This article may be a bit outside the scope of this website, but then maybe not.
Everybody loves a lighthouse, whether it is on the sea, in your garden or in your computer as is this PC/Mac program called Minecraft. This may not be to everybody’s interest but I am sure there are a few of my readers out there who play the game and might be interested.
I have never explored Minecraft, but a short description will more than help you understand the fascination. I might even give it a try. You all know my fascination with Lego!
The literal description: Minecraft is a first-person, free to play indie PC/Mac game created by one person, with crafting, building and exploration at its center. The graphics are straight out of 1991. There are no characters and there is no story. There are none of the “production values” that define gaming these days, but within those narrow confines lies one of the most innovative and endlessly fascinating game in existence… and it’s still in Alpha.
While there are various versions and builds available out, there are three basic play-modes to Minecraft: Single Player Creative, Multiplayer Creative, and Single Player Survival. All three plop you down into a huge, open world, filled with different natural resources you can exploit and bend to your will.
Single Player Creative mode is like an infinite LEGO set. You can create fantastic structures out of basic building blocks all day if you’d like. You can try it out for free, in-browser, right here. Multiplayer Creative is the same deal, with others. – g4tv.com
So, here is a short video on how to build a Minecraft lighthouse:
I mentioned earlier that I would like to do an article about lighthouses and how they are used in advertising. This lady, Ainsley Bevis, has researched logos using a lighthouse as the main theme. She has a beautiful collection below.
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30 Lovely Lighthouse Logos for Inspiration Posted by Ainsley | on November 27, 2012 | from Bloom Web Design
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. When a company decides on a symbol or monument for their business, they need to consider what type of audience to attract with their logo design. A lighthouse is a great choice when wanting to show that you’re business provides safety & strength for their customers.
Here I’ve compiled a collection of Logos dedicated to Lighthouses. These logos work well for these companies and all have unique ways of portraying lighthouses.
Ainsley Bevis is the owner of Bloom Web Design & Tutorials Share. She is a passionate and mostly self taught, Web and Graphic Designer based in Melbourne, Australia. Besides designing she also enjoys playing guitar, piano & walking her 2 dogs at the beach! Follow her on@BloomWebDesign & Facebook.
Doug Anderson, who helped with the donated models, is shown here discussing the hull of the HMS Victory, which he hopes to donate to the museum as a final piece in the full McNally Collection once a qualified modeler is found.
Special to The Record
When Katie McNally, from Ontario, N.Y., donated nine model boats to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum in the autumn of 2011, one was held back. It wasn’t finished. It was the hull of the model of the British Ship HMS Victory, and it was being completed by her husband James G. (Jim) McNally, Jr. when he passed on in 2005.
The model ended up in the hands of the family friend, Doug Anderson, of Marsh Creek, who gave much of his time, driving and arranging the prior model ship donations to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, St. Augustine’s only Smithsonian Affiliate Museum. . . . more
[private]
The museum is looking for a volunteer modeler or modelers to take the unfinished hull in Anderson’s possession and complete it during the museum’s public hours. The volunteer or volunteers will be requested to work on the model and, at the same time, talk to the public about model building, why it is important to museums, and how it helps inform those who study ships and Atlantic Navigation. “There is much more to the art and craft of model building” than you can imagine, said museum curator Kathleen McCormick. The modelers can select from a variety of upcoming dates during the Sea Your History Weekends program funded by the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council.
If you are interested in helping to use your expertise as a modeler for the museum, during a Sea Your History Weekend, and would like to discuss the details please give a call to Loni Wellman, at 829-0745.
Impressive collection
The remarkable collection of ship models was donated as a study and exhibition collection by Katie McNally at the urging and with the support of her friend Doug Anderson. The model collection has been very popular with guests and very useful to archaeologists and educators when explaining the size and use of ships in St. Augustine, which is often misunderstood.
Archaeologists use ship models to help them study ship construction and they are useful to the public in understanding the size and shapes of vessels for different uses.
For example, the Chalpua was the work boat of St. Augustine, and was about 25 feet to 38 feet for use in local waters. Larger vessels like caravels, Nau’s or Galleon’s sailed by but usually did not anchor here in these shallow waters. Another example is that you can study the rigging of ships models to understand how differently rigged sails pull ships in different directions, and could for example have changed the landing site of Ponce de Leon when he located Florida. Museum archaeologists use ship models to tell authentic stories, and to explain the complex details of maritime navigation.
