Category Archives: Photos

Lighthouse Under the Stars

Sometime Facebook can be useful. I saw the photo below on Facebook under the title Beautiful Planet Earth’s photo, and did a Google Image Search for the photo for more information.

This is a Turkish lighthouse on the Mediterranean under a sky full of stars. This would have a great way to illustrate my story A Lighthouse at Night.

Enjoy the photo and the description underneath taken from the APOD astronomy website. This is a beautiful photo.

Turkish lighthouse at night

 Jupiter Over the Mediterranean 

Credit & CopyrightTunç Tezel (TWAN)

Explanation: This vacation included a sight to remember. Pictured above, a picturesque starscape capped a serene seascape as seen from Turkey this past August. In the above digitally stitched panorama, the Gelidonya Lighthouse shines in the foreground before a calm Mediterranean Sea. On the left, Jupiter is the brightest point in the image and since on the same side of the Sun as the Earth, was near its yearly brightest. Glowing just shy of magnitude -3, Jupiter was brighter than any star in the sky, and brighter even than Mars was during its famously bright opposition of 2003 August. On the right, the band of theMilky Way Galaxy fades into distant atmospheric haze above the horizonJupiter is nearing the closest part of its elliptical orbit to the Sun and so will appear even brighter during its next opposition in 2010 September.

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Lighthouse at nightAnd last but hopefully not the least please admire the lighthouse photos under the stars from Michael Blanchette.

There are many more to view here in his gallery Night Sky.

Enjoy!

Picture BC – a New Website

My website here is about British Columbia (BC) lighthouses and the environment surrounding them.

Just recently a good friend sent me an email to a website called Picture BC, a delightful photo and video tour of the province of British Columbia, Canada – as beautiful now as when it was created in 2008.

Picture BC - Fisgard Lighthouse
Picture BC photo

According to the site:

Picture BC is an initiative of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), an organization representing the communities participating in this website. The idea and support for Picture BC came from the Province of British Columbia.

[media url=”https://ccanadaht3.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PBC_intro_video_FINAL-1.flv” width=”400″ height=”350″]

The site contains a five (5) minute video tour of the whole of BC (above) which is very well done. If you have never been to BC, you will want to come and visit after seeing this video. If you plan on coming, this is where the lighthouses are. The video shows two or three lighthouses near the end of the clip but there are many more on the BC coast.

There are interactive maps of the regions of BC with links to most cities in the province.

There are also some beautiful photos of major tourist destinations in BC, as well as scenes which cannot be seen unless you take a helicopter or plane ride.

The website is done with Adobe Flash player so it is a bit tricky to manouever around, but have patience – it is worth it!

Enjoy!

 

 

Amazing Miniature Sculptures by Takanori Aiba

I am going to keep this short, but I had to find time to post this. Only a week until I move so not much time for anything right now. Please see the large photo below of a lighthouse sculpture by Japanese artist Takanori Aiba. It is fantastic! The comments (indented below) are from the Twisted Sifter website where I first saw this sculpture.

As a follow-up from yesterday’s Picture of the Day, the Sifter was compelled to do a full feature on Takanori Aiba’s incredible miniature sculptures. The level of detail and intricacy in his work is truly mind-blowing. Each sculpture is like a miniature world, bursting with life and stories.

There are thirty (30) more photos of many more miniature sculptures on Takanori Aiba’s Flickr page which will impress you, and more photos are on the Twisted Sifter website as well. Beautiful! Continue reading Amazing Miniature Sculptures by Takanori Aiba

Stories Too Short to Post

Stories and miscellaneous lighthouse news that does not require a story, but may interest the readers.  These I will store here for reference.

 

November 19, 2012New Point Loma Lighthouse

A replacement for the Historic Point Loma Lighthouse, this working lighthouse is used by the U.S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse has been fully automated since 1973, which unfortunately does not mean it is run by robots. Look for the keeper’s quarters nearby—they were used as a setting in Top Gun. See also: Top Gun Beach House.

Vlaming Head lighthouse is the only lighthouse in the world that still runs on kerosene fuel. Picture: Stephen Scourfield/The West Australian

October 15, 2012 – Exmouth’s historic guardian

Exmouth is home to the Vlaming Head Lighthouse, the only lighthouse in the world that still runs on kerosene fuel.

