I just wanted to let you know that we have a live-streaming camera over Entrance Island (lighthouse) and the Georgia Strait. The camera returns to Entrance Island every tour. We also have a good video of the Coast Guard hovercraft rounding Entrance Island in our Community section under By The Sea.
Len hoped that I would find it interesting. I did, and will, and hope that you will too. I am viewing it in the night right now and you can see the flash from the lighthouse. Just imagine if you were a boat on the water – comforting flash is it not?
You never know, you might even see some killer whales going by in the daylight. BC Ferries to Nanaimo goes right by there.
Are there any other webcams on the British Columbia Coast? Please let us know.
Hi all. Our lovely blog master asked if I would make a guest post now and then, and, since the world as I appreciate it is where everyone listens to me, of course I said “yes!”
By way of introduction, I’ll post a letter that I sent to Hon. Mr. Keith Ashfield, Minister of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, on the topic of Marine Communications and Traffic Services cutbacks. This blog has already posted on this topic, but I thought I would add my voice.
I also sent a copy to my MP Jean Crowder. Ms Crowder responded promptly. She thanked me for my concern, and linked me to a letter her party has already sent on the matter. I have yet to hear back from Hon. Mr. Ashfield, or his office.
Dear Hon. Mr Keith Ashfield,
I am writing because I feel very concerned about proposed government cuts to Coast Guard’s Marine Communication and Traffic Services. In an effort to save costs, the Coast Guard has proposed slashing overtime and holiday time for its operators, leaving the BC’s MCTS stations vulnerable to understaffing. Continue reading Shiny New Guest Blogger, Bearing a Letter→
This is how you go about saving a lighthouse. Work for it! Work together for it. Councillor Rob Lantz of Charlottetown electoral ward 3 (Brighton), Charlottetown, PEI, Canada has given me permission to repost this article here from his Ward 3 Brighton blog.
The Brighton Beach Range Front Light is a designated heritage resource under the city’s Zoning & Development Bylaw. The lighthouse was built in 1890. It is an iconic symbol of our nautical heritage and provides a scenic shoreline vista that is photographed as much as, maybe more than, any other site in Charlottetown.
Random photos pulled from the photo sharing site Flickr.
In December 2011 I received a Guestbook entry from a Scottish ex-lighthouse keeper who said “I was made redundant from the service in 1992 and the last Keeper retired from the service in 1998 . . .” His name is Peter Hill and he has written a few poems about his life and also a book. The poem I like the best is reproduced below.
Peter was a keeper in Scotland and I was a keeper in Canada, and we have never met before, but he wrote in the poem below:
“I dress in darkness yet know my style, my clothes on dresser neatly piled.”
Now only a lighthouse keeper would write about this fact about dressing in the darkness to go on the morning shift. I did the same thing, as it allows our eyes to adjust to the darkness so we can see better before going outside to observe the weather for the upcoming weather report.
I hope you enjoy the poem as much as I did.
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The Lighthouse Keeper – A day in the Life
In softest echo and muffled beep, I am awakened from my shallow sleep Anticipating that very call! It’s a wonder how I sleep at all Accustomed and by ritual seed refreshed in body by slumbers need My motions slow and gentle take, while sleeping Mags, am careful not to awake I dress in darkness yet know my style, my clothes on dresser neatly piled. Shirt and jumper left till last, washed and ready for my watch.
For those of you that do not know, MCTS (Marine Communications and Traffic Services) is “the Branch of the Canadian Coast Guard that provides communications and vessel traffic services to the sea-going public”.
“MCTS monitors for distress radio signals; provides the communications link between vessels in distress and the JRCC/MRSC; sends safety information; handles public communication; and, regulates the flow of vessel traffic in some areas. MCTS is an important link in the SAR system”.
In late [27th] May of 1990, the container vessel Hansa Carrier encountered a severe storm in the north Pacific Ocean (approx. 48°N, 161°W) on its passage from Korea to the United States.
During the storm, a large wave washed twenty-one (21) forty foot (40 ft.) shipping containers overboard. See this video of damaged cargo ships and cargo being lost.
