Elbow Reef Lighthouse
 The red and white striped lighthouse in Hope Town is a noted local landmark | |
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| Location | Elbow Cay, Hope Town, The Bahamas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 26°32′23″N 76°57′44″W / 26.53973°N 76.96209°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1863  |
| Construction | masonry (tower) |
| Height | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Shape | conical tower with balcony |
| Markings | red and white (tower), white (lantern), gray (dome) |
| Power source | kerosene |
| Operator | Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society, owned by Ministry of Transportation and Local Government, The Bahamas |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1863 |
| Deactivated | temporarily by Hurricane Dorian |
| Focal height | 37 m (121 ft) |
| Lens | First order Fresnel (transferred from Gun Cay in 1936) |
| Intensity | 325,000 candela |
| Range | 23 nmi (43 km; 26 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl(5) W 15s |
Elbow Reef is one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 opened September 1, 1863 [1] it is striped horizontally red and white. Its light can be seen from 23 nmi (43 km) away.[2]
The Elbow Reef Lighthouse[3] is one of only three manual lighthouses left in the world. It has a weight mechanism that has to be hand cranked every several hours to maintain the sequence of five white flashes every 15 seconds. The lamp burns kerosene oil with a wick and mantle, at the rate of one gallon per night. The light is then focused as it passes through the optics of a first order Fresnel lens[1] which floats on a bed of mercury.
The Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society, (a Bahamian non-profit) is responsible for keeping the site true to its historical past as a fully-working, non-automated, aid to navigation. Entrusted by the Ministry of Transportation and Local Government, (responsible for the Port Department and Maritime Affairs), The ERLS is the Elbow Reef Lightstation's infrastructural custodian, tasked with the oversight and ongoing preservation and restoration of the lighthouse and lightstation itself which comprises the lighthouse tower, two lighthouse keeper's quarters, six outbuildings, one gift shop and the wharf/dock.
Keepers[edit]
| Keeper | embarked | disembarked |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Forbes (sr.), PK[4] | ?? | ?? |
| Jackson Blatch, AK | 2021 |
External links[edit]
- Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society
- Elbow Reef Foundation
- Elbow Reef Lighthouse - The Abacos, video
- The Kerosene Keeper, video
- The Last Hand Cranked & Kerosene lit Lighthouse in the World. Peter Halil, 1998, video
References[edit]
- ^ a b Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the Bahamas". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ "Hope Town, Abaco, Bahamas". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17.
- ^ "Welcome to the Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society". Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ Principal keeper.
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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