This December, the historical artefact marks 100 years of lighting up the beautiful North West town and with this, comes a week-long celebration.

Originally named the North West Cape Lighthouse on Vlaming Head, the lighthouse’s story began five years before it was opened.

 

August 03, 2012 – (Chennai, India) Lighthouses to become tourist destinations

Vasan said that in spite of technological advances in aids to navigation, the guard on functioning of lighthouses have not been lowered and adding more lighthouses in order to provide more support to our fishermen.

Vasan also informed that the proposal for establishing a lighthouse at Vembar in Tuticorin district has been approved for which initial works were being carried out.

The Minister further informed that though lighthouses are located at remote locations, the scenic looks in the environs of the lighthouses are breathtaking. He reminded that last year, he had announced a scheme for promotion of tourism at the lighthouses. 

August 03, 2012 – Global Networking at the 2012 International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend

Technology in our time races forward at lightning and sometimes frightening speed. But have you ever wondered what would happen if our communications technology failed on a local or global scale?

It may seem like a question for science fiction fans but in a real disaster, the solution to communication already exists and is wonderfully preserved by small groups of dedicated Ham Radio Clubs and Lighthouse Stations.

August 03, 2012 – Loop Head Lighthouse To Hit The Air Waves

 Loop Head Lighthouse in County Clare will be amongst hundreds of lighthouses and lightships worldwide to participate in a unique event aimed at promoting public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration.

The Limerick Radio Club, comprising members from Limerick, Clare, Kerry and Tipperary, will broadcast non-stop for 48 hours from the West Clare Lighthouse on August 18-19th as part of the 15th International Lighthouse /Lightship Weekend (ILLW). During the broadcast, visitors to the lighthouse will be able to listen into communications with some of the other participating ham radio operators broadcasting from 400 other lighthouses and lightships in 50 countries. 

The annual event, which is conducted under the sponsorship of the Ayr Amateur Radio Group (AARG) in Scotland, is always held on the third full weekend in August starting at 0001 UTC on Saturday and finishing at 2359 UTC on Sunday. It also coincides on the Sunday with International Lighthouse Day, an event organised by the Association of Lighthouse Keepers whereby many world lighthouses are open to the public for the day.

 June 16, 2012 – Coast Guard: Fog signal cannon is oldest artefact Not many of these left around. I have never seen one. More on the lighthouse and cannon here.

 

 

June 16, 2012 – Paddling to the Sabine Pass Lighthouse -Now this is an interesting structure for a lighthouse. Too bad the stairs are gone. It would be interesting to see from up top.

 

 

June 13, 2012 – Acadia National Park Quarter Products On Sale

June 12, 2012 – ‘Britain’s most isolated street’ on the market for £1m If you’re plagued by noisy neighbours or simply enjoy your own company, this could be the location for you.

A terrace of clifftop Pembrokeshire cottages dubbed ‘Britain’s most isolated street’ is on the market for just under a million pounds.

The five lighthouse-keepers cottages at St Ann’s Head have been lying empty for a decade but are now being sold by Trinity House, who run all lighthouses in England and Wales. More information here (link).

Boon island lighthouse

 June 12, 2012 – Government seeks new owner for Maine lighthouse 

Bidding for the lighthouse will be opened to the public if no suitable agency or group expresses interest.

 

 

June 03, 2012 – The 1886 Southport lighthouse overlooks the marina in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA.

 

June 03, 2012 – Archaeological tours available at St. Augustine lighthouse, Florida, USA

Look what the people have done with this lighthouse! Fantastic!

The Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program announces Archaeo Tours, an exclusive 90-minute tour into parts of the Historic Light Station not available with general admission, including the maritime archaeology laboratory facilities.

 

May 31, 2012 A glimpse of the sunken lighthouse

 

 

 

 

The Patek Philippe lighthouse watch sold for more than double its estimate!

  

 

May 29, 2012 – What’s going on here? Should “Big Red” lighthouse be renamed” Big Pink?”