Today the Lighthouse and Museum is studying the British and the American Revolutionary period through diving on a wreck off shore, that comes from around 1782, when the British Fleet was helping to evacuate Charleston, S.C. The HMS Victory is a model of a famous British Vessel, probably much larger than the wreck in question, but maybe not. A variety of ships were used and many of them could not make it into the harbor.
Machias Seal Island is a 20-acre, treeless lump that sits nearly equidistant from Maine and New Brunswick. It, and the even smaller North Rock, lie in what local lobstermen call the gray zone, a 277-square-mile area of overlapping American and Canadian maritime claims.
The disagreement dates back to the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. The treaty assigned to the newly independent 13 colonies all islands within 20 leagues — about 70 miles — of the American shore. Since Machias Seal Island sits less than 10 miles from Maine, the American position has been that it is clearly United States soil.
But the treaty also excluded any island that had ever been part of Nova Scotia, and Canadians have pointed to a 17th-century British land grant they say proves the island was indeed part of that province, whose western portion became New Brunswick in the late 18th century.
Perhaps more important to the Canadian case, the British built a lighthouse on Machias Seal Island in 1832, which has been staffed ever since. Even today, two lighthouse keepers are regularly flown to the island by helicopter for 28-day shifts to operate a light — even though, like every other lighthouse in Canada, it is automated. – Opinion Pages – NY Times
AT a time when territorial disputes over uninhabited outcrops in the East China Sea have led to smashed cars and skulls in China, a similar, if less dramatic, dispute over two remote rocks in the Gulf of Maine smolders between the United States and Canada.
Machias Seal Island and nearby North Rock are the only pieces of land that the two countries both claim after more than 230 years of vigorous and sometimes violent border-making between them.
Except for the occasional jousting of lobster boats, this boundary dispute floats far below the surface of public or official attention, no doubt reflecting the apparent lack of valuable natural resources and a reluctance to cede territory, no matter how small.
But if we are unlikely to resort to arms anytime soon, the clashes in Asia have shown how seemingly minor border disputes can suddenly stoke regional and nationalistic tensions. Our relaxed attitude toward these remote rocks may well be a mistake.
While the United States and Canada have other maritime boundary disputes along their 5,525-mile border, the world’s longest, this is the only one left that involves actual chunks of land.
Machias Seal Island is a 20-acre, treeless lump that sits nearly equidistant from Maine and New Brunswick. It, and the even smaller North Rock, lie in what local lobstermen call the gray zone, a 277-square-mile area of overlapping American and Canadian maritime claims.
The disagreement dates back to the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. The treaty assigned to the newly independent 13 colonies all islands within 20 leagues — about 70 miles — of the American shore. Since Machias Seal Island sits less than 10 miles from Maine, the American position has been that it is clearly United States soil.
But the treaty also excluded any island that had ever been part of Nova Scotia, and Canadians have pointed to a 17th-century British land grant they say proves the island was indeed part of that province, whose western portion became New Brunswick in the late 18th century.
Perhaps more important to the Canadian case, the British built a lighthouse on Machias Seal Island in 1832, which has been staffed ever since. Even today, two lighthouse keepers are regularly flown to the island by helicopter for 28-day shifts to operate a light — even though, like every other lighthouse in Canada, it is automated.
While abundant legal arguments surround Machias Seal Island, natural resources are far less evident. No oil or natural gas has been discovered in the area, nor has it had any strategic significance since it served as a lookout for German U-boats during World War I.
Tour boats from Maine and New Brunswick carry strictly limited numbers of bird watchers to the island to see nesting Atlantic puffins. And the surrounding waters contain lobsters that, thanks to different regulatory schemes and overlapping claims, have occasionally sparked clashes between Maine and New Brunswick lobstermen, although a bumper lobster crop this summer has slackened demand for gray zone crustaceans.
But the lack of hydrocarbons and the current lobster glut make this an ideal time to color in the gray zone.
The United States and Canada settled all their other maritime differences in the Gulf of Maine in 1984 by submitting their claims to the International Court of Justice for arbitration. They could have included the gray zone in that case, but did not. The Canadians had refused an earlier American arbitration proposal by saying their case was so strong that agreeing to arbitration would bring their title into question.
