Italy will still need lighthouses. But with new technology, lighthouse keepers are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Already just 62 of the country’s 161 “faros” have actual human operators.
Lighthouse in Vieste, Italy (Roby Ferrari)By Fabio Pozzo
LA STAMPA/Worldcrunch
More on this story here.
I am often asked how many countries in the world still have manned lighthouses, and how many.
Do you know?
There is one minor problem – How Many Countries Are There? Watch this short Youtube video to find out . . . or not!
I am asking for help in finding out which countries actually do have people on the lighthouses, performing the duties of a lighthouse keeper.
If you live in a country that maintains people on the lighthouses as lighthouse keepers, or have visited a country that does, please let me know in the comments box below, or contact me. I would like a webpage link or reference if you have one, and maybe, if you know it, how many manned lighthouses there are.
I will post and maintain a list of worldwide manned lighthouses by country.
Appreciate any help I can get, and yes, I know Canada has a few!
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Africa (?)
Democratic Republic of the Congo(1) http://www.labaleine.co.za/things_to_do.html
British Virgin Islands (1 +?) http://www.cyberdiver.net/cuan_law.html
Canada (50) http://www.ohscanada.com/news/manned-lighthouses-reviewed/1000347338/ Canada’s “staffed lighthouses across the country now number only 50: 23 in Newfoundland and Labrador and 27 in British Columbia.”
Between 1970 and 1996, 264 [Canadian] lighthouses were automated, . . . http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001271
Unmanned Cabot Head Lighthouse; Update http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion-story/4179091-lighting-the-future-with-the-past/
Continue reading How Many Countries in the World Have MANNED Lighthouses?
You all know who Minnie Patterson was, don’t you? You don’t? Well, she was a real live Canadian lighthouse heroine who lived and worked with her husband on Cape Beale lighthouse. In 1906 she helped in the rescue of the people on board the barkentine Caloma. Read her story in Wikipedia here. More events on her life below.
On Dec. 6, 1906, the barkentine Coloma was embattered by a southeast gale off the West Coast shore, her sails tattered in the unforgiving winds.
She drifted within sight of the Cape Beale lighthouse, where Thomas Paterson was manning the foghorn and the light.
The telegraph cable connecting the lighthouse to Bamfield was broken, so his wife, Minnie Paterson, eight months pregnant, walked for miles through the bush and pounding rain to alert the telegraph line-keeper of the impending maritime disaster.
She and the line-keeper’s wife rowed out to the government steamer Quadra, which then reached the Coloma just in time to save its crew.
Paterson’s is a fascinating story that is indicative of the rough life mariners lived on the West Coast.
But to hear the tale truly come alive, join storyteller Jennifer Ferris this Sunday, Aug. 21 at the lighthouse on the waterfront.
Ferris, based in Victoria, has told stories for 15 years.
Her interest and connection to the history of Vancouver Island has provided her with many storytelling opportunities, and she is excited to share this local tale.
The maritime centre has a permanent exhibit on Minnie Paterson and her heroic exploits. Included this year are two special items that Paterson received as rewards.
An engraved silver tray was awarded to her by the Government of Canada, while the officers and crew of the coastal steamer SS Queen City sent her a tea set—a teapot, creamer, sugar and tea waste bowl—in appreciation.
The items were donated to the Alberni Valley Museum last year, and curator Kirsten Smith said they were kept mainly as a souvenir, so they are in excellent condition.
The storytelling event begins at 2 p.m. at the lighthouse. Admission is by donation and refreshments will be provided.
For more information, please call 250-723-6161.
Or visit the website at www.alberniheritage.com and follow the links for the maritime centre.
editor@albernivalleynews.com
If you have creative talent, the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, CT, USA is interested in your model lighthouse.
Written by Dave Sigworth, Maritime Aquarium
Thursday, 18 August 2011 14:03
It’s time to be thinking about the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s annual lighthouse contest. This one was second prize winner last year: it’s Sheffield Light by George Fisher of New Fairfield.
Entry forms are being accepted now for The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s 10th annual “Festival of Lighthouses Contest,” which awards an Aquarium Family Membership for each accepted entry and $3,300 in prizes, including $1,500 for first place.
“To mark our milestone 10th year for the contest, we are increasing the prize awards by 50 percent,” said Chris Loynd, the Aquarium’s marketing director. “That’s only fitting because the effort that our lighthouse builders have put into their entries has certainly increased over the years. Many of the lighthouses are incredible works of art and craftsmanship.”
More on this contest here.
If you are just interested in model lighthouse ideas to build yourself, check out the winners from 2010 and earlier years on their Festival of Lighthouses blogspot.
from the United States Lighthouse Society (USLHS) webpage . . .
The United States Lighthouse Society sponsors a Passport Program. A passport with a blue vinyl cover, similar in appearance to an official United States passport, is available through the Society and lighthouse retailers across the U.S. When you visit a participating lighthouse, you can get your passport stamped.
There are four panels on each page of the passport and each panel should have a different lighthouse stamp. When your passport is filled it will contain 60 stamps.
The stamps, designed by Society graphic designer Rusty Nelson, are a work of art. However, if you visit a lighthouse that is not participating in the program, is closed, or for whatever reason, you can’t get your passport stamped . . . take a picture of the lighthouse or cut out a logo of the lighthouse from a brochure and paste it in the square, or if you’re artistic, draw it in. When your passport is filled, send it to our office for verification (include $4.60 to cover Priority return mail postage). Continue reading A Canadian Lighthouse Passport! Why Not?
– from Campbell River Mirror News by Kristen Douglas, online under BC Local News
The chief of the We Wai Kai First Nation is not pleased the Strathcona Regional District may seek heritage protection for the Cape Mudge Lighthouse.
Chief Ralph Dick says the land surrounding the Quadra Island lightstation belongs to the We Wai Kai/Cape Mudge Band and he doesn’t understand why the Regional District is trying to protect a lighthouse it does not have direct access to.
“We want them to just butt out, we don’t want them involved at all,” Dick says. “They can’t get at it by road or water, it’s our land all around it, so we’re quite upset they’re trying to muscle in there. Continue reading More Delays for Cape Mudge