 

 

 

May 27, 2012 – Nantucket Lightship /LV-112 will open for tours

 

 

May 25, 2012 – Point No Point Lighthouse (photo)

 

 

May 20, 2012 – Past the remote at a Newfoundland lighthouse inn (Quirpon island, NFLD, Canada)

 

 

April 04, 2012 – Polar bear has close encounter with lighthouse workers 

 

April 29, 2012 –  Grace Darling letter up for sale

April 29, 2012 – Book Review – Ghost Islands of Nova Scotia

April 29, 2012 – Oak Island, NS – On the Trail of Pirate Booty

April 27, 2012 – Rubjerg Knude: The Lighthouse Buried in Sand

 

March 15, 2009 – The buoy/lighthouse tender Granuaile heading out to sea after leaving Rosslare, Ireland

Mise Tales Sixteen

 

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.

Here is a story on one of the cards: The “Big Diamond” – New Hillsboro Light Greeting Card in Antique Map Series (photo on left above) Continue reading Mise Tales Sixteen

Chris Mills – Canadian Lighthouse Photographs

 

Canadian Lighthouse Photographs

New website is coming.
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/ketm/
is no longer online


Chris Mills
1121 Ketch Harbour Rd.
Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia  B3V 1K7

 

 

British Columbia | Nova Scotia | Prince Edward Island | New Brunswick | Newfoundland

Chris Mills served as a lighthouse keeper for the Canadian Coast Guard on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

He is currently co-chair of a committee which is recruiting Members of Parliament in support of a private members bill to protect lighthouses.  To see how you can help, visit this site:  Canada Needs a Lighthouse Protection Act.

Photographs and enlargements are for sale. Contact Chris Mills for price information.
All photographs and slides in the collection are identified, dated and signed.

Chris Mills is also author of the book on Nova Scotia lighthouses Lighthouse Legacies available from Amazon.ca


Sambro Island restoration project


BRITISH COLUMBIA

Some of these photos may be viewed at the Lighthouses of British Columbia site.

Green Island (1994, 1995) 250 colour photos, 70 colour slides in collection. All aspects of the station and island documented — aerial views, sea views, night views, details of light and lighthouse, lightkeepers, Coast Guard helicopters, surrounding islands and seascapes.

 

Langara Island (1994, 1996) 250 colour and 25 black and white photos, 180 colour slides in collection. All aspects of station documented — aerial views, night views, detailed views of 1913 First Order Fresnel Lens (manufactured by Chance Brothers), light tower and lantern, lightkeepers, dwellings, interior of engine room, old cabin on island, face carved in tree, shoreline views, lightkeeper’s goats, stormy seas.

 

Triple Island (1994) 24 colour photos in collection. Aerial views, third order Fresnel lens, lightkeeper, detailed views of lighthouse structure, interior of workshop and engine room.

 

Bonilla Island (1994) 250 colour photos in collection. Many aspects of station — aerial views, sea views, night views, shoreline views (including Japanese glass fishing floats), lightkeepers, dwellings, engine room interior, light tower. (NOTE: this collection will be expanded during Sept/Oct 1996)

 

Boat Bluff (1994-1996) 160 colour photos in collection. All aspects of station — aerial views, sea views, night views, details of light tower, fog horns , engine room, main light (including views of keeper inspecting light at night, inspection of light and bulbs during day), views of station and mountains from 1000 foot hill across the channel from lightstation, snow views, old hand fog horn, three modern plastic lenses, sunrise views, surrounding bays and inlets, Santa and Mrs. Claus visit 1994. (NOTE: Available as of Dec. 1996 — selection of a further 200 colour and b&w prints taken during August 1996, including Coast Guard ship and work crews supplying station.)

 

Ivory Island (1994-1996) 600+ colour and 36 black and white photos, 100 colour slides in collection. All aspects of the lightstation — 30 aerial views, sea views, night views, lighthouse, keepers, dwellings inside and out, engine room, main light, surrounding area, beaches, salmon fishing, snow, totem poles, artist and photographer at work at the lightstation, Coast Guard helicopters, sunsets, shoreline and forest, various tidal life (sea stars, crabs, etc.), local minor beacon lights, 25th annual Santa and Mrs. Claus visit December 1995.

 

McInnes Island (1994, 1995) 48 colour photos, 22 colour slides in collection. Aerial views, lighthouse structure, radio room, keeper, detail of lantern and main light, large thunder cloud formations.

