Elbow Reef Lighthouse

Hope Town is also a pretty easy dinghy ride away, so one day last week, we set off to visit.  Nigel and Elizabeth joined us in their dinghy for this scenic ride.  First stop was to see Jim and Gloria on Jimandi their 34' Gemini sailboat.  They hopped in their dinghy and we all went to visit the famous Hope Town Lighthouse.  This is the view of the lighthouse that is frequently painted by various Abacos artists.  We tied up at the dock on the right.  Note the small boat building shed on the shore, more on that later.

Climbing up the stairs, Steve was distracted by an old dinghy lying on the ground. 

Visiting the lighhouse is easy, no fees and always open. 

This sign at the entrance and a guest book is the only paperwork you'll see, so the following information is copied from the web.

Probably the most recognizable landmark in Abaco, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse is one of the last manual lighthouses in the world. The lamp burns pressurized Kerosene oil with a wick and mantle. The Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle’s light into a beam directed straight towards the horizon. The lenses and burner equipment, weighing 8,000lbs, float in a circular lubricated tub. This reduces friction so that the 700lbs of weight, when wound up to the top of the tower by hand, smoothly rotates the 4-ton apparatus once every 15 seconds. The lighthouse keeper on duty must wind up the weights every 2 hours in order for the red and white candy-striped lighthouse to be seen from 17 miles away. 

 

In 1836, 2 lighthouses were built in the Bahamas in order to improve navigation and decrease the amount of shipwrecks. One of the lighthouses was stationed at the southernmost tip of Abaco called Hole-in-the-Wall, and the other just south of Bimini. Even with the lighthouse at Hole-in-the-Wall, wrecks were still building up around Abaco. As a result, in 1863, England decided, to build a lighthouse at Hope Town to steer ships clear of the extensive “Elbow Reef”. Despite protests made by wrackers (salvagers), the lighthouse was completed in 1864. At this time, the lighthouse was equipped with a non-rotating, first-order light. In 1936, approximately 73 years later, the Imperial Lighthouse Service closed the Lighthouse at Gun Cay (south of Bimini), and realized that the lighthouse at Hope Town was in need of a beacon for easier identification by ships. The Gun Cay lighthouse was then decapitated, and the iron lantern room with its dome, petroleum burner equipment, turning mechanism, and the rotating Fresnel lenticular panels were brought to Hope Town to replace its standing wick-type light. In 1996, for economic reasons, the Port Department was prompted to automate the hand-wound kerosene–burning lighthouse in the Bahamas. The Lighthouse Preservation Society (the non-profit historical and educational society dedicated to the preservation of Bahamian lighthouses) convinced the government to reconsider, as long as the Society would provide the Port Department with the parts they needed that were longer available through their previous supplier. Since then, the Society has been using mantles from the Coleman Company (manufacturer of Outdoor Equipment). Today, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse is still sending out light, rated at 325,000 candlepower, with the same light source it acquired in 1936.

 

Imagine a giant Coleman lantern that needs to be refueled every 2 hours.  Rumor has it that the government is no longer funding the job of lightkeeper so currently the light is being lit and fueled by volunteers.  

 

We climbed the 100 steps and squeezed through a 3' high door to get out on the deck for a birds eye view of Hope Town.  The inlet into Hope Town with small harbor and boatyard. 

 

Most of the town is seen in this one, Atlantic in the background.

and the mooring field, filled with cruising boats. 

When we had our fill of the awesome view, we descended the 100 steps and visited with a young Bahamian boatbuilder who was part of a team restoring these classic wooden Abaco sailing dinghies.

 They are beautiful and expertly restored. 

Next we crossed the harbor and pulled up to the "fish boat", who comes every Friday to sell fresh fish and lobster.  You can see the crowd on the dock and our little fleet of dinghies purchasing dinner. 

We concluded this perfect day in paradise by docking the dinghies and walking through town. We purchased a "triple chocolate" cake from a bake sale going on next to the fish monger, and enjoyed a delicious smoothie at the Hope Town Coffee House. 

 

Our friends Elizabeth and Nigel are also here with us at Sea Spray.  They have a couple of inflatable kayaks and I got to try one out with Elizabeth.  Over by the shore just adjacent to Sea Spray are some boats that appear to be abandoned. As we were paddling around them, we noticed a couple piles of conch shells and I found these two among them.  They've been harvested which means they have a small cut on the back of the shell which allows the tendon that holds the meat in to be severed and the meat pulled out.  But they must have been harvested recently because they were not bleached out from the sun and they were not broken. 48 hours in a bleach solution and a scrubbing with a stiff brush and I have the souvenirs I was seeking.   

We are really enjoying ourselves here and there's lots more to tell.  I can't keep up, but thanks so much everyone for reading.  We read all your comments and love them.