This attitude calls for re-examination. The fact that so little in the way of resources appears to be at stake, far from justifying the status quo, should be the main reason for resolving the issue. And for those concerned about blowback from “giving away” territory, letting the international court decide the case provides the most political cover.
As China and Japan can attest, border disputes do not go away; they fester. And when other factors push them back to the surface — the discovery of valuable resources, an assertion of national pride, a mishap at sea — the stakes can suddenly rise to a point where easy solutions become impossible.
Before that happens, we should put this last land dispute behind us, and earn our reputation for running the longest peaceful border in the world.
Stephen R. Kelly is the associate director of the Center for Canadian Studies at Duke University and a retired American diplomat who served twice in Canada.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on November 27, 2012, on page A31 of the New York edition with the headline: Good Neighbors, Bad Border.
Machias Seal Island is a 20-acre, treeless lump that sits nearly equidistant from Maine and New Brunswick. It, and the even smaller North Rock, lie in what local lobstermen call the gray zone, a 277-square-mile area of overlapping American and Canadian maritime claims.
The disagreement dates back to the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. The treaty assigned to the newly independent 13 colonies all islands within 20 leagues — about 70 miles — of the American shore. Since Machias Seal Island sits less than 10 miles from Maine, the American position has been that it is clearly United States soil.
But the treaty also excluded any island that had ever been part of Nova Scotia, and Canadians have pointed to a 17th-century British land grant they say proves the island was indeed part of that province, whose western portion became New Brunswick in the late 18th century.
Perhaps more important to the Canadian case, the British built a lighthouse on Machias Seal Island in 1832, which has been staffed ever since. Even today, two lighthouse keepers are regularly flown to the island by helicopter for 28-day shifts to operate a light — even though, like every other lighthouse in Canada, it is automated.
Kelly reasonably suspects that the lack of natural resources in the region have made both sides reluctant to rock the boat by submitting their claims to the International Court of Justice for arbitration, as they have with other disputes. There’s simply nothing there worth the risk of losing the case and having to explain to voters why you “gave away” U.S. or Canadian territory. In any case, from the photos on Flickr it looks like the Canadian government has staked a pretty permanent claim to the island, so this one may be de facto settled.
Machias is the only U.S.-Canadian border conflict that involves land, but the sea border is disputed in a few places. Here’s Wikipedia’s list:
Strait of Juan de Fuca48°17?58?N 124°02?58?W (Washington /British Columbia) The middle-water line is the boundary, but the governments of both Canada and British Columbia disagree and support two differing boundary definitions that would extend the line into the Pacific Ocean to provide a more definite Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary.
Dixon Entrance54°22?N 132°20?W (Alaska / British Columbia) is wholly administered by Canada as part of its territorial waters, but the US supports a middle-water line boundary, thereby providing the US more maritime waters. Canada claims that a 1903 treaty demarcation is the international maritime boundary, while the United States holds that the maritime boundary is an equidistant line between the islands that form the Dixon Entrance, extending as far east as the middle-water line with Hecate Strait to the south and Clarence Strait to the north.[2]
Yukon–Alaska dispute, Beaufort Sea72°01?40?N 137°02?30?W(Alaska / Yukon) Canada supports an extension into the sea of the land boundary between Yukon and Alaska. The US does not, but instead supports an extended sea boundary into the Canadian portion of the Beaufort Sea. Such a demarcation means that a minor portion of Northwest Territories EEZ in the polar region is claimed by Alaska, because the EEZ boundary between Northwest Territories and Yukon follows a straight north-south line into the sea. US claims would create a triangular shaped EEZ for Yukon. This is mainly an Alaska-Yukon dispute.
Northwest Passage; Canada claims the passage as part of its “internal waters” belonging to Canada, while the United States regards it as an “international strait” (a strait accommodating open international traffic).
The last two might get a bit more controversial as resource competition in the rapidly melting Arctic heats up.
Well, first of all it is not a lighthouse, so if you are not interested please continue on to another article, but I think you will find this fascinating.
Why is then called a lighthouse? Well, it can be seen from many miles away for over 160 nights a year over Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. I would never have known about it except that my article antennae are tuned to anything lighthouse. When I heard about it, I just had to investigate and bring it to your attention. This is quite unique and the only place in the world that has this phenomena in such intensity.