 

Dryad Point (1995) 32 colour photos in collection. Aerial views, light tower, main light, keeper and daughter, keeper and main light, dwelling. (NOTE: This collection will be expanded during 1997)

 

Addenbroke Island (1994) 14 colour photos in collection. Aerial views.

 

Egg Island (1994) 10 colour photos in collection. Aerial views.

 

Pine Island (1994) 3 colour photos in collection. Aerial views.

 

Scarlett Point (1994) 2 colour photos. Aerial views.

 

Point Atkinson (1994) 14 black and white photos in collection. Light tower, keeper and main light, station dwellings and exterior of radio/engine room.

 

Brockton Point (1994) 5 black and white photos in collection. Light tower.

 

Porlier Pass (1994) 32 colour photos in collection. Two light towers (Porlier is a range light station), main lights, boat and boathouse, lightkeeper, dwelling, interior engine room and fog horn building, Coast Guard hovercraft. (NOTE: The old front range light was demolished Feb. 1996 and replaced by a fibreglass tower and the lighthouse was automated shortly after.)

 

Fisgard (1994) 6 colour, 2 black and white photos in collection. Light tower and detail of gothic style window in old keepers dwelling.

 

Sheringham Point (1994, 1995) 20 colour photos in collection. Light tower, abandoned dwelling, sunset, old Fresnel lens at local museum.

 

Amphitrite Point (1995) 9 colour slides in collection (prints available). Lighthouse structure, old keepers dwelling.

 

Lennard Island (1995) 52 colour photos, 25 colour slides in collection. Traveling to island by boat, keeper in boat, keeper in lighthouse, keeper and wife on station grounds, dwellings, radio room, engine room, details of two fog horn systems, including traditional diaphone horn taken out of service Oct. 1995, light tower, station grounds.

 

Cape Scott (1996) 23 colour photos in collection. Aerial views.

NOVA SCOTIA

Some of these photos may be viewed at the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society site.

Baccaro Point
Bear River
Beaver Island
Black Rock Point
 (new lighthouse)

Black Rock Point (old lighthouse)
Boar’s Head
Brier Island
Cape Forchu
Cape George
Cape Sable
Chebucto Head
Fort Point
 (LaHave River)

Fort Point (Liverpool)
Fourchu Head
Gabarus
George’s Island
Grand Passage
Hampton
 (Chute Cove)

Horton Bluff
Jerome Pont
Louisbourg
Low Point
Maugher’s Beach
Medway Head
Peggy’s Cove
Point Aconi
Port Greville
 (old light, now at Canadian Coast Guard College, Point Edward, N.S.)

Port Medway
Prim Point
Rouse Point
Sable Island
 (east light)

Sable Island (west light)
Sambro Island
Scatarie Island
Schafner Point
Seal Island
Sydney Range
 (front light)

Sydney Range (rear light)
Western Head
Battery Point
Betty’s Island
Canso Locks
Cross Island
 (comprehensive collection including automation day)

Eddy Point
Mosher’s Island
Seal Island
 (comprehensive collection)

Seal Island Lighthouse Museum

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Blockhouse Point
Borden Range
 (front light)

Borden Range (rear light)
Cape Bear
Cape Tryon
Brighton Beach Range
 (front light)

Brighton Beach Range (rear light)
East Point
Murray Harbour Range
 (front light)

New London Range (rear light)
North Rustico
Panmure Island
Point Prim
Souris East
Summerside Range
 (front light)

Summerside Range (rear light)
Woods Islands
Woods Islands Range
 (front light)

Woods Islands Range (rear light)

NEW BRUNSWICK

Cape Spencer
Cape Tormentine
Fish Fluke Point
 (Grand Harbour)

Gannet Rock (comprehensive collection: 700+ prints and slides)
Great Duck Island
East Quoddy
 (Head Harbour)

Letite
Long Eddy
Long Point
Machias Seal Island
 (comprehensive collection)

Mulholland Point
Southwest Head
Swallowtail

NEWFOUNDLAND

Cape Anguille
Cape Ray
Cape Saint Francis
 (dwelling only)

Cape Saint Mary’s
Cape Spear
Lobster Cove Head
Rose Blanche
 (old stone lighthouse)

Tides

photo Paul Kurbis

One of the reasons for the establishment of a lighthouse is to mark the dangers from the effect of extreme tides (low and high) on surrounding lands, islands, waterways, and beaches. 

