lives, risking their own to do it. US Coast Guard Surfmen, Station Bodega Bay, CA. Throughout their 44-year history, the U.S. Life Saving Service (USLSS) is credited with saving over 178,000 persons.The mainstay of the USLSS was the surfmen who crewed lifeboats and performed daring and often amazing rescues. The USLSS passed on its legacy of lifesaving - and its surfmen - to the United States Coast Guard in 1915. Today, the title of surfman is reserved for the service's most highly trained boat handlers. Surfmen are the only coxswains qualified to operate rescue boats in breaking surf conditions. Surf is both unpredictable and treacherous, and requires the utmost boat driving skill and mastery. Of the 188 boat stations currently in the Coast Guard, 20 stations are located in areas with surf conditions that require surfmen. Surfman qualification is the pinnacle of professionalism at these units.