It is said to have the hottest flash density rate in the world, with an annual average of 181 lightning flashes per square kilometre.During peak months there can be as many as fifty (50) discharges every minute. That is a nearly continuous thunderstorm with up to 20,000 flashes of lightning per night. That is a lot of lightning – the most persistent thunderstorm of the world!
The storms (and associated lightning) are likely the result of the winds blowing across the Maracaibo Lake and surrounding swampy plains. These air masses inevitably meet the high mountain ridges of the Andes, the Perijá Mountains (3,750m), and Mérida’s Cordillera, enclosing the plain from three sides. The heat and moisture collected across the plains creates electrical charges and, as the air masses are destabilized at the mountain ridges, result in almost continual thunderstorm activity.
The phenomenon is characterized by almost continuous lightning, mostly within the clouds, which is produced in a large vertical development of clouds that form large electric arcs between 2 and 10 km in height (or more). The lightning tends to start approximately one hour after dusk.
Among the major modern studies there is the one done by Melchor Centeno, who attributes the origin of the thunderstorms to closed wind circulation in the region.
For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.
Power supply resumes at Unoosaki lighthouse in Soma 2 November 2012 The Unoosaki lighthouse in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, has resumed full operations after power was restored 19 months after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
As a result, the lighthouse is now fully able to help ships safely navigate the waters off Fukushima Prefecture.
The Japan Coast Guard’s office in the prefecture, the Fukushima Coast Guard Office, unveiled the lighthouse to the media on Nov. 1, which is observed as “lighthouse day” in Japan [I did not know that!]. . . . more
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“Bubble Delight” by Cecile & Ronaldo Lobo of Bridgeport“For the Birds” by John Sudell of Greenwich
A model lighthouse made by a Bridgeport couple is helping to light the way for visitors in The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk as part of the aquarium’s 11th annual “Festival of Lighthouses.” – more
For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.
Lighthouse Greeting Cards
Earlier in November I reprinted two stories on the Cape Canaveral lighthouse (story 1 & story 2) by Judy Lovell. One thing you might have missed on her website are her Greeting Cards featuring lighthouses, antique maps and lighthouse history.
Greeting Cards for Online Ordering : A selection of greeting cards of various Everglades, Birds and Lighthouse images laid out with a soft background on the inside. These 5×7 cards come printed on luxuriously thick card stock, folded in the middle. They’re matte with a UV coating that gives the outside a soft sheen. The inside is smooth enough to pen a personal message and each card includes a matching envelope. These cards are shown print ready and so half of it looks upside-down. Don’t worry! That’s just how our printers read them and we promise they will look perfect in-person.
On October 14, 2011 I wrote the article Thomas Crosby V – One of the “Bookboats” which described the church mission boat from the United Church of Canada. Now, a good friend Carol Jeffrey found a reference to a new mission boat, the Columbia III which worked for the Columbia Coast Mission from the Anglican Church. Below is a bit of information on this service to isolated posts on the BC coast , including lighthouses.
While the headlines of Campbell River newspapers fumed over the millions of public dollars recently allocated for a consolidated mid-Vancouver Island hospital, a small crowd gathered at the city’s Discovery Harbour Pier for a tea celebrating the 50th anniversary of the launch of the hospital ship Columbia III. She was one of the last in a long line of vessels operated by the Anglican Church’s Columbia Coast Mission. The Mission provided medical, non-sectarian religious and social services to remote settlements, lighthouses, logging camps and First Nations villages along BC’s inside coast from 1905 to the late 1960s.
The launch of Columbia III on October 13, 1956, took place at Star Shipyards (Mercer’s) in New Westminster, just 100 feet from where the second Columbia had been built hy the Dawes Shipyard in 1910. Robert Allan and his son Robert F. (Bob) Allan were in partnership as Vancouver naval architects when Columbia III was designed. Propulsion was a 182-hp Gardner 8L3 (still powering the vessel). Diesel generating and heating units were installed, as well as a propane sterilizer in the hospital cabin, x-ray machine, propane range and refrigerator in the galley and a Spilsbury & Tindall radio-telephone.
The coast has changed radically in the half century since the Columbia III glided down the launch-ways at Star Shipyard (Mercer’s) in New Westminster on October 13, 1956. That year a new hospital was in the offing for Campbell River and there were small hospitals established in Alert Bay and Powell River, but there were still hundreds of people living on the isolated coast between Sechelt and Seymour Inlet with little or no access to medical care or regular social contacts. No matter what the religious convictions of these people, the arrival of the Columbia was a welcome sight.
