All posts by retlkpr

About retlkpr

Retired (2001) British Columbia lighthouse keeper after 32 years on the lights.

Moving Day 1970s

Adult Memories, Boats, British Columbia, Children, Coast Guard, Equipment, Groceries & Mail, Helicopters, Hobbies, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Transportation, Travel, Workboats, , , , , , , , , ,
Crates awaiting lowering to the ship - photo Glenn Borgens

One of the problems with moving to another lighthouse was that everything had to be crated and or well-packed to withstand the dangers of the transportation and handling by ship and/or helicopter. It also had to survive unexpected falls and/or water damage, both fresh and salt.

When my wife Karen and I first moved on the lighthouses we had no material for crating so we had to get professionals from a moving company to do the work for us. They did a very good job but were very expensive.

When we got the bill we did not have the money to pay for it, so we told the man we would leave half the furnishings there in the warehouse and get them shipped out next month when we got paid. He was having nothing of that and eventually dropped the price to something we could afford. Continue reading Moving Day 1970s →

Supermoon over Lighthouse

Information, Light, Lighthouses, Photos, , , ,


A “supermoon” rises Saturday (May 5) over the Angel’s Gate lighthouse in San Pedro, Calif.  The moon was the closest it will get to the Earth this year (2012), and it appeared 14 percent larger because of that. At its peak it was about 221,802 miles from Earth.

The average distance of the moon from Earth is 237,700 miles (382,500 km).

See more moon photos in this series from the Daily Herald article.

Here’s the same supermoon over a lighthouse at Loctudy, France. More slides are found here from the National Geographic news.

And if you really like moons and lighthouses together, check out this Google Image Search.

Calling All Lighthouse Collectors

Advertisement, Art, History, Information, Jewellery, Lighthouses, Souvenirs, , , , , ,

I really do not know how to phrase this, but if you like lighthouse memorabilia, then this is the ultimate to have!

2919_4715_Patek Philipp_Ref 2481

It is a watch by Patek Philippe called ‘The Lighthouse’, a pink gold wristwatch with center seconds and cloisonné enamel dial, (Sale 2919, lot 4715, estimate: HKD 1,600,000 – 2,400,000/ USD 200,000 – 300,000). It is for sale at Christie’s Auction House for the Spring 2012 Important Watches Auction on May 30, 2012. Continue reading Calling All Lighthouse Collectors →

Weather Observing – a Large Part of the Job

Adult Memories, Anti-Automation, Automation, Coast Guard, Communication, Equipment, Fisheries and Oceans, Fishing, Fog, Government, History, Information, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Radio, Search & Rescue, Ships & Shipping, Shipwrecks, Storms, Weather, , , , , , , ,

Note:- How to obtain an up-to-date weather report from a BC lighthouse

McInnes with weather instruments (lower half) – photo John Coldwell

One of the duties on most of the lighthouse stations, and especially on McInnes Island, up to 2003, was the reporting of local weather (weather visible in the immediate area of the station) to Environment Canada (EC) – earlier called the Atmospheric Environment Service (AES) – for re-broadcast to boaters, pilots and climatologists.

This became even more important after the Tropical Storm of October 1984 hit the British Columbia coastline.

Extreme Tendency November 05, 1988 – scan Glenn Borgens

Every three hours during the day, starting at around three o’clock in the morning we would collect the information on sky condition, visibilty, wind speed and direction, rain/snowfall, wet and dry bulb temperatures plus maximum and minimum temperatures, station pressure and tendency (whether pressure was rising or falling and how rapidly), and sea and swell height. This was then recorded on AES forms or in a notebook depending on the station. Not all stations reported or had the instruments for all observations. These records were forwarded to AES every month along with a Climate Summary for the month. Continue reading Weather Observing – a Large Part of the Job →

Music – Lou Christie – Lighthouse (1971)

Adult Memories, Advertisement, Audio, Lighthouses, Music, Videos, , , ,

This song is from a terrific album: “Paint America Love” (1971). Very hard to find. One of the greatest records ever. A real oldie but goodie as they say. Music and lyrics from Wikifonia . . . 

[media url=”https://ccanadaht3.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Lou-Christie-Lighthouse-.flv” width=”400″ height=”350″]

Mise Tales Six

Art, Humour, Lighthouses, Paintings, , , , , , ,

If you do not know what Mise Tales are then please see Mise Tales One.

Quite a miscellaneous selection this time – mostly humour. The first is a cool Snickers candy bar advertisement, again with a lighthouse theme. Does anybody have any other lighthouse advertising?

