Ghost Hunters at Rose Island Lighthouse - video available

The cast and crew of the Syfy Channel's popular show "Ghost Hunters" recently spent the night at Rose Island Lighthouse and adjacent Fort Hamilton in Newport, Rhode Island. The findings were startling and intriguing -- you can check out the video by clicking here.

Grab a bite at BGs and help save the lights!

BG's Boathouse restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will be donating a portion of their profits to Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse for all lunches and dinners served next Monday, October 4, 2010. Click here for more details.

I'll be there for dinner. Not that I need much of an excuse -- BG's is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. Their grilled fish dinners (tuna, salmon, swordfish, tilapia, etc.) are especially good.

I hope to see you there!


Click here for BG'S Boathouse website


Check out this video featuring BG's, starting at 1:15!

Late afternoon at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse

The light was beautiful a couple of days ago at Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse in New Castle, NH.

Faulkner's Island Lighthouse (CT) 2010 Open House

 

Steven McGuire of the Faulkner's Light Brigade captured some great images at the recent open house (Sept. 11-12) at Faulkner's Island Lighthouse in Guilford, Connecticut. Click here for more photos.

Faulkner's Island Lighthouse (1802) is Connecticut's second oldest lighthouse and the only active light station on an island in the state. Faulkner's Light Brigade has been an exemplary steward since the early 1990s. For more information, click here and here.

Photo from Maine Open Lighthouse Day, Sept. 18, 2010

My friend William Marshall took this photo of me speaking at the Maine Open Lighthouse Day event at Portland Head Light this past Saturday.

Behind me, left to right: Mayor Tom Coward of South Portland, Maine; Rear Admiral Daniel A. Neptun, commander of the First Coast Guard District; Captain James B. McPherson, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England.

It was an honor to be part of this event and to be in such distinguished company. It was a great day for lighthouses. Thanks to William for the pic!

My upcoming lecture schedule

I'll be giving the following lectures in the next few weeks:

Thursday, October 14, at 7 p.m. - Leach Library in Londonderry, NH:  "New England's Haunted Lighthouses"

Wednesday, October 20, at 6:30 p.m - Tewksbury Public Library in Tewksbury, Mass.:  "New England's Haunted Lighthouses"

Monday, October 25, at 7 p.m. - Wilmington Public Library in Wilmington, Mass.:  "New England's Haunted Lighthouses"

Wednesday, October 27, at 7 p.m. - North Hampton Public Library in North Hampton, NH:  "New England's Haunted Lighthouses"

Tuesday, November 9 - Hull Lifesaving Museum, Hull, Mass.: "Great Shipwrecks of the Maine Coast"

Nick Korstad buys Borden Flats Lighthouse in Fall River, MA

Nick Korstad of Portland, Oregon, is now the owner of Borden Flats Lighthouse in Fall River, Massachusetts. With his parents, Craig and Cindy Korstad, Nick operates an online business, U.S. Light House Establishment.

Borden Flats Light, a cast-iron caisson lighthouse built in 1881 near the mouth of the Taunton River, was offered in 2006 to any suitable nonprofit organization or community under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA).

There were no applicants, so the property was auctioned to the general public under the guidelines of the NHLPA. It was originally sold to Michael Gabriel in 2008, and Mr. Gabriel announced plans to operate a microbrewery to produce beer inside the lighthouse. According to the GSA, Mr. Gabriel defaulted on the sale. The lighthouse was once again put up for auction earlier this year.

“I want to restore it back to what is was originally and I want to make it accessible to the public,” Korstad told a writer for the Fall River Herald News. “Beyond that, we don’t have firm plans.”

Based on my correspondence with Nick, he seems to be sincerely dedicated to the preservation of the lighthouse and to the idea of public accessibility.  I'm hopeful that this historic property is in very good hands.