The Castlepoint Ratepayers and Residents Association are among the most vocal citizens criticising the removal of the causeway that connected to the Castlepoint Lighthouse, in Wairapara, NZ. In a story published in the Wairapara Times Age, the residents are feeling the effects of not having an easy access to the lighthouse, especially when friends come to visit.Department of Conservation liaison Neville Zander and wife Jan have already felt the effects of the difficult ascent. “We had friends come out and not want to go up,” Mrs Zander said. “It is a bit difficult and the water adds to that.”

At least parts of the causeway are relatively recent, but environmental damage has caused the Department of Conservation to tear it down earlier this year. DOC area manager Chris Lester has said the DOC has applied for building permits for constructing a pathway to extend 32 meters (105 feet) along the rocks to the right, beginning where the old causeway met the land. But that doesn’t actually solve the problem of complete access.

Path May Be Impassable

The plans call for grouting concrete, leveling the path and building a retaining wall. According to Lester, there should be virtually no environmental effects above the mean high tide level. But that doesn’t mean the path will always be accessible. “In the long term there will be times when access will be virtually impossible,” he said. “Fortunately, that only happens rarely.”

Lester described the state of the old causeway as “beyond economic salvage”. He said, “To rebuild would have cost close to $500,000 AUD. The savings (building the pathway) in comparison with saving the causeway are huge.” There is currently no date set for the start of the construction, as the project is still awaiting approval. Estimates are it will take a week to construct once it gets the green light. But the easy access will still be gone. A path is not a nice walk like the causeway.

The Races At Castlepoint

Situated at what seems like the end of the world, the beach (shown in the above photo and at left) is home to one of the oldest horse races, the Castlepoint Beach Race (left). Nearly as old as the Kentucky Derby, it started as an informal, “My horse is better than your horse” type race back when the area was first settled. The first white settler in the area, Thomas Guthrie, loosely held races with his horses, with the sailors coming ashore to participate. As the years went on, the races became more organized, and beginning in 1872, became an annual event. Interrupted by various wars, though, it’s not been a continuously running event. After 1936, though, it became a regular event held at the end of March.

A Race Against the Tide

From the Wairarapa Times-Age archives, some tales of this unusual race:

During the 1950s John Morrison’s horse, Struth, decided beach racing was not his thing, and halfway through his race dumped his rider, and turned around for home at Blairlogie. He was not caught until the top of the large saddle between Tinui and Whakataki.

In the 1960s it was Feilding horsewoman Freda White who made the headlines. She had followed the well-trodden path of taking a short cut along the course by riding close to the breakers, but her seamanship did not match her horsemanship, and she found herself in the surf — and swept out of the saddle by a breaker.

Those who remember Miss White will not be surprised to read that the newspaper reported that it was “probably fortunate for the rest of the riders that they were out of earshot by the time Miss White recovered her breath.”

The Ligthhouse Itself

The lighthouse was commissioned in 1913, and holds the distinction of its cast iron tower being the last one shipped from England and assembled on site. It was automated in 1988. Its white light flashes three times every thirty seconds. And since none of the photos above have clearly shown this lighthouse, here’s a photo of this gorgeous lighthouse on the northeast coast of New Zealand.

Castlepoint Lighthouse, Wairarapa, New Zealand

Photo Credits:

• Castlepoint Beach and Lighthouse by Phillip C. Some rights reserved.
• Castlepoint Storm (causeway) by Arriba. Some rights reserved.
• Horse Races at Castlepoint Originally uploaded to Flickr by tengo gusto de sueños. All rights reserved.
• Castlepoint Lighthouse by KiwiKeith. Some rights reserved.

Post from: Lighthouse News

Remote Castlepoint Lighthouse Even More Remote

If you have ever dreamed about spending the night at a remote island lighthouse, your dreams are about to come true. After eight long years of restoration work, the volunteers at the historic Little River Lighthouse, on Little River Island, in Cutler, Maine, beginning July 21, are making the lighthouse available for overnight guests for the first time in history. “You will get a million dollar view and the chance to spend the night in an historic light-station and relive the history of yesteryear,” says Hal Biering, co-chairman of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse, which cares for the historic property as a chapter of the Maine based American Lighthouse Foundation.

From the grounds of the 15-acre wooded island lighthouse station, which overlooks the Bay of Fundy, you can see Cutler’s rocky Bold Coast in one direction, Grand Manan Island in another, and in the distance, on clear days, Machias Seal Island Lighthouse.

The keeper’s house at Little River has all the amenities of home, except television. However it’s not a fancy B & B. You will need to bring your own linens, towels, food and beverages and share the kitchen and bathrooms with other guests.

