Door County LighthouseS

Transcription

Door County LighthouseS
UNITED
S TAT E S
LIGHTHOUSE
SOCIETY
Lighthouse Bulletin
ISSUED
4th Quarter
QUARTERLY
December 31, 2014
Fiscal Year Ending
Door County LighthouseS
By Nancy Houghton
Photos by Jon Jarosh/Door County Visitor Bureau
“It’s a classic day in Death’s Door,” murmured the sturdy, understated captain as
he skillfully wove our boat The Shoreline
through seas gathering from the north.
Skipper Jim Robinson’s comment left me,
a first-time Great Lakes visitor, questioning my decision to sign on for this excursion. “Death’s Door,” the infamous sixmile wide passage between Door County
peninsula proper and Washington Island,
is littered with shipwrecks, legends of woe
and triumph, and is the stuff of fireside
tales along the shores of Lake Michigan.
A “classic” day in Death’s Door gave me a
bit to ponder as I gazed upon the dramatic
limestone cliffs and rugged outcroppings
that gave the passage its name.
Door County, a 70-mile-long peninsula
protruding into Lake Michigan from the
eastern flank of Wisconsin, is made up
of rock that is unforgiving, to which the
many shipwrecked sailors will attest. As
a result, eleven lighthouses bejewel some
250 miles of coastline in this one small
county, making one of the most dense concentrations of historic navigational aids in
the country.
Native Americans, early European explorers and American ship captains were
acutely aware of the dangerous water
passage stretching between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island, connecting
Green Bay to the body of Lake Michigan.
Native Americans originally named the
passageway, and French trappers translated the moniker as Porte des Morts:
in English, “Death’s Door.” This small
strait is now strewn with an estimated 250
shipwrecks. While the currents can be
Island Clipper passes Plum Island Lighthouse.
tricky, and winds may shift directions on a
whim, local legend holds that the French
embellished the horror stories to keep
other European trappers out of their fur
trade. This and many other tales lend to
the intrigue of the rich maritime heritage
of Door County.
The earliest lighthouses on the Great
Lakes date back almost two centuries and
are a reflection of not only engineering
marvels but of human ingenuity and spirit.
Thousands of wooden schooners burdened
with coal, ore, stone, and timber plied the
waters in the 1800s. Wisconsin, whose
name means “gathering of the waters,”
attracted settlers, fur traders, and fisher-
men to its shores. As commerce grew in
the Great Lakes, Door County became a
crucial hub of seagoing trade.
The oldest lighthouse in Door County
is the Pottawatomie Lighthouse, where
construction began in 1836. Perched on
a bluff on the north shore of Rock Island,
this isolated outpost helped delineate the
route for ships traveling from the Great
Lakes to the burgeoning city of Green
Bay. This lighthouse was manned and
in full operation until the early 1980s. A
visit to the lighthouse includes a tour of
the keeper’s quarters and a climb to the
lantern room.
Rock Island is accessible via two fer-
Fiscal Year, 2014
Plum Island Range Lights.
ries, or by charter, as in the case of my
excursion on The Shoreline. In addition
to the lighthouse hike, Rock Island offers
a chance to tour the unique boathouse
constructed by wealthy inventor Chester
Thordarson in 1910 as part of the enormous summer estate he envisioned building on his 30 acres of land. The estate was
never completed, but the grand boathouse,
with its décor featuring carved characters
from the Norse Runic alphabet, offers a
glimpse into a by-gone era of elegance and
largesse. Standing by the enormous stone
fireplace in the Cream City brick building over the water one can envision the
guests arriving by wooden motor-craft and
disembarking in the covered moorage beneath the main room. Men’s and women’s
changing rooms were provided on the boat
level, and the guests would emerge into
the great room ready for a candlelit gala
on this private reserve.
The second lighthouse to be built in Door
County was on Plum Island, roughly
“plumb” in the middle of Death’s Door.
Accompanied by members of the Friends
of Plum and Pilot Islands group, better
known as FOPPI, we disembarked for a
walking tour of this island which is not
currently open to the public. The original
Plum Island Lighthouse was built in 1848,
but was moved to the even more remote
Pilot Island. Plum Island remained without
a beacon for four decades, until the num-
ber of shipwrecks and near misses caused
enough alarm that a set of range lights
were approved and built in 1897. Along
with the range lights, the island boasted a
fog signal and life-saving station. As the
FOPPI folks will tell you, the life-saving
station was a hub of activity in the summers when the families of the Coast Guard
members would take up residence on
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Plum Island and carve out a living on this
bit of land in the middle of Death’s Door.
