Lighthouses of North America

Pensacola Lighthouse Ghost Hunt

2009-05-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

Just saw this little blurb in the Gulf Breeze and thought I'd pass it along.

The Ghost Seekers of Texas are headed to the Pensacola Lighthouse in Pensacola, Florida, May 22-24 for one-hour ghost hunts starting at 7:30, 8:45, 10, and 11:15 p.m. These hunts will benefit the Pensacola Lighthouse Association. It's strongly suggested you reserve a slot by calling 210-531-6759. You can also get more info by emailing info@ghostseekersoftexas.com. They also urge you to bring ghost-hunting equipment if you have it.

For those of you not sure what ghost-hunting equipment is, I've provided a list below:

Electro magnetic field meters
Infrared laser thermometers
Digital audio recorders
Digital video night vision cameras
High definition film cameras
Stationary Night vision cameras with monitoring stations

I would also add "the hair on the back of your neck," although it's not official equipment.

Like most lighthouses, the Pensacola Lighthouse has gone through many transformations. The original was built in the early 1820s and situated on a bluff at the south entrance to Pensacola Bay. In the late 1850s a new tower was built and situated on the north side of the bay, on the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Regular tours are held May through October noon to 4PM, where those 7 and older are allowed to climb the 177-step tower for a fabulous view of Pensacola.

Stay at the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel

2008-06-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, all you lighthouse enthusiasts, here's a bit of lighthouse news coming out of Point Montara, California. It seems the lighthouse at Point Montara is a lighthouse that used to be located at Wellfleet, Mass., which was taken down and thought to have been destroyed.

Well, researchers have now discovered that the lighthouse was never destroyed, but was actually moved clear across the country to Point Montara, 25 miles south of San Francisco.

Now, how you can loose track of a lighthouse is beyond me, but you an read more about it in this month's edition of Lighthouse Digest.

Why am I bringing this all up? Because I'm constantly asked "where are there lighthouses you can spend the night in?" Guess what? Point Montara's one of them. Point Montara Lighthouse is still being used as a navigational aid, but it's also a hostel, with guests staying in shared and private rooms in former Coast Guard quarters and the historic fog signal building. Amenities include cozy lounges, DSL Internet and free WiFi, on-site laundry, free parking, and an espresso bar. And, now, with this discovery, there's also the added history and mystery.

You can reserve a stay at the hostel by going to hihostels.com. There is a reservations menu, and you will want to go to USA, California, Montara. If you wish to reserve a private room, you have to call (888) 464-4872, and dial #153 to be connected to the hostel.

Photo of Montara Lighthouse Hostel by Darin Barry, http://www.flickr.com/people/darynbarry/

New England Lighthouse Cruise

2007-10-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's interested in New England lighthouses would love a cruise around some of the picturesque lighthouses of Long Island Sound.

Downeast Lighthouse Cruises operates out of Pine Island Marina,located on Pine Island Bay in Groton, Connecticut, and offers several cruises which take you up close to some wonderful lighthouses. Their New London Harbor Tour takes you past Avery Point, New London Ledge and New London Light and lasts approximately 1 hour; their Fishers Island Sound Tour takes approximately 2 hours and takes you past Morgan Point, North Dumpling, Avery Point, New London Ledge and New London Light; and their Eastern Fishers Island Sound Tour last approximately 3.5 hours and takes you past North Dumpling, Morgan Point, Latimer Light, Race Rock Light, Little Gull Lighthouse, Avery Point, New London Ledge and New London Light. They also offer Sunset Cruises of the lights of Fishers Island Sound, which lasts approximately 2 hours.

For more information call 860-460-1802 or email them at lighthousecruises@yahoo.com

North Carolina Lighthouses

2007-08-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a great You Tube video of North Carolina lighthouses of the Outer Banks you might like.

North Carolina lighthouses include:

Currituck Beach
Bodie Island
Cape Hatteras
Diamond Shoals
Ocracoke
Cape Lookout
Price's Creek Oak Island
Bald Head Island
Frying Pan Shoals

One North Carolina lighthouse is in an area of North Carolina that has a storied history. Ocracoke Lighthouse, which was first built in 1803 on Shell Castle Island not far from Blackbeard's hideout, who lost his head on Ocracoke Island during the early 1700s. Well, okay, he didn't actually lose his head, it was taken from him. Some believe his ghost still haunts the area, searching for his head. But, enough of Blackbeard. Back to the Ocracoke Lighthouse. The original was destroyed by lightning in 1818 and replaced by the current light in 1823 on the banks of the inlet near Ocracoke Village.

The Cape Lookout is interesting with its checkered design, which actually look like diamond shapes. But, the light of the lighthouse isn't the only thing guiding sailors. The black diamonds are oriented in a north-south direction and the white diamonds are oriented in an east-west direction; the white diamond side of the tower showed sailors were anchoring was safe. The Cape Lookout also had an original completed in 1812 which had problems being seen, so a new one was constructed in 1859.

The oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina is "Old Baldy" on Bald Head Island, one of North Carolina's most isolated and private barrier islands and just north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You can reach Bald Head Island by a 20-minute ferry ride. A replica of the 1850s keeper's cottage adjacent to the lighthouse serves as the Smith Island Museum. For $3 you can visit the museum and climb "Old Baldy". Summer Hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m and Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. You should call 910-457-7481 for winter hours.

