Tag Archives: lighthouse

One Room Available on April 19th – Saugerties Lighthouse

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I was reading the short notice below in one of my online feeds for anything lighthouse related and what caught my attention was the phrase “Due to the tide, check-in time . . . “

The West Room is available on Thursday, April 19th. Due to the tide, check-in time would be 3-4PM on this date. If you can make this check-in time and want to reserve this date, please call the Lighthouse at 845-247-0656. 

I just had to know more, so clicking on the link took me to the Saugherties Lighthouse website.

To quote the website:

A landmark beacon on the Hudson River, the Saugerties Lighthouse is a venerable aid to navigation, constructed in 1869 at the mouth of the Esopus Creek. The Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy maintains the Lighthouse and adjacent lands for the enjoyment of the public.

 

Everybody should remember the Hudson River near New York City where the Hero of the Hudson, pilot Chesley Sullenberger,  landed his plane on January 15, 2009 when both engines quit after he hit a flock of geese. His actions saved all onboard.

Well this lighthouse is not exactly where the accident happened, but further up the Hudson River where the Esopus Creek (see the muddy creek in the Google Map at bottom) meets the Hudson River. An overview and specifications of the lighthouse can be found here.

It is now a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) with two rooms available. The notice at the beginning of this article was because they had an opening in the West Room; the other being the East Room. Checking their calendar does not show too many rooms free for the whole summer. A very popular place I think.

The comment, above, about the tides and your check-in times,  is because this lighthouse is near the mouth of the Hudson River and the ocean tides raise the level of the river. Taking a look at the map (bottom) it may seem impossible, but tides do have a great influence on many world rivers a great distance from the mouth of the river.

More information on the effect of the tides and access to the lighthouse is given under Reservations:

Access

  • The Lighthouse is accessible by a half-mile walking trail or by personal boat. The Lighthouse does not provide a ferry service.
  • Check-in time is scheduled for the hour of 2pm-3pm, and check-out time is by noon, unless the timing of the tides necessitates changes.
  • You will be notified when you make a reservation if the tides require a change in check-in and/or check-out times.

It looks like a delightful place to stay. Now if only we could do something like that for say Point Atkinson near Vancouver. What a delight!


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New Threat to Lighthouses Illuminated

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Reprinted with permission from Jack Knox, Times Colonist

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New threat to lighthouses illuminated

By Jack Knox, Times Colonist April 3, 2012

Imagine the fuss if the owner of a 152-year-old downtown heritage building just walked away from the structure, allowed it to crumble.

But the Race Rocks lighthouse isn’t downtown. It’s plunked in the waters off Metchosin, as out-of-sight, out-of-mind as many of the other West Coast lighthouses that Pat Carney worries about.

That’s why Saturna Island’s Carney is sounding the alarm (or perhaps the foghorn) about a rapidly approaching deadline that could determine whether lights stand or fall.

This has been an ongoing battle for the former senator and Mulroney-era cabinet minister who, even retired from politics, remains a fierce advocate for B.C.’s coastal communities. This fight goes back years and years, a reaction to Ottawa’s history of tearing down, burning down or neglecting-to-death light stations it no longer valued. Continue reading New Threat to Lighthouses Illuminated →

Lighthouse History – 45 (1917-04-27 to 1918-12-08)

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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.

 

Died Apr 26, 1917 at Victoria, British Columbia, Nicholas Bertucci, Resident of here for 55 years, aged 79. native of Lavagna, Italy, he left there in early 1860s and came here by way of Cape Horn. Prior to coming to Victoria, he worked on an American survey ship, and after arriving here worked for 5 years as asst lighthousekeeper at Race Rocks. Later he owned and operated the Ferry Boat House, situated at that time where the E&N Railroad bridge now stands, selling it 1889. He leaves a widow, 7 sons: B G; L; and J, now on active service; N; A, Al; and F all of Victoria. Also 5 daughters: Mrs J Sault, Mrs H Galinger; Miss J, all of Victoria, and Mrs F Arnott, Continue reading Lighthouse History – 45 (1917-04-27 to 1918-12-08) →

Severance Pay for Retiring Lightkeepers is Finished!

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You all know what severance pay is do you not?

Severance pay is pay (and sometimes benefits) an employee receives when he or she leaves employment. Severance pay is most typically offered for employees who are laid off or retire.

Just recently the the Canadian Government, Treasury Board Branch, has forcibly modified the collective agreements of these three groups PA, SV and EB  so that Severance Pay is no longer paid upon retirement. It is still available if you are laid off.

PA Program and Administrative Services SV Operational Services EB Education and Library Science
Administrative Services (AS)  Firefighters (FR)  Education (ED)
Information Services (IS)  General Labour and Trades (GS)  Library Science (LS)
Programme Administration (PM)  Heating, Power and Stationary Plant Operations (HP)  Library Science (LS)
Welfare Programmes (WP)  Hospital Services (HS)  
Communications (CM)  Lightkeepers (LI)   
Data Processing (DA)  Ships’ Crews (SC)   
Clerical and Regulatory (CR)  Printing Operations (Advisory) (PR(S)) 
Office Equipment (OE)  Secretarial, Stenographic and Typing (ST)

Continue reading Severance Pay for Retiring Lightkeepers is Finished! →

The Storm of October 1984

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The article I posted earlier about the storm at Cape Scott brought to mind a story I had written for the old website. This story (below) brought to the attention of the government one of the important attributes of BC lighthouse keepers – they are on-site!

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Helicopter pad at McInnes

On Thursday October 12, 1984 Roger Mogg (my assistant) and I were up at the helicopter pad at McInnes Island  lighthouse enjoying the clear Fall weather after lunch. We had been shooting clay pigeons with our shotguns and a newly acquired launcher. The wind was light, with very few clouds in the sky, so it made a perfect day for target practice in between weather reports. 

