Whaleback Lighthouse website

There's a new website for Whaleback Lighthouse in Kittery, Maine. The 1872 lighthouse is owned by the American Lighthouse Foundation and managed by Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse.

Check out the downloadable Historic Structure Report on Whaleback. This detailed document lays the foundation for the restoration of the lighthouse. The eventual goal is to restore the lighthouse and to provide public access via boat. The short term goal for this year is to stabilize the structure by sealing the lantern deck, preventing further water entry.

Beginning this Friday, there will be an exhibit at the Discover Portsmouth Center in downtown Portsmouth, NH, called "Rescuing Whaleback Lighthouse: A Wave-Swept Sentinel." The exhibit will continue through September 11, 2010.

www.whalebacklighthouse.org

Break-in at Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse

A sad story from my friends in Rockland, Maine. The Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse was broken into yesterday, and merchandise was stolen.

You can read the story here.

This crime is a very hurtful blow to a small, hard working band of volunteers, who take care of the lighthouse simply because they love it and want to share it with others.

More on Borden Flats

There's a story in today's Boston Globe about Borden Flats Lighthouse going up for sale again, as I mentioned here yesterday. The Globe article quotes me and used one of my photos.

Click here to read the story.

Borden Flats Light for sale again

In September 2008, attorney Michael Gabriel of Nevada was the high bidder, at $55,000, in an auction for Borden Flats Lighthouse in Fall River, Massachusetts, under the guidelines of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. Mr. Gabriel announced that he was going to establish a microbrewery at the offshore lighthouse, according to this article.

Now, according to General Services Administration spokeswoman Paula Santangelo, Mr. Gabriel has defaulted on the closing of the property, and the lighthouse will once again be put up for auction. I'll post details here when they're available.

Too bad no nonprofit organization or community in SE Mass. came forward to apply for ownership of this lighthouse before it was put up for auction.

Race Point Lighthouse open houses

Race Point Light Station in Provincetown, Mass., on Cape Cod, will be open to the public for tours on the first and third Saturdays of each month from June until October. The lighthouse will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The dates for the rest of this season: July 3 and 17, August 7 and 21, September 4 and 18, October 2.

The touring season will be suspended if the federally-protected piping plovers nest and block access to the lighthouse. Once the plover chicks fledge, tours will resume.

Click here for more information.

New Hampshire Lighthouse Week celebrated

EJ Hersom/Foster's Daily Democrat staff photographer

State Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, center, reads a proclamation from Gov. John Lynch at Portmouth Lighthouse on Sunday in New Castle. At left is Joel Sherburne, director of New Hampshire Lighthouse Week, and at right is State Rep. Janet Wall, D&R-Madbury.

At a gathering before a public open house at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse in New Castle, NH, yesterday, the start of the 8th annual New Hampshire Lighthouse Week was observed. State Senator Martha Fuller Clark read a proclamation from NH Governor Lynch and spoke of the "magnificent job" done by Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse has been repainted, with the project wrapping up last Friday.

You can read more about this event on the website of Foster's Daily Democrat: click here.

Basking shark seen on sunset cruise

During last night's sunset cruise for Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, Capt. Pete Reynolds slowed the M/V Granite State down when he spotted an approximately 15-foot (or so) basking shark off the mouth of the Piscataqua River. We watched for a few minutes as the shark swam slowly around the bow of the boat.

There have been a number of shark sightings in the area lately -- click here.