Lighthouses Where You can Stay Overnight

2007-07-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the different lighthouses where you can stay overnight (maybe not actually in the lighthouse itself, but in the Keeper Quarters):

Tibbett's Point Lighthouse Hostel - New York
Point Arena Light Station - California
Rose Island Lighthouse -Rhode Island
Heceta Head Lighthouse - Oregon
Isle Au Haut Lighthouse - Maine
Big Bay Point Lighthouse - Michigan

Old Point Loma Lighthouse - San Diego, California

2007-07-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

If you're visiting San Diego, be sure to stop for a visit at the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.

The lighthouse was first lit on November 15, 1855. However, fog and clouds often obscured the light, so, 36 years later, in 1891, the light was extinguished, and a new lighthouse was lit at the tip of the Point.

Although no longer in commission, this lighthouse is a great place to visit, not only for views of the San Diego Bay, but because the interior was refurbished to its 1880s appearance by the National Park Service.

This great photo was shot by Bruce Tuten, who posted this photo on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/savannahgrandfather/274583004/

Lighthouse - Battery Point - Crescent City, California

2007-07-17T15:28:00.001-07:00

Battery Point Lighthouse, located on a hill off Battery Point in Crescent City, California, is a Cape Cod structure with a 45-foot high tower in the center, built out of brick and granite. Open April through September, you can access the lighthouse by walking across the bottom of the ocean during low tide. It's a great spot to view migrating whales.

The interesting thing about this lighthouse is that it received no damage during the worst tsunami ever recording along the west coast of the lower forty-eight United States. The tsunami occurred on March 27, 1964, when a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 struck Alaska near Prince William Sound. A series of waves generated by the earthquake raced south at a speed of nearly 600 m.p.h. and reached Crescent City around midnight with crests of up to twenty feet. The tsunami destroyed half of the waterfront business district. Eleven persons lost their lives.

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2007-07-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

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Tallest Lighthouse in the United States - Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

2007-07-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

To those of you for whom "size matters," you'll want to be sure to visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in the United States, located in Buxton, North Carolina, along the Outer Banks stretch of coastline that is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." At 208 feet tall, from foundation to top, this lighthouse is one of the most recognized and visited lighthouse in America, drawing 200,000 visitors a year.

When was the lighthouse built? Actually, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is a lighthouse that has had several incarnations.

The first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built in 1802 and lit in 1803, more than 3,000 feet from the coeval shoreline. However, it wasn't very effective due to its poor visibility from the sea. Many attempts were made to increase the visibility of the light, but were not very successful. During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers attempted to destroy the tower and left it damaged, but still standing, minus the Fresnel lens they took to keep the Union Army from using the light as a navigational aid.

Coupled with the damage the lighthouse sustained, as well as the complaints received about its effectiveness, a new Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was constructed in 1870, complete with 268 spiraling stairs and two 1,000-watt lamps, visible 20 miles offshore, which blink every 7 1/2 seconds.

But, that's not the end of the story. While the Confederates were not able to totally destroy the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the erosion and the receding shoreline would, if not for a relocation of the lighthouse inland of 2900 feet. In 1999, the lighthouse was lifted and moved 1,500 feet away from the Atlantic.

The lighthouse is open each year from the third Friday in April until Columbus Day; during the summer months, visitation hours for climbing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse are 10 am to 4 pm daily.

If you want to visit and need a clean, yet inexpensive motel with a fantastic view, check out the Outer Banks Motel in Buxton. They're right on the ocean and an ocean-view room is pretty decent, beginning at $110 for a queen-size bed in the middle of the summer. They even provide free rowboats for their guests to use in the Pamlico Sound. Call them at 1-800-995-1233 to make reservations.

And, for those of you who are obsessed with size, there is a light tower taller than Cape Hatteras – the Lanterna in Genoa, Italy, which measures 245-ft tall.

Oldest Lighthouse in the United States

2007-07-12T16:38:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Lighthouses USA, where we will share facts, articles and videos about Lighthouses in North America.

First, a quiz. What is the oldest lighthouse in the U.S.? Well, depends on what you mean by the "oldest." The Boston Light on Little Brewster Island was the first lighthouse built in the United States in 1716. However, it was renovated in 1783 because it was damaged in the Revolutionary War. So, the oldest lighthouse as it was originally constructed is actually the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey. Both are still in use today, with the Boston Lighthouse being the last manned lighthouse in the U.S.

The Boston Light, pictured above, has a 98-foot tower which flashes a 1.75 million candlepower beacon every ten seconds, visible for 27 miles. If you'd like to see the Boston Light up close and personal, you can take a tour which includes a ferry boat ride from Boston through the Harbor Islands to Boston Light. You'll get a view of three lighthouses from the ferry: Graves Light, Long Island Head Light, and Boston Light, with an hour-long visit on Little Brewster Island, where you’ll meet the US Coast Guard light keeper and view the lighthouse. The cost is only $28 for the three-hour excursion. Go to http://www.zerve.com/HarborIsland/Light to purchase tickets.

The accompanying photo of the Boston Light was taken by Stephen Gore; http://www.flickr.com/photos/nantaskart/146529094/