Sea Kayaking Tours in BC Canada
The Columbia Coast Mission saved hundreds of lives when its vessels hastened to logging camp accidents. The mission also provided a cherished social outlet. “It was very exciting when the Columbia came because there was very little entertainment for us,” remarked one of the attendees at the 50th anniversary tea held onboard Columbia III. In those days the Columbia’s staff brought books, showed movies and hosted Christmas pageants, complete with a portly Santa Claus. Mothership Adventures, which offers eco and cultural tours in inside waters with the Columbia III, has had new owners since 2005, Ross Campbell and Fern Kornelsen of Sonora Island, and they welcomed the idea of the 50th celebration. The vessel’s aft double doors, designed originally to provide access for stretchers, were opened wide to a crowd which filled the saloon and aft deck to reminisce about the Columbia Coast Mission. The Campbell River stop came at the end of a 50th anniversary voyage which originated in Port McNeill and threaded its way south with an enthusiastic group on board, all the members of which had past associations with the coastal ‘mission ships’. Along the way they revisited many homesteads, settlements and villages which had been regular stops during the Columbia’s service.Well aware of the Mission’s historic service Campbell and Kornelsen were pleased to return Columbia III to this part of the coast. But they weren’t prepared for the depth of feeling many still hold for the Mission and its ships. Wherever they tie up people have memories to share. On the recent anniversary cruise a young man asked the Columbia’s skipper to give a blast on the ship’s distinctive whistle as they passed the Alert Bay home of his 90-year-old grandmother, “for old time’s sake.” At the Whaletown wharf on Cortes Island, once frequented by the Coast Mission vessels, a small crowd gathered to watch Columbia III pull alongside. “I got a call from a neighbour,” said Jan Boas. “She said, ‘The Columbia is coming!’
This summoning call was heard frequently on this coast in days gone by. Prior to the advent of the Columbia Coast Mission in 1905 there were more than 100 isolated logging camps and settlements scattered along the coast and accidents were alarmingly common. The only hope, in the case of serious injury, was to row out into one of the main passages in an often futile search for a passing freight or passenger steamer. A lucky few survived under these circumstances. The arrival of four dead loggers in Vancouver on a steamer galvanized the Mission’s founder, Reverend John Antle, into action. He persuaded his church to launch the first Columbia and later raised funds for four hospitals throughout the region.
By the time the Columbia III was launched in 1956, the coast was undergoing rapid change. Timber licences were being awarded almost exclusively to large companies, cutting out the smaller operators. This, and greater utilization of float planes over sea-going vessels and the establishment of highways and ferry connections between coastal centres, began to depopulate the coast. By the early 1960s only a hardy few still lived in isolation. Even the chaplains from the Mission took to the air in a Cessna floatplane, a practice which continued through the 1970s.
A gathering on the foredeck of the Columbia III, Kingcome Inlet in the 1960s. Judging by the finery and the babe in mother’s arms and the Columbia Coast Mission chaplain to right in photo, this was probably a christening ceremony
The last sea-going chaplain with the Columbia Coast Mission, Rev Ivan Putter, arrived in 1965. He had a Decca radar installed so, while the Columbia III was by then serving as mobile aviation fuel rendezvous and a base of operation for the plane which could branch out to isolated pockets of the coast, the vessel continued to help the sick and injured and save lives when the plane was fogbound. However in 1967 the Columbia III was put up for sale. By 1982 the Mission had ceased operation.
Columbia III then passed into the hands of a string of owners and was a liveaboard in False Creek in Vancouver and in a pretty run-down condition when acquired by Bill McKechnie of Victoria in 1990. He worked with shipwright Paul Heron and several Victoria craftspeople on a well-thought-out and classy refurbishment. Original areas such as the doctor’s office and galley were reconfigured and, below decks, the chapel, chaplain’s stateroom and infirmary were converted to cabins and accommodation for 10 berthed passengers and crew members. McKechnie also started Mothership Adventures, a successful ecotourism venture which enabled Columbia Ill’s guests to explore wilderness areas of the mainland around the Broughton Archipelago and the Central Coast through a combination of cruising and kayaking.
