

Each Christmas season a group of pilots and volunteers visit lighthouses and coast guard facilities up and down the coast of New England bringing gifts to the children. This “Flying Santa” tradition began in 1929 when pilot Bill Wincapaw of Rockport, Maine, the pilot of a float plane that delivered mail, medicine, and other essentials to remote coastal communities became lost in a fierce winter storm. With his compass malfunctioning and running desperately low on fuel, he was eventually guided home by a series of lighthouses along Pennobscott Bay. To show his gratitude, he and his ten-year-old son dropped floatable bundles full of presents to the families of the lighthouse keepers on Christmas Day. The keepers were so appreciative that Wincapaw decided to make it an annual tradition adding new lighthouses each year. And that tradition lives on today, over seventy-five years later.


Visit the Friends of
the Flying Santa
Their mission remains dedicated to Captain William Wincapaw and Edward Rowe Snow's philosophy that lighthouse keepers and Coast Guard crews were true lifesavers and deserved to be recognized for their efforts. Friends of Flying Santa strives to continue this tradition of appreciation by carrying on the annual Christmas helicopter flights to lighthouses and Coast Guard stations. A visit from Santa, a few toys and the traditional gift box are small tokens of appreciation for the outstanding work of the United states Coast Guard and their supportive families.




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