Five of these 20-metre containers held a shipment of approximately 80,000 Nike® shoes ranging from children’s shoes to large hiking boots. It has been estimated that four of the five containers opened into the stormy waters, releasing over 60,000 shoes into the north Pacific Ocean.
This one looks a bit rough
That winter of 1990, hundreds of these shoes washed ashore on the beaches of the Queen Charlotte Islands , western Vancouver Island , Washington and Oregon.
After hearing of the accident, oceanic scientist Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer seized the opportunity and established links with beachcombers and formed a network of people reporting the landfall of the contents of this spill.
When Oregon newspapers began running the story, the Associated Press picked it up, and the word spread. The publicity resulted in many additional reports of the finding of Nike shoes on Pacific beaches. Dubious about some of the reported finds, Ebbesmeyer decided to confine his study to only those shoes found in groups of 100 or more. Even with this restriction, he accounted for approximately 1300 shoes from the more than 60,000 released.
Despite a year in the ocean, much of the footwear was in fine shape and wearable after a washing. Unfortunately, the shoes were not tied to one another so that matching pairs did not always reach the beach together.
“I remember this very well as I could never find a matching pair!” – retlkpr
Each shoe, however, had an identifying serial number, and with information obtained from the manufacturer, Ebbesmeyer was able to determine that the shoes were indeed from the Hansa Carrier.
Drift bottle
The accident turned into a scientific gold mine. With information on the locations where the shoes were found, Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham were able to use the spill to test and calibrate their ocean current model. In the past when researchers have released a multitude of drift bottles1 to provide data for testing models, only about one or two percent of the drift bottles are typically recovered. Thus, the accidental release of approximately 61,000 shoes and the recovery of approximately 1600 shoes (2.6%) provided data as good as any pre-planned study.
Ebbesmeyer and Ingraham used the OSCURS (Ocean Surface Currents Simulation) computer simulation model to determine where and how the shoes may have drifted after the containers were swept overboard.
The model suggested that the main landfall would have been around the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the central coast of British Columbia approximately 249 days after the spill.
The first reports of shoe landfalls came from Vancouver Island and Washington approximately 220 days after the spill. A large number of shoes were recovered in the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern Oregon suggesting that when the shoes neared the North American coast some were diverted north and others south by coastal currents.
In the summer of 1992 (two years after the incident), shoes were reported arriving at the northern end of the Island of Hawaii. After reaching North America these shoes may have continued southward along the California coast and then been pushed off the coast by currents moving westward to Hawaii.
The rest of the story is on the website of Keith C. Heidorn (aka the Weather Doctor).
I came across this article that shows the life on an Australian lighthouse starting in 1971. A wee bit different than Canada I must say.
What got my attention were the requirements for a lighthouse keeper:
The job requirements of a lighthouse keeper were a car licence, an ability to climb to heights and an ability to get along with the other lighthouse keeper . . .
The article is worth reading to illustrate the differences between Canadian and Australian lights (wildlife, for one), plus, on the page is a reference and a link to an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) website which is exploring some of Australia’s iconic lighthouses.
This new site is called Shining a Light and is an excellent documentary on some of Australia’s lighthouses. The map above shows the lighthouses mentioned.
On Dec. 1, U.S. Coast Guard vessel stability rules raised the estimated weight of the average adult passenger to 185 pounds from 160 pounds. This was based in part on population information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a coast guard report on the changes.
To comply with the new rules, the state-run ferry system has reduced the number of passengers on a number of routes, Marta Coursey, director of communications for Washington State Ferries, said Thursday. Continue reading Did You Gain Weight Over Christmas?→
Merry Christmas to all my readers and their families. I hope that Christmas brings you all a very happy time, and that the New Year of 2012 is fantastic!
As a Christmas gift to me, please pass along the address of this webpage lighthousememories.ca to all your friends and family and work associates.
Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
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Remember the lighthouse keepers – they are on duty for you 24/7, just like police, firemen, air traffic controllers, and numerous other essential services.
Alan Giana is an American who paints relaxing, almost fantasy scenes. You may have seen his paintings on many products. To quote his website:
Alan’s paintings of colorful paths, charming country hideaways, tranquil coastal waterways, and captivating Christmas scenes, bring us to peaceful places. Places where we can escape for a moment and appreciate all of the beauty around us.
