August 26, 2006
Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project
SITE: Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project
URL: http://www.cblights.com/default.asp
DESCRIPTION: Tremendous website about the lighthouses in...well...the Chesapeake Bay along the shores of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The site was created and maintained by Matthew Jenkins.
He wrote about the primary section on lighthouses:
"The first section attempts to document all of the existing Bay lighthouses in an easy to navigate, informative format. Within "The Lights" section you'll find photographs and a brief history of every Chesapeake Bay area light that is still standing. Also included is information on the evolution of the government bodies that built and managed the lights, from the Lighthouse establishment under the Secretary of the Treasury to the U.S. Coast Guard. The different types of Bay lighthouses are discussed as are lightships and the various lamps and lenses used. The links section will point you to a number of Bay lighthouse-related, not-for-profit sites and also all of the area maritime museums I know of. Many of these organizations survive on a shoestring budget and a handful of people who really care. I love 'em. This is the most developed section of this site. I'm not a historian and all of this was created for no payment, so please excuse any minor errors (and let me know about them so I can fix them)."
The other two sections on the site describe cruising and his personal information (interest in diving, etc.)
The lighthouse entires are great brief records with links to other resources. All include a photograph. He also has a page and history of the Mumbles Lighthouse (Mouth of Swansea Bay, Glamorgan, Wales U.K.). His general links page has excellent links out to other sites.
Posted by cseeman at 07:35 AM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2006
Ludington (North Breakwater) Lighthouse (Lake Michigan at Ludington, Michigan)
SITE: Ludington (North Breakwater) Lighthouse (Lake Michigan at Ludington, Michigan)
BODY OF WATER: Lake Michigan
DESCRIPTION: No trip to Ludington is going to be complete without a visit to this great lighthouse on the North Breakwater of the harbor at Ludington. While you cannot go inside the light, people walk along the breakwater to get to the light all the time and it does give you a neat feeling of being in the lake! A great pastime is to go to the city park, right near the lighthouse, and watch the sun set in the west. It is a beautiful view. Around 8pm, the S.S.Badger makes one of its trips across to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
For more information on site light, visit Terry Pepper's site, a Wikipedia entry that I have been dabbling with and Lighthouse Friends (which includes some great shots of the lighthouse in winter.
Posted by cseeman at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2006
Big Sable Point Lighthouse (Lake Michigan at Ludington, Michigan)
SITE: Big Sable Point Lighthouse (Lake Michigan at Ludington, Michigan)
BODY OF WATER: Lake Michigan
URL: http://www.bigsablelighthouse.org/
DESCRIPTION: I am visiting this lighthouse today and will update the record when I get back. Big Sable Point Lighthouse is in Ludington State Park and one of the tallest lights in the State. The webiste is excellent insofar as visitor information (you can climb the tower and visit a gift shop), but there is very little other information on the site. A great resource is (as always) Terry Pepper's site which has great photos and historical information.
There are other lighthouses in the are...the great Ludington harbor light and Little Sable...hope to visit them as well.
Posted by cseeman at 06:56 AM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2006
Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society (NSLPS)
SITE: Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society (NSLPS)
URL: http://www.nslps.com/
DESCRIPTION: This is a great website with information (now this may seem odd) about Nova Scotia Lighthouses. This site actually has a great deal of information on this lighthouse heavy island in the Atlantic. For each of the lighthouses on Nova Scotia, there is historical and technical information on the lights. Additionally, there is a list of lighthouses that you can visit, extensive photos, news, and a research and preservation section that includes an essay on why "Canada Needs a Lighthouse Protection Act."
Excellent site indeed and valuable for links to all Canadian lighthouses.
Posted by cseeman at 05:48 PM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2006
SITE: Lighthouses to Visit (United States National Park Service)
SITE: Lighthouses to Visit (United States National Park Service)
URL: http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/ltaccess.html
DESCRIPTION: From the National Park Service, an excellent resource that lists the lighthousess that you can visit, including links with travel information. Many of these lighthouses have been transformed into museums and they provide links to those websites.
Posted by cseeman at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)
Life Saving Stations to Visit (United States)
SITE: Life Saving Stations to Visit (United States)
URL: http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/lssacces.html
DESCRIPTION: From the National Park Service, an excellent resource that lists the life saving stations that you can visit, including links with travel information. Many of these life saving stations have been transformed into museums and they provide links to those websites.
Posted by cseeman at 07:19 PM | Comments (0)
National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000
SITE: National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000
URL: http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/nhlpa/nhlpa.htm
DESCRIPTION: Site with many documents and links regarding the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. This website includes Background of the legislation, Agency Roles in Process, Program to Date, and other information on lighthouse preservation. This law, that serves as an amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, provides a mechanism for the disposal of federally-owned historic light stations. The website from the National Park Service has a great deal of information on the maritime history as it relates to lighthouses, life saving stations and other historic ships
Posted by cseeman at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)
August 06, 2006
Currituck Beach Lighthouse (Atlantic Ocean at Corolla, North Carolina)
SITE: Currituck Beach Lighthouse (Atlantic Ocean at Corolla, North Carolina)
BODY OF WATER: Atlantic Ocean
URL: http://www.currituckbeachlight.com/index.php
DESCRIPTION: I visited this when I went to North Carolina's Outer Banks in the summer of 2003. While the highlight of the trip might have been seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (on a super hot day out there), going to this lighthouse was a blast. Sadly, we did not climb the tower that day as the line was very long. Maybe next time.
