Poll results

I ran a poll over the past week or so asking, "In the next year, which of the following are you most likely to do?" Here are the results: Visit one or more lighthouses within a couple of hours of home - 72%

Visit one or more lighthouses more than a couple of hours away - 81% Take a lighthouse cruise - 72% Take a lighthouse bus or van tour - 18% Read a book about lighthouses - 72% Read about lighthouses online - 81% Volunteer for a lighthouse organization - 27% These results aren't very surprising, but I am disappointed that only 27% said they'd volunteer. Granted, only 11 people responded, and that's not a very representative sampling. Still, I'd be more optimistic about the future of lighthouses if more people realized that preservation takes time and effort. I should have also included "Donate money to a lighthouse organization" as one of the options. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who professes to love lighthouses needs to do something for their preservation, whether it's a donation of time or money. It doesn't have to be a huge amount of money -- every dollar counts.

Photo of the Day: West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Lubec, Maine

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Lubec, Maine, originally uploaded by nelights.

I've visited West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, at the easternmost point of the U.S. mainland, many times over the years. I've been there at sunrise and sunset, in sun, fog, rain, and snow. The day I took this photo in June 2004, the weather was gorgeous and the sky was photogenic. I haven't been to West Quoddy in two or three years and I miss it.

Lighthouse Photo of the Day: Marshall Point, Maine

marshallpoint-187_8763adj2, originally uploaded by nelights.

I took this photo of one of Maine's prettiest lighthouses at sunset on a very cold day a couple of years ago.

Sakonnet Lighthouse to be Restored in 2010-11

Wonderful news yesterday on the Eastbayri.com site -- Rhode Island's 1884 Sakonnet Lighthouse, in desperate need of help, will be restored in 2010-11. The bidding process for contractors will take place this winter, and it's hoped that the work will begin in the spring. John M. Wathne, a structural engineer and principal with Structures North Consulting Engineers of Salem, Mass., will manage the project. You can click here to read the story.

This is one of New Engand's most fascinating wave-swept lighthouses. Here's part of Keeper William Durfee's account of the great hurricane of 1938:

By three o'clock the wind blew a gale and the sea began to go higher and higher. Pounding with such a force that it smashed up all the boats and by four o'clock we had lost part of our rain shed, one oil tank, a boat landing, also smashing in the engine room and flooding the engines and putting the fog signal out of commission.

At five o'clock all outside doors had been carried away and all windows from the first floor to the third floor were stove in, so that we were practically flooded out of our home.

At five-thirty I went into the tower to light up. While there, we took what was called a tidal wave. There were seas that went by that completely buried the tower. The first sea that came along was the one that caused the most damage. That one broke seven plates out of our upper deck, which is fifty-six feet from the average high water. That sea, when it hit the tower, sounded like a cannon. And it hit with such a force as to knock me off my feet. . . . But when I finished lighting up and started to go downstairs I was some surprised to find that I had to crawl through some broken deck plates that had fallen over the stairs. . . .

At sunrise Mr. Bouley put the light out and called me to see the beach. And we were surprised when we looked to the point and saw that everything had been washed away.

For more history, see this page.

Plum Beach Lighthouse Tour and License Plate Artwork Presentation

The Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse, deed holders for the historic lighthouse located beneath the Jamestown Bridge in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, are pleased to announce the passage of legislation allowing the group to sell Plum Beach Lighthouse license plates to interested Rhode Island registered passenger vehicle owners. To celebrate, the group is offering media and other interested parties the rare opportunity to tour the lighthouse on Thursday, November 12.

On October 29, during the special fall legislative session, the state Senate approved their version of the House bill that had been passed during the regular session. After a short grace period, the bill becomes law and the Friends welcome local media and other guests on a tour of the lighthouse to celebrate the passage of the PBL license plate bill. On the day of the tour, the bill, because it was passed by both legislative branches, automatically becomes law without the Governor’s signature, making the lighthouse trip a special day for the Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse.

The lighthouse was opened in 1899 to protect vessels from the Plum Beach shoal. Active for only 42 years, the lighthouse was abandoned in 1941 by the Coast Guard after the opening of the original Jamestown Bridge in 1939. The structure deteriorated for 62 years until the Friends, with the help of a RI Department of Transportation grant, renovated it in 2003. Now, a short six years later, the lighthouse is once again in need of a painting. The Friends have tried to raise funds for the past six years and have now turned to the General Assembly, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and the general driving public for help.

The proposed specialty plate will cost drivers a one-time fee of $41.50. $20 from each plate fee collected will go directly to the painting project to help cover the $50,000 estimated painting cost. The state General Fund will benefit from the other $21.50 of each plate sold after the plate costs are deducted. The Friends will need to sell 900 plates before the DMV will commit to making any, but the group is confident they will quickly reach this number. They have already compiled a list of over 450 “pre-orders” from interested drivers, and this was done before the group had the right to sell the plate. Now that the General Assembly has approved the group’s request to create the plate, the Friends can now truly offer this unique RI plate design.

