United States lightship Frying Pan (LV-115)

The Frying Pan is a historic lightship that spent decades as a floating lighthouse before finding a second life as a fixture of the Manhattan waterfront. Built in 1929, the vessel was specifically engineered to withstand the violent storms of the Atlantic, featuring a rounded double hull designed for extreme stability while anchored at its post off the North Carolina coast. For thirty-five years, its crew lived aboard to maintain the navigational beacon and powerful foghorn that warned passing ships away from the treacherous, shallow sandbars known as the Frying Pan Shoals. This arduous duty was frequently described by sailors as a monotonous stretch of life at sea broken by moments of intense, high-stakes danger during hurricane season.