Some of the volunteers who have worked on the lighthouse have spent the night and they have all commented on the peaceful feeling of watching the light revolve at night, the bright sky and pounding surf. Although the foghorn never stops, most have said that the sound of the foghorn is soothing, and puts them to sleep. Others have said that after a while, you become so accustomed to the foghorn, you don’t even hear it.

Since this is the first year the group is offering overnight stays at the lighthouse station, which dates back to 1847, the rates are pretty reasonable, at only $75.00 per night, double occupancy. “Next year the rates will go up,” says Biering, “this year we will be working out the kinks. So you might say, that this year’s guests are our teachers.”

Because of the dramatic tides in the area, arrival and departure will take place from mid to high tide; at low tide you cannot get on or off the island. The Friends are providing free boat transportation back and forth. They do have some rules; no smoking, no pets and no campfires, but those types of rules are to be expected on a remote island.

Tim Harrison, co-chair of the group, says money raised from the overnight stays will help pay for the ongoing care of the lighthouse station. Naturally, you can’t just drop in unannounced, reservations and payment in advance is required, which can be made by calling 207-259-3833. You can also visit their web site at www.LittleRiverLight.org.

Photo and story courtesy of Tim Harrison. All rights reserved.

Post from: Lighthouse News

Little River Lighthouse Opens For Overnight Stays

More proof lighthouses are still used and are necessary to navigation. After recommendations made in a review of navigational matters, the Hebrides (Scotland) lighthouse will be recommissioned later this summer. A light will shine out from this 135 foot tall beacon for the first time since 1948. The lighthouse is located on Monach Isle about six miles off the coast west of North Uist.

Designed by the Stevenson Brothers, David and Thomas, and built in 1864, it served honorably until 1942. According to the chief executive of the Northern Lighthouse Board, “The tower has essentially been left for the past 60 years, since the light was extinguished during the Second World War, and the limited amount of remedial work we have had to carry out pays tribute to the great work of the Stevensons.”

The decision was made in 1942 to shut the light down, like so many others, rather than give the visual help to U-Boat captains during the war. But unlike the rest, this one was not relit when hostilities ended in 1945. And a 1948 report recommended shutting the light down completely when it was determined it had ceased to be of value.

Disaster Strikes

In 1966, an agreement was made between the Northern Lighthouse Board and the Natural Environment Research Council. It granted the Research Council the right to form a nature reserve on the island of Shillay where the study of, research into and preservation of various species of flora and fauna is carried out.

Although there no major incidents in the ensuing years, it couldn’t last. On January 5, 1993, the MV Braer, laden with crude oil, was on its way from Norway to Canada when it lost power during a gale. Despite efforts to avoid the collision, it ran aground near Shetland. The tanks ruptured and it spilled 84,700 tons of crude oil into the North Atlantic, four times as much as the Exxon Valdez dumped into Alaskan waters four years earlier.

A subsequent report after this ecological disaster recommended that vessels sail west of the Hebrides, and to that end three new light towers were built to mark the Deep Water Route, including one on Monach Isle. The new Monach light was a solar-powered, white clad metal framework tower. It could be seen to a range of only 10 miles.

Another report in 2005 determined the light’s visibility needed to be in the range of 18 miles instead. However, the new tower was deemed inadequate for this change, and the decision was made to put a new optic in the original lighthouse. A very bright idea if you ask me (pun intended).

Photo credit: Monach isle lighthouse Originally uploaded by calum57. All rights reserved.

Post from: Lighthouse News

Monach Lighthouse To Be Recommissioned

The Lightship Nantucket is now scrambling to find a new home, as the deal to make her the centerpiece of a $7billion waterfront hotel and restaurant complex in Stamford has come to an end. The National Lighthouse Museum, owner of the ship, has been trying for ten years to get a facility opened in Staten Island that would incorporate the lightship. Jerry Roberts, a board member of the National Lighthouse Museum, said in the story at Newsday.Com that it is imperative to find a new permanent home before the 72 year old vessel deteriorates beyond repair. He said he would like to find a site in New England, where the lightship had been based when operated by the Coast Guard. “We’re looking for a qualified nonprofit or civic organization that will look after the best interests of the ship because it is a national landmark.”

“I’m hopeful the lightship will find a solution elsewhere. But I have no problem giving the guy the balance of the calendar year and then we’ll re-evaluate things. I’m still holding myself out as the port of last resort,” John Venditto, Supervisor of Oyster Bay said in the article.

Oyster Bay Cites “Liability Issues.”

While I realize we live in a litigious society, I for one am getting tired of hearing the specter of “liability issues” raised whenever someone doesn’t want to do anything. And that’s exactly what Oyster Bay has raised in regards to providing a permanent home for one of our last remaining lightships. Except for Oyster Bay Supervisor, John Venditto, who has offered once again to try and convince the town to step up to the plate and become the owner. But the town is worried about “lawsuits and damages.”