The Plum Beach Lighthouse plate is one of several new specialty plates approved by the General Assembly in the last year, but the group would like to point out that the lighthouse plate is one that has only local roots, and all of the funds collected would stay in the state to repair this local historic icon. Any funds earmarked for the lighthouse will go directly to the repainting project.

The group assembling at the town dock at 8 a.m. on November 12 will board the 50-foot certified passenger vessel Sea Princess of Wickford. Piloted by Coast Guard licensed Captain Doug Somers, the vessel will motor out of Wickford Harbor, turn south outside the harbor breakwater, and travel approximately three miles to the lighthouse beneath the Jamestown-Verrazzanno Bridge. The Sea Princess will circle the lighthouse several times for a photo-op before rafting to the “Lightship,” a 26-foot aluminum-hulled landing craft with a retractable bow piloted by Coast Guard licensed Capt. Keith Lescarbeau, the contractor of the 2003 lighthouse renovation. The group will transfer from the Sea Princess to the Lightship to make their way across the rocks to the lighthouse.

The Friends want to stress the danger and difficulty of this adventure. Very few have ever visited the property as it sits in some of the most treacherous waters of Narragansett Bay. Of the 90 official members of the Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse, few have ever visited; at the most, only six current members have ever set foot there. It is surrounded by seaweed and moss covered rocks that become slick as ice when wet, which is most of the time. Once you have cleared these rocks, one must be capable of climbing fifteen feet up a ladder and through an opening no larger than two feet wide. Heavyset overweight people will have a difficult time making their way through this opening.

Proper outdoor waterproof clothing and proper shoes are required for the visit to the lighthouse. If one should slip on the rocks you must expect to get wet or dirty from the growth. Once in the lighthouse the interior walls are rust covered and the floors are dusty. Although the guano was abated during the 2003 renovation, the pungent smell from the years of being inhabited by generations of pigeons and cormorants is ever present. However, the views from the lower deck and the upper lantern room are spectacular and well worth the trip.

The decision to access the lighthouse property will be made jointly by Captains Somers and Lescarbeau. Sea conditions vary greatly from inside Wickford Harbor to the Plum Beach shoal, and the lighthouse is situated in water that has some of the strongest current on the bay. There is no guarantee that the group will make a landing at the lighthouse, but the best effort will be made to get everyone onto the property. Failing to make the landing won’t deem the trip a failure because there will be opportunity to get plenty of great, close visuals from the Sea Princess of the lighthouse.

Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to visit this RI historic icon. Space is limited to 40 on the Sea Princess, so please reserve your reporter and photographer’s spot now. The Friends expect it to be a full ship. This is an extremely rare event and will not be repeated any time soon.

RSVP REQUIRED by November 11 to Dee Hoebbel, 295-7665 deeh4@msn.com

Arts & Crafts Fair on Dec. 6

The list of vendors for the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse's Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair on December 6 is shaping up nicely. Here's who we have so far:

Virginia Souza, artist - Lighthouse Christmas prints, cards, and original miniature paintings. Virginia's paintings and illustrations have been published in books, magazines and products. Her Christmas lighthouse prints have been featured and sold internationally in Lighthouse Digest magazine and the Lighthouse Depot catalog.

Tammy Dobrosielski, Dragon's Eye Photography and Papercrafts - Framed prints, matted prints, notecards, coaster sets, magnets, and more.

Harold Whitehouse - Harold will be signing copies of his book Home By Nine: The Real South End, about growing up in Portsmouth, NH, in the 1930-50 era.

Pam Sawin, SawinArts - Artist/Designer Pamela Sawin captures the appeal of the playing card theme with unique sophistication and style. Pamela is pleased to offer unique custom products, including reproductions of original works and recreations, for decorative home accents, collectibles, gifts, and stationery. See www.sawinarts.com.

Amy Wallace, Just Not Right Greetings - Jewelry, greeting cards, photography.

Donna Mangeri - Crocheted items; bags and baskets.

Tammy Shackford - Jewelry, crocheted scarves, Patriots and Celtics aprons.

Heidi Barnes, gold specialist - Bring your unwanted gold for a free appraisal. If you decide to sell, Heidi will write you a check on the spot.

Marci Barnes, Yours and Mane - Handcrafted hair accessories.

Ross Tracy, photographer - Original framed and matted prints of lighthouses and other subjects. See www.lightdreamer.com.

William Marshall, photographer and artist - Works inspired by the craggy coast of New England. See www.craggycoast.com.

The Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 6 at the Casey Function Center at 1950 Lafayette Road (Route 1) in Portsmouth, NH. See you there!

Click here for more info and a vendor form.

Lighthouse Art Raffle continues

Just a reminder that there's just over a month remaining to buy tickets for the art raffle benefiting Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. Click here for all the details.