Spotlight on Maryland's Lighthouses this Fall

This news comes from outside the New England area, but I thought I should pass it along. The Maryland Office of Tourism is encouraging residents and visitors alike to explore the Chesapeake Bay and the local towns that line its shores. Lighthouses are iconic symbols of Maryland’s maritime culture.

"The lighthouses that still stand – some completely restored with period décor and exhibits – are unique artifacts of a different era," says Margot Amelia, executive director of the Maryland Office of Tourism. "They have a certain mystique to travelers. Some you can visit in person. Others you can view from the water when you take a charter-boat lighthouse tour."

Click here for more information on Maryland lighthouses you can visit.

Last minute bid extends auction for Ram Island Ledge Light

Read the latest chapter in this ongoing drama here.

Plum Beach Lighthouse repainting

This just in from the Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse in Rhode Island:

 

Last month, workers from Abcore Restoration of Narragansett, Rhode Island, arrived at Plum Beach Lighthouse and started preparation work for repainting the lighthouse.  They first had to build a safe work platform around the lighthouse base, then went about the task of removing the rusted areas of the basement level.  The north side of the lighthouse has taken the brunt of the decay since its 2003 renovation, and the paint had all but disappeared.  The south side of the structure is still in good shape, all the paint has been removed and the metal sealed with a special epoxy to insure it against new rusting.

Coast Guard volunteers lend a helping hand on Camden's Curtis Island

Curtis Island Light Station, located at the head of Camden Harbor, is one of the crown jewels of Midcoast Maine, but like all historic sites located in close proximity to the sea, it requires constant maintenance to keep it looking its best.

You can read the rest of this story by clicking here.

Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse auction extended

The closing date for the government's auction of Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse is now September 13 (Monday). At this moment, the high bid is $180,000.

According to news reports, Portland real estate developer Arthur Girard and Dr. Jeffrey Florman, a neurosurgeon from Windham, Maine, flipped a coin Friday to determine which one of them would drop out of the bidding.

Florman won the flip and put in a bid for $180,000.

You can follow the auction on this page.

Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse auction ends today

The government's auction of Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse, a 90-foot granite tower built off Cape Elizabeth, Maine, in 1905, ends today. The high bid at this moment is $85,000. Let's hope the high bidder has the best interests of the lighthouse at heart.

Click here for the auction page.

American Lighthouse Foundation Executive Director Bob Trapani aboard a Coast Guard vessel leaving Ram Island Ledge Light in February 2008.

New paint for the Nubble

Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, Maine, affectionately known to lovers of lighthouses and the Maine coast as the Nubble Light, has just gotten a shiny new coat of paint thanks to the York Parks & Recreation Department. The painter in charge of the work was Gordon Lindquist.



Thanks to Mike Sullivan and Mike Lewis of the York Parks & Recreation Department, I got a ride out to the Nubble last Monday along with Bob Trapani and Ann Trapani of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Here  are some photos from that visit.