Just then Karen called up that Stan at Egg Island  had just notified the Coast Guard radio station in Bull Harbour  that he had unexpected high winds and seas. Roger and I looked at each other and joked that Stan must have been into his home-made wine again! Looking down towards Calvert Island  (between us and Egg Island) from our location on the helo (helicopter) pad we could see only clear sky with a trace of cirrus cloud. Calvert was over forty miles (64 kms) away and we could just see the top of it on the horizon. Egg Island was further south still.  Continue reading The Storm of October 1984 →

Life on Pine Island c. 1950s

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Here is another story from Ms. Juanita (Swanson) DuLong. She was a young girl on most of these stations, but living there, and hearing stories from her parents, she has created   lighthouse memories from the 1950s time. Her older stories are found here and here.

Her husband Roy scanned some nice photos of Pine Island station, but unfortunately they are way too small to show here. When he has time to make larger ones, I will add them.

Roy sent some more scans, but they are limited, but I have posted them because they show details not available before – e.g. the A-frame highline setup.

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Pine Island houses - photo Juanita Swanson

There may be somewhere in the world a place foggier than Pine Island lighthouse, but it’s hard to believe. The horn was often on for days on end, and became only another background noise. A lighthouse tender could arrive in clear weather, and radio that Pine was under a doughnut of fog. Continue reading Life on Pine Island c. 1950s →

Recent Storm on Cape Scott 2012

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Cape Scott on a good day - photo Harvey Humchitt, Jr.

Every winter the West coast of Canada is pounded by storms with Hurricane Force winds (scale 12 on the Beaufort Scale).

Below you can read what the lightkeeper at Cape Scott lighthouse posted for this April 02, 2012 storm. The keeper, Harvey Humchitt, Jr. posted this information on his Facebook page.

02:05 PST MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012 HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING FOR CAPE SCOTT.
Wind southwest 10 to 20 knots (18 to 37km/hr) increasing to southeast 20 to 30 knots (37 to 55km/hr) this afternoon and to 30 to gales 40 knots (55 to 74km/hr) early this evening. Wind increasing to southeast storm force 50 to 60 knots (92 to 111km/hr) near midnight except HURRICANE FORCE 65 knots (120km/hr) near the headlands Monday morning. Wind diminishing to southwest 25 to gales 35 (46 to 64km/hr) near noon Monday.

04:43 PST MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012 Hurricane is here full force hittin us hard at 80 knots 150km/hr, and a ton of rain

07:34 PST MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012 We were hit by almost 200km/hr winds that took out two storm doors, the crown on a spare house, the siding on a spare house and flooded our engine room. Winds are still gusting to 180km/hr, and horizontal rain.

11:38 PST Final Hurricane status report, winds hit 230 km/hr, lots of heavy rain that dumped 40mm of rain and the seas hit near 30ft. Damage done, two screen doors lost, siding on one house gone, crown on roof…gone, flashing for roofing…..gone, 3 trees fell, bassement in spare house flooded, engine room flooded and a stick punctured a hole in our sat dish for the tv but still works. In all….a typical British Columbia North Coast Hurricane. This is probably the last Hurricane force wind we will see now until the fall.

I do not think I have ever seen a storm like this when I was on the lighthouses – at least one  quite as strong in intensity. Climate change? 

Below are some photos Harvey made after the storm had gone through. Note the stormy seas and ragged clouds. Remember, these were made after the storm passed over. During the storm you cannot even get outside the house sometimes.  (All photos credited to Harvey Humchitt, Jr.

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In Memorium – Gerald Watson (1940 – 2012)

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Gerald David Watson (December 18, 1940 – April 03, 2012) Jerry started his career as an assistant lighthouse keeper on Sandheads. When Jerry was principal on Green Island, I replaced him there in 1975. He worked many stations on the coast, and finally settled on Point Atkinson, near Vancouver, BC with Don Graham. Jerry became principal keeper and retired from the station when it closed on May 31, 1996. 
 

To include your memories in Jerry’s memorial please click this link.

Winter Visitors Come Flying In

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Snowy Owl - photo Wikipedia

In the winter time when it became very cold on the British Columbia coast we almost always had fly-in visitors from the far north land on Mcinnes Island. These were the large Snowy Owls from the Arctic.

When the cold weather hit with lots of snow then the owls had no food available in the northern parts of Canada and Yukon and they then migrated south for the winter. We did not see them every year, but that could have been because we lived on an island. I know they have been recorded as far south as Vancouver, BC, so it is not an unusual event.

On the island we had the usual collection of Bald Eagles that used to sit in the trees. The eagles did not bother our four Siamese cats at all, but the Snowy Owls were a different thing. Anything that moved and was brown in colour was fair game! We did have mink and otters too, but when a cat is available, why go for something harder. Continue reading Winter Visitors Come Flying In →

Submarine Races at McInnes

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Our viewpoint - photo Paul Kurbis

On our lighthouse at McInnes Island we got to see many submarine races. It was usually a random event, and if the weather was good we would sit up at the front of the lighthouse beside the foghorns with our binoculars and radio and notepad waiting for the races to begin.

 

Weather like this was not good - photo Colin Toner

We were notified by radio beforehand and noted the times on our notepad. Good weather was always a necessity, as if it was too rough you would see nothing. The children loved the event as it could occur at any time of the day and so sometimes they could stay up late at night to watch and cheer, or even miss school.

 

 

If the weather was bad we went back and waited impatiently for the next announcement on the radio. They were mostly US submarines as Canada has not too many serviceable ones. Plus, the American ones were faster and provided more fun.

 

If you ever get a chance when near the ocean, try and take in this rare event. See the video below for a touch of the excitement!

 

Continue reading Submarine Races at McInnes →