Look at the photo on the left of my old lighthouse at McInnes Island at low tide (click for a larger version). We can tell it is low tide because the kelp is exposed on the rocks, and the high tide mark on the rocks is marked by a dirty black line. Here on the Pacific Coast of Canada, the tides come in and go out twice a day, and the range is between seventeen (17) and twenty-one (21) feet (6 to 7 meters)!

Note the small rock at dead center, bottom of the photo. At high tide that would be covered and become a menace to navigation. In this case this is not a marked shipping channel so no marker is necessary. The reason for the lighthouse (visible on the left of the large island) is that it was listed as a landfall light. A marker for ships coming in from the Pacific Ocean to the British Columbia coastline, and also a marker for the entrance to Milbanke Sound. It really doesn’t mark the island as dangerous; just an indicator of a mariner’s location on the ocean.

Example of a floating dock

To return to a docked boat on the BC coast after a few hours of sightseeing or shopping is sometimes a surprise for many tourists. The docks for the boats are built to float up and down on fixed pilings to accommodate the 21 foot tides (see photo left). To get onto the dock you walk up or down a ramp. A roller on the lower end rolls along the dock as the tide rises or falls. The top part of the ramp is hinged.

The tides change approximately every six hours, so if you left your boat and walked up the steep ramp to the topside dock at 10 AM (low tide) and came back at 2 PM (4 hours difference), the ramp would be almost horizontal (high tide). If you had lots of heavy groceries to move it was always a good idea to plan at what time of day you wanted to move them! Continue reading Tides

Mise Tales Thirteen

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

 

More Lighthouse Wallpaper (Photos)

There are some beautiful scenes here to light up your computer Desktop. All are free to download in small to x-large sizes.

 

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Lighthouse Watch add-on for Firefox browser. A unique hand-drawn lighthouse scene for the Firefox browser, plus a desktop wallpaper as well. You must log-in to your Firefox Add-ons account to install and store it on your computer.

 

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Mise Tales Twelve

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

Do You Want to Buy a Foghorn?

Aberdeen’s Torry Coo on the market for £5,000
Buyers lining up for foghorn

Published: 28/09/2012 Evening Express

A famous foghorn in Aberdeen has sparked a bidding war between prospective buyers desperate to own a piece of Scottish history.

And property agents revealed several offers made for the much-loved Torry Coo in Aberdeen were “well in excess” of the asking price.

The Northern Lighthouse Board put the 110-year-old horn and store building on the market in July with a price tag of £5,000, but several mystery bidders want to get their hands on the Category A listed structure. Continue reading Mise Tales Twelve

Animals at Lighthouses

 

Lightkeeper's Menagerie
Lightkeeper’s Menagerie

In November 2011 I made a post about a book by Elinor De Wire called The Lightkeeper’s Menagerie. This was a book about stories of animals at lighthouses. Later, in 2012 I received a nice email from Elinor and an offer to send me a copy of the book. The book arrived a while ago and I have yet to delve into it’s 328 pages (I will soon Elinor!), but I came across a couple of photos that brought to mind my stories of animals on lighthouses.

I did write about Cougars on the Doorstep but this post is referring to mostly my pets who lived on the lighthouses where I served.

cats on a canoe
cats on a canoe

The picture on the left shows two cats on the bow of a canoe and I immediately thought of our first Siamese cat called

Tipsy at Pulteney
Tipsy at Pulteney

Tipsy, because she used to drink beer!. Tipsy travelled to our first lighthouse at Pulteney Point, but before we moved to the lighthouse we used to take our canoe out on the ocean.

Tipsy always wanted to come – in the car, in the canoe, on walks, into bed – we could never leave her behind. So, off into the ocean she went with us. Upon our return to shore she would jump from the bow, about 10 feet from the shore, and swim to the beach! She was not afraid of water as most cats are. Tipsy loved the lighthouse. Lots more to do than being stuck in an apartment!

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Tricia grins
Tricia grins

At Pulteney Point we decided we needed a dog as well. Well, one of my favourites was the Dalmation so our next trip out we purchased a Dalmation pup. Tricia was a Continue reading Animals at Lighthouses