A group of people, all with an association with the mission ships, revisited some of the old haunts between Port McNeill and Campbell River in early October, 2006. Here they are seated in Columbia Ill’s main saloon, the former hospital cabin. The large bright windows and mahogany cabinetry and furnishings were part of the extensive 1990s refurbishment overseen by owner Bill McKechnie in Victoria.
The inset photos show the wheelhouse and the engine room with the 8L3 Gardner that was in Columbia when launched 50 years ago.
Mothership Adventures and Columbia III were sold in the early 2000s to a Seattle owner who intended continuing the business in BC waters. However, he couldn’t make his way around the Canadian 60-ton master’s ticket requirement for Columbia III. Meanwhile Ross Campbell and Fern Kornelsen, who had fallen short in their attempts to buy Mothership Adventures from Bill McKechnie, continued to make it abundantly clear to the US owner that, if he wanted to sell, they would buy. They became owners in early 2005.
The Columbia III in her role as a ‘sea kayaking mothership’.
“The Columbia is always welcome wherever we pull in,” says Ross Campbell. “We feel we are custodians of a significant vessel in BC’s maritime heritage and we try to live up to her good name.”
In that spirit Campbell and his family have agreed to make the ship available for weddings and memorial services for the many people who hold the Columbia’s memory dear. And, Ross adds, “We’ll be working to give her another 50 years on the coast.”
Vancouver (CP)-A missionary of the sea plays a vital part in the lives of 4,000 persons along the lower British Columbia coast.
From inlet to inlet, the mission ship Columbia II skippered by Capt. George A. MacDonald, a friendly 70-year-old Vancouver man, brings spiritual and physical comfort to loggers, fishermen and settlers in some 225 isolated communities.
The sturdy 100-foot diesel-driven ship plies from Stuart Island and Cape Scott at the northern tip of Vancouver island.
Veteran Chaplain
The chaplain is Canon Heber Greene, a veteran missionary, and the ship’s medical facilities are directed by Dr. J. G. Kempff.
In the tiny chapel, there have been weddings, christenings, confirmations, and funeral services.
“We handle hatches, matches and dispatches,” says a crew member.
The ship is one of four operated by the Columbia Coast mission of the Church of England in Canada.
Many mercy missions are undertaken by the 48-year-old Columbia. Last year she logged 31 emergency calls for sickness and accident cases.
“Calling the Columbia” is a frequent call over the ship’s radio-telephone, coming from the coastal districts dotting the rocky island shoreline.
One Mishap
She takes nine six-week cruises a year, and only once has she suffered a mishap. In 1948 she piled onto a reef in Warner Bay and was laid up some six weeks for repairs.
Capt. MacDonald has been with the Columbia for 17 years. With him he has engineer Bob McCree, Jack Owens as cook, and Bob Anderson, deckhand.
Off the main deck is a two-bed hospital equipped with examination table, dental chair, drugs and surgical instruments. Only minor operations are performed. Serious cases are taken to hospital at Alert Bay, the Columbia’s home port, 225 miles northwest of Vancouver.
There are recreational comforts too. There is a reading room, much used by lonely settlers, and a movie theater, where various films are shown during visits to upcoast ports.
“We feel we cover the whole life of the people,” said Canon Alan Greene, superintendent of the mission and brother of the Columbia’s chaplain.
Better Than Planes
Talk of the mission ship being replaced by an airplane gets little sympathy from mission authorities.
Storms and fogs have been battled by the Columbia on mercy missions. Under similar bad weather, a plane would be grounded.
“The plane lacks the personal touch,” added Canon Alan Greene, and his views are shared by Captain MacDonald.
The first mission boat was launched by Rev. John Antle in 1905 when Columbia Coast Mission was founded. It voyaged for man years along the coast, was replaced by the Columbia II. The old and expensive Columbia II, too, may be replaced, this time by a smaller vessel.
Of the 13,259 miles covered by the Columbia in 1952, 1, 295 miles were logged on emergency calls. She made a total of 1,047 calls, during which 807 cases were treated. Her sister ship, the John Antle, the Rendezvous, and the Veracity, travelled 6,000 and 5,383 miles, respectively. Three vessels are confined to mission work only.
Such coverage entails an annual expenditure of $75,000, most of which is incurred by the Columbia. The Community Chest of greater Vancouver bears the major part of the ship’s operating expenses, with the provincial and federal governments contributing small grants. The balance is provided through church contributions and private donations.