“They are telling me ‘You have no idea of the amount of money involved,’” Venditto said in the story. “It’s many hundreds of thousands of dollars. They’re talking about the potential for damage to occur if the perfect storm pops up. And even without a storm they’re worried about damage that might be occurring to the dock.”

Talk about a “what if” mentality. That’s on the level of saying I’m not going to leave my house, because what if a cow falls out of the sky and hits me on the head and kills me. And if they’re worried about damage to the town owned dock, then maybe they should just get out of the dock ownership business, because any vessel can cause damage to a dock at any time.

I really can’t understand that type of thinking, and desperately hope some non-profit group can come up with a way to save this floating lighthouse. In the meantime, I want to say to John Venditto, if we only had more people like you willing to help with this problem, then historic preservation would be a whole lot easier. Keep trying, sir. And thank you.

Photo credit: The Lightship Nantucket by Fantasma4. Some rights reserved.

Post from: Lighthouse News

Nantucket Lightship Deal Falls Through

If you’re planning on going to the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge this October, that will be the only chance for you to climb the Finn’s Point Lighthouse. Its closing was announced today by Howard Schleigal, the manager for Supawna Meadows and Cape May National Wildlife Refuge. According to the Friends of Supawna Meadows, the lighthouse currently has no money allocated in its budget for maintenance and repair. The Department of Interior Budget has been stripped in the proposed 2009 fiscal year Bush Budget, to the tune of $410 million. Natural resources agencies are being starved of funds by Bush’s FY2009 proposal, says the former director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service under the Clinton administration, Jamie Rappaport Clark. “The president’s final budget deals a huge blow to the agencies and programs charged with safeguarding our nation’s natural resources,” she said. “The next administration will be burdened with mending the damage caused by President Bush’s disastrous policies.”

The story at NJ.Com says it very well, and is what we can expect to happen more and more as Bush has tilted the largest budget ever to fuel the war in Iraq.

What had been a beacon of light to the coast for navigating ships has now become a shining light illuminating the lack of funding given to nature and historic preservation sites.

The lack of funding for the Supawna Meadows Wildlife Area and the cutting of staff puts an end to money to fund an engineering study to determine safety considerations. It may even see a return to the time before this tower was rescued, when graffiti covered its bottom and arson fires were set in the nearby dwelling. That dwelling is gone, razed in 1977, but a replica housing the offices of the Refuge was built in its place.

About the Tower

This cast iron tower is the remaining half of the Finn’s Point range lights. The front light was built first, in 185, and the rear tower was started in 1876. The pieces to this 94 foot tower were built in Buffalo, NY, by the Kellogg Bridge Company and transported in pieces by rail to Salem, NJ. From there, mule teams hauled the components by wagon tot he site, where it was assembled. A keeper’s house was built next to the tower, along with an outhouse and oil house. The lights were discontinued in 1933. However, complaints by the river pilots resulted in the rethinking of this closure and the lights were relit the next year. They were automated at this time, and no keepers were needed anymore. The lights shone on until 1950, when they were retired for good.

The tower was transferred from the Coast Guard to the National Wildlife Refuge in the late 1970s. A group calling itself the Save the Lighthouse Committee was formed, with the intention of moving the tower to a nearby park. That didn’t pan out, but they succeeded in placing it on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1981, that same committee, went to Washington D.C. by bus to present a petition to restore the tower to Congressman William Hughes. This drive resulted in having the tower repaired, sandblasted and painted for $33,600. An open house was held at the tower on October 14, 1984 on completion of the work. It’s been open one or two Sundays a month for climbing the 127 steps to the top.

What Can Be Done?

Paying for the war in Iraq has priorities for the Bush administration, and historic preservation, natural resources, and other concerns have taken a beating in funding. Nevertheless, U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-NJ, who serves on the Subcommittee on Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, and the Subcommittee on Aviation, has pledged to help. In the story, he is quoted as saying, “I am working with my colleagues in Congress to in an effort to restore funding to our nation’s refuges, including Supawna Meadows. I have and will continue to strongly oppose proposals by the administration to short-change our refuges.”

We all need to write to our Representatives and Senators to let them know that funding the war while these important natural treasures go wanting for basic funds is wrong.

Photo Credits:

• Finn’s Point Steel Circular Door Entrance by Ted Kerwin. Some rights reserved.
• Finn’s Point Lighthouse by Talaba. Some rights reserved.

Post from: Lighthouse News

First Victim of Bush Budget - Finn’s Point Lighthouse