Stories of rescues and the harsh life here
are mingled with fond memories of family
gatherings and even a woman giving birth
on this remote island.
Heading east a couple of miles from Plum
Island, we approached Pilot Island which,
as Captain Jim noted, “Looks like Alfred
Hitchcock’s summer home.” The raucous
cries of the black cormorants and the commotion of swooping, soaring white gulls
created a scene reminiscent of Hitchcock’s
classic film, The Birds. This three-and-ahalf acre pile of rocks marks the eastern
entrance to Death’s Door and is known
for its legendary shipwrecks, rescues, and
numerous drownings. The lighthouse
keeper’s log kept during the early 1870’s
records over a hundred ships lost or damaged along these treacherous shoals. It
is here we glide over three such wrecks,
noting their staves and ribs layered like
matchsticks on the rocky bottom. In its
heyday, Pilot Island keepers maintained
a complex including a pier, a barn, and
a significant Cream City brick two-story
residence with a 37-foot tower. As fog
tends to envelop Pilot Island for scores
of days each year, a foghorn-to-beatall-foghorns was constructed here. This
compressed air, two-tone contraption was
Pottawatomie Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in Door County.
Fiscal Year, 2014
Cana Island Lighthouse.
the loudest on the Great Lakes and could
be heard for over 12 miles. The keepers
reported that this thunderous fog signal
even kept their chicken eggs from hatching. Today, the remains of the structures
are best viewed at a distance as the stench
from the birds is smothering, and the trees
have mostly died due to the toxins in the
avian droppings.
Door County offers other well-known
lighthouses which are more easily accessed by land. The iconic Cana Island
Lighthouse is strategically located
between two highly-frequented harbors
where ships sought respite before entering Death’s Door. Keeper’s logs recall
gale-force winds and mighty storms, one
of which, known as the “Alpena Gale,”
wrecked seven ships near the island and
produced waves which broke over the
house and sprayed as high as the 86-foot
tall lantern tower. In another log entry,
Keeper Sanderson reports seeing a small
boat embedded in an ice floe nearby. A
father and son were spied collapsed in
the craft, frozen to death. Unable to offer
assistance, the keeper watched helplessly
as the floe drifted on past the lighthouse.
Today, a visit to Cana Island Lighthouse
offers a chance to climb the 98-step spiral
staircase to view the rocky shoreline below juxtaposed against the idyllic setting
4th Quarterly Bulletin
inhabited by brave keepers and of being the last manned lighthouse on the
their families.
Great Lakes.
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, built
In addition to lighthouses, visitors to
in 1868, guards the eastern
Door County enjoy an array of offerings
passage into Green Bay from
such as the fabled “Fish Boils,” which
Lake Michigan. Constructed
features storytelling and a traditional feast
of Cream City brick on a
prepared over an open fire. Door County
50-foot limestone bluff, the
is also noted for its bountiful crops and
square tower houses a tencherries and cherry-based products from
sided lantern room standing
jams to wines. And, the Swedish-Icelan43-feet tall. Eagle Bluff was
dic-Belgian-German heritage is evident
home to just three keepers, the county-wide in the restaurants and craft
most documented of which is
stores. For local flavor, how about a stack
William Duclon who served
of Swedish Pancakes at Al Johnson’s
with his family for 35 years.
Restaurant in Sister’s Bay, where his
The Duclons raised seven boys goats munch on roof-top sod, seemingly
here and utilized each of them
unaware of their high perch?
for their subsistence living of
A comprehensive tour invites us to go
tending cows and chickens,
back in time to explore each of Door
hunting, and farming vegCounty’s lighthouses’ secrets and stories.
etables. The boys had to carry
A lighthouse tour of Door County offers a
all the family’s water up from
unique view into the romance, bravery and
the lake below until finally,
dedication of men and women who were
with only a few young men
keepers of the lights.
left at home, a well was drilled
and driven by a horse powering
a treadmill. This self-sufficient
family received supplies only once a year
and always looked forward to the crate of
new books in the delivery. Stories of this
family include the disciplinary method of
having the boys grab a can of paint and
a brush whenever they got into trouble.