The site is beautiful and they do a great job of preserving the grounds. The website has great information including historical photographs, copies of the historic preservation newsletters, and other links. Another great site is Lighthouse Friends.
What is interesting is that the lighthouse does not sit on the beach, but one or two blocks away. However, it is a very tall tower and had a first order Fresnel light to give it far more power than many of the lights on the Great Lakes. It is also somewhat unique in North Carolina by retaining the original brick red coloring, and not being black and white like so many of the other lights in that state.
Posted by cseeman at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2006
Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
SITE: Lighthouses of Australia Inc.
URL: http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/index.htm
DESCRIPTION: A very cool website that includes information on lighthouses in Australia (well, of course) and beyond. From the site: "Lighthouses of Australia Inc. is a non-profit organisation which aims to create a higher profile for Australian lighthouses within Australia and overseas and thereby preserve, protect and promote their place within our history."
The site includes great information on Australian lighthouses (organized by state) including photos, technical specifications, historical information, and numerous links to resources on Australia and the rest of the world. Of particular note are links to world lighthouse sites.
The organization has a bi-monthly bulletin with news and other resources. The current issue is available by clicking here. Older issues are available as well and includes many great features and articles about lighthouses around the world, including Cuba, United States, United Kingdom, just to scratch the surface.
Posted by cseeman at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)
Ashtabula Lighthouse (Lake Erie at Ashtabula, Ohio)
SITE: Ashtabula Lighthouse (Ashtabula, Ohio)
BODY OF WATER: Lake Erie
URL: http://ashtabulalighthouse.com/
DESCRIPTION: Visited...well, saw. The Ashtabula Lighthouse is typical among the Ohio Lighthouses at Lorain, Fairport Harbor in that it looks like a salt box house out in the middle of the harbor! These are beautiful structures and this one can be viewed nicely from Lake Shore Park along the waterfront. There is also a museum, but I was there when they are not open. The museum, Great Lakes Marine Museum and Coast Guard Memorial Museum, has a growing webpage here: http://www.ashtabulamarinemuseum.org/
The website has excellent information on the history of the light, photos, merchandise and news about the restoration. Other sites will be added later to this entry.
Posted by cseeman at 06:54 AM | Comments (0)
40 Mile Point Lighthouse (Rogers City, Michigan)
SITE: 40 Mile Point Lighthouse (Rogers City, Michigan)
BODY OF WATER: Lake Huron
URL: http://www.40milepointlighthouse.org
DESCRIPTION: Nice website with information on visiting this lighthouse, photos and an excellent history of the site and events that took place near it. Also included is a list of lighthouse keepers, information on the shipwreck of the Joseph S. Fay (1905) and links to other lighthouses. This is a membership organization and includes links to information on that group.
Posted by cseeman at 06:47 AM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2006
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy
SITE: Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy
URL: http://www.michiganlights.com/index.htm
DESCRIPTION: Site of the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, a nonprofit organization with a mission "to promote the preservation of Michigan’s lighthouses and life saving station structures along with the artifacts associated with them." They accomplish this through three endeavors: education, interpretive displays and artifact preservation.
The website has good information on each Michigan lighthouse and life saving stations. This is useful not only for people interested in the history of lighthouses, but also also in those undergoing preservation activities. Among the useful information at this site is the section called the Light Keeper's Tools that features the tools that lighthouse keepers used on a regular basis.
An excellent resource for lighthouse information.
Posted by cseeman at 07:26 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2006
Port Colborne (Lake Erie at Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada)
Visiting might be too strong a verb, as these lighthouses are on breakwaters far from the shore. Port Colborne is a neat little city with the southern entry for the Welland Canal. I was hoping to see a large ship, but I only saw some sailboats go through the bridge on Clarence Street. The lighthouses on the inner and outer harbor are like many in Ontario with the bright red on white buildings. These are really a treat to see.
I did have a great view of the lighthouse during dinner at the "On the Waterfront" Restaurant right in the Marina. The food was fantastic and the view of the lighthouses and of Lake Erie matched it! The URL of the restaurant is http://www.onthewaterfront.org (not sure how it got a .org address).
Here are some lighthouse links:
From Rudy and Alice's page:
http://rudyalicelighthouse.net/ErieLts/Colborne/Colborne.htm
History of Canadian Lighthouses:
http://members.aol.com/stiffcrust/pharos/
Posted by cseeman at 09:16 PM | Comments (0)
Port Burwell (Lake Erie at Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada)
Visited the Port Burwell Lighthouse and was able to climb to the top. They have a very nice martime museum and lighthouse in town. What is great about the lighthouse is that the stairs are not circular, but are conventional (well, I am not sure what the term is). The steps are very steep and you move quickly up the inside of the lighthouse. It was recently restored and is in great shape. The lighthouse reminds me of Fairmont Harbor in Ohio as it sits high above the water level on a bluff. The museum has regular hours and is definitely worth the visit. The admission rates are seperate, but it is very modest ($2 for each). Definitely a worthly cause.
Links about the lighthouse:
History of the Sutherland Family (keepers at the light for all of its history)
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/minibios/s/sutherland_andrew.htm
Information from the Museum and the lighthouse (including visiting hours)
http://www.pt-burwell-lighthouse.ca/
Images of the Lighthouse from us-lighthouses.com
http://www.us-lighthouses.com/displaypage.php?LightID=246
Another bonus of visiting this lighthouse is the Erie Shores Wind Farm. There are tens of these giant windmills surrounding Port Burwell. I saw them as the fog was burning off and it looked like the War of the Worlds!
Posted by cseeman at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