Big job to go? Get on with it.

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Foghorns – In the Beginning Was the Diaphone . . .

Adult Memories, Anti-Automation, Audio, Coast Guard, Communication, Construction, Equipment, Foghorns, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, , , , , , , ,

Well, in the beginning was the Lightkeeper’s Voice, Fog Bell, Sirens, Dynamite, Cannons and other assorted methods, and then came the Hand Horn. 

Powers Brothers Hand Horn - photo Chris Mills
Lothrop Hand Horn - photo Chris Mills

First of all was the Powers Brothers Hand Horn used in the days before mechanical equipment. Many were used up until the early 1950s. and were still kept on station in case of emergencies well into the 1990s. The horn was activated when a vessel required it, usually by blowing its own horn any time of day or night, occasionally having to wake the keeper with more than one blast. Another smaller version was this Lothrop Hand Horn (right)

[audio:https://ccanadaht3.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/PowerBrosHandhorn-Mills.mp3|titles=Powers Brothers Hand Horn] Continue reading Foghorns – In the Beginning Was the Diaphone . . . →

Adventure on the Lighthouse

Beachcombing, British Columbia, Canada, Lighthouses, On The Job, Wildlife, , , , ,
Down by the seashore - photo Glenn Borgens

One of the things I miss most about the lighthouse is going down to the shore in early morning light, especially if it was a low tide, and seeing what there was to see and find. I never knew what would wash up, or go floating, flying or swimming by.

Sometimes I saw unusual birds, a whale, an otter, a different coloured starfish, or sometimes I just enjoyed the smell of the sea in the fresh air. As a lighthouse keeper we were not only on watch for problems with boats, but we were also caretakers of the sea around us.

If we happened to spot something unusual such as an oil spill, or unusual flotsam, then we  reported that to the nearest Coast Guard station. We also reported on dead birds, or other deceased wildlife such as whales. Continue reading Adventure on the Lighthouse →

Lighthouse History – 49 (1924-02-28 to 1925-03-10)

Construction, History, Information, Keepers, Lighthouses, Newspapers, , , , , , ,

The following extracts taken from early Victoria, British Columbia (BC) newspapers are credited to Leona Taylor for her excellent work in indexing the papers. Full information can be found here: ”Index of Historical Victoria Newspapers“, 2007-09.

 

12 – Entire crew of Norwegian freighter Tatjana, a total wreck on Village I, Bamfield lifeboat rescues 7, and 21 make shore on Breeches Buoy…; Feb 28, 11 – phs/Barkley Sound thrives on herring harvest…; Feb 29, 1; 11 – dead reckoning errors fatal, crew to arrive in Victoria on HMCS Armentieres…; Mar 1, 5 – rescued crew reach shore by slender line… Victoria boy, Harry Brown, 19, hero of disaster…; Mar 6, 4 – wreck of Tatjana…; Mar 9, 14; 15 – Capt Chris Cholberg demands additional lighthouse at Barkley Snd… ph/wireless station and light at Pachena Pnt…; Mar 14, 17 – Tatjana in danger of splitting up…; Apr 2, 15 – Pacific Salvage Co will attempt to salvage [Village I]…; Apr 23, 17 – ph/Tees sails for wreck with more tackle…; May 6, 5 – more patches for salvaged Tatjana, reclaimed vessel anchored at Sechart…; Continue reading Lighthouse History – 49 (1924-02-28 to 1925-03-10) →

Illness at Boat Bluff Lighthouse 1970s

Adult Memories, Boats, British Columbia, Canada, Children, Coast Guard, Communication, First Nations, Helicopters, Keepers, Lighthouses, Medical, Medical Emergency, Old Website, On The Job, Seaplanes, Storms, Transportation, Travel, Women, , , , , , ,

The following memory was passed on to me by Margit Losel. It happened during their time at Boat Bluff in the years 1977 – 1980. They were lucky! They were able to get off and on the lighthouse. Some stations were too isolated for this method to work. – retlkpr

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Boat Bluff c.1970s - photo Ray McKenzie

We were living on Boat Bluff Light and my oldest son Simon was an infant. He developed a very bad case of Croup. One stormy night he all but stopped breathing and we tried frantically to get some help.

We finally managed to get a radio patch through Bull Harbour Coast Guard Radio with a doctor in Bella Bella. The radio reception was so poor that the connection with the doctor broke up all the time, but we did understand that Simon needed medical attention as soon as possible.