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FOOTNOTE:
1 Jeanette Taylor is a Quadra Island-based writer and interpreter of BC coastal history and heritage. She has worked with the BC Archives aural history division and held curatorial and programming positions with the Campbell River Museum. She is the author of River City: A History of Campbell River and the Discovery Islands (1999, Harbour) and Exploring Quadra Island: Heritage Sites and Hiking Trails (2001, Harbour) and is writing a history of the Discovery Islands and adjacent inlets.
If your eyesight isn’t quite what it was, you may need a hand spotting this luxury lighthouse that is set to become a cult destination for lovers of the Northern Lights. You can see the red roof and white walls just peeking out from the top of the right side of the island, but without some serious navigating skills you may still have trouble finding it altogether.
No roads lead to the Littleisland Lighthouse at Litløya, Vesterålen, Nordland, Norway, and that extended address may still not be enough to get you there. Accessible only by boat, a more useful location may be it’s co-ordinates – (+68° 35′ 37.91″, +14° 18′ 34.89″) – which will take you 130 miles inside the Arctic Circle.
Guests arriving from the airport at Narvik or Evenes (accessible via Oslo from the UK) travel by bus to the small fishing community of Vinje, where they will be met by lighthouse staff and provided appropriate clothing for the short but exciting trip by boat to the island.
But for many, the real beauty of staying at Littleisland Lighthouse is what can be seen at night during the winter months…
The 2012/13 “season” for viewing the aurora borealis is predicted to be the most spectacular for 50 years, according to NASA who make the prediction based on reports of solar wind activity around the sun. This means that from now until March, skies such as those pictured above should be reasonably commonplace for visitors to this remote part of Norway, just northwest of the scenic Lofoten Islands. At night, guests will be kept warm with blankets, hot beverages and a sweet treat while they enjoy the view.
The lighthouse, built in 1912, is celebrating its centennial year, and owner Elena Hansteensen believes it offers the right mix of boutique luxury and complete isolation. Elena and her staff provide locally-sourced healthy meals, which is fortunate because there isn’t any other food available on the island unless you’re a dab hand at fishing.
Inside, the lighthouse offers two double rooms, a cosy library and dining area – all with spectacular views of the sea and sky. But the island has one or two more treats in store for those brave enough to visit…
When day breaks you can explore the island’s Stone Age settlements, which were established some 6,000 years ago, or visit the remains of its 19th century fishing village, as well as spot orcas and other species of whale off the island’s coast.
Exploration can be done alone or with one of the lighthouse staff as a guide. Alternative activities include fishing, or simply relaxing at the lighthouse with their resident Norwegian forest cats Sirius and Sara. The lighthouse itself is still very much in use, its LED light powered by solar panels and flashing every 10th of a second to sailors passing the rocky coast.
Those in fear of the weather will be relieved to hear that Littleisland is blessed with a surprisingly mild climate. While you should probably forget your swimsuit, thanks to the Gulf Stream average winter day temperatures are above freezing, and snowfall is light and fleeting.
Rooms at Littleisland Lighthouse are available from 1 November 2012 to 1 April 2013. Maximum four persons in two double rooms. Stays available for two or three nights, arrivals recommended on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Two nights costs £310 per person, three nights £420 per person (subject to exchange rates), and includes boat transfers to and from Littleisland, all meals, and a guided tour of the lighthouse. Norwegian Air offers return flights from Oslo to Evenes from around £150. Find out more about Littleisland here.
This not a lighthouse story, but it shows what interests a lighthouse keeper. If you live near the sea, you are always interested in ways and means of travelling, fishing , and exploring on the ocean. It is only natural. Here is my newest find – a SUP!
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After posting the story “Stand” – An Adventure Documentary on November 14, 2012, I was really intrigued by the surfboards the people were using in the film. They were not really surfboards as they appeared to be too heavy even though made of native British Columbia (BC) cedar wood.
A Cedar Strip Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP)
As you can see from the photo above, they are called a Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP). I had never heard of them before, and thought they would be ideal for adventurers on the BC coast, or anywhere! Continue reading Re-inventing the Wheel, er, The Paddleboard→
Build a Redstone Lighthouse in Minecraft
Minecraft: What The Hell It Is