When the keepers’ quarters were restored,
it is said there were between 80 and 90
layers of paint on the walls!
Further exploration of Door County included a stop at the scenic Bailey’s Harbor
Range lights which
have been restored
and are on the beautiful grounds of the
Ridges Sanctuary.
Closer to the hub of
Sturgeon Bay, The
Sturgeon Bay Canal
Station Lighthouse
and North Pierhead
Lighthouse bear
witness to the opening of the Sturgeon
Bay Canal to offer
a quicker route to
thriving Green Bay,
and the Sherwood
Point Lighthouse,
with its unique red-brick exTop right: Plum Island Upper Range.
Above: Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.
terior, holds the significance
Fiscal Year, 2014
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Fiscal Year, 2014
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Gulf Coast
Sentinels, Sunshine, and Sand
March 15 - 24, 2015
Note: This tour starts in New Orleans, Louisiana and
ends in Fort Myers, Florida
Our comprehensive tour of 27 Gulf Coast lighthouses
begins on the Ides of March with our welcome dinner
in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Our first full
day will be a real adventure as we cruise out of Venice passing the remote lighthouses of the Mississippi bird-foot delta. After spending a second night in the French Quarter we will depart for the Port
Pontchartrain and completely restored New Canal lighthouses before crossing the longest bridge in
the world, the Lake Pontchartrain causeway. Following our visit to the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse
and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum we will head east into Mississippi and Alabama.
The Round Island Lighthouse in Pascagoula has been restored since our last visit and it is always interesting to climb the only lighthouse in the country that stands in the middle of a four lane highway (Biloxi Lighthouse). Boats will be required to reach the only
two standing lighthouses in Alabama, Middle Bay and Sand Island. Our trip out to Middle Bay, one of only two screwpile lighthouses
in the country in its original location, will be aboard the Joshua, a 72-foot gaff rigged
sailing schooner. Continuing along Florida’s Forgotten Coast, stops will be made at
Scheduled Lighthouses
lighthouses at Pensacola, St. Joseph
Point (now with a lantern room),
Southwest Pass (1839)
Cape St. George, Crooked River,
Itinerary Summary
Southwest Pass (1871)
and the recently moved Cape San
Southwest Pass Entrance
Blas lighthouses. An early start the
March 15 - New Orleans (Welcome dinner)
South Pass (Port Eads)
next day takes us to the St. Marks
March 16 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Pass a l’Outre
Lighthouse and out to view our first
March 17 - Biloxi, Mississippi
Gretna
of several off-shore lights at Cedar
March 18 - Fairhope, Alabama
Port Pontchartrain
Key. Boat trips to Anclote Key and
March 19 - Panama City, Florida
Tchefuncte River
Egmont Key complete our tour of
March 20 - Crawfordville, Florida
Broadwater Beach
these remote lighthouses. Our final
March 21 - Cedar Key, Florida
Biloxi
day begins with a visit to the Boca
March 22 - Ellenton, Florida
Round Island
Grande and Gasparilla Island lightMarch 23 - Fort Myers, Florida
Sand Island
houses for tours and lunch. In the
March 24 - Flights Home
Middle (Mobile) Bay
afternoon our final lighthouse visit
Pensacola
will be to the Sanibel Island LightSt. Joseph
house. This tour is a great opporCape San Blas
tunity to spend a few extra days in New Orleans and reach some remote lighthouses as
St. Joseph Point
well as several that have been restored or moved in recent years. So escape the snow and
Cape St George
gloom of winter and head to the Big Easy and Bourbon Street in March for a lighthouse
Crooked River
trip that promises to be tres bien.
St. Marks
Cedar Key
Anclote Key
Other Scheduled Stops
Tierra Verde
Egmont Key
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum
Boca Grande Entrance Rear Range
Port Boca Grande (Gasparilla Island)
Sanibel Island
Single - $3,603 (Cash Discount - $3,495)
Double - $6,061 (Cash Discount - $5,880)
Fiscal Year, 2014
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Belgium & Netherlands
Lighthouses and Windmills
April 9 - 25, 2015 (17 days/16 nights)
Note: This tour starts in Brussels, Belgium and ends in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Belgium and the Netherlands are both relatively small in size geographically, yet they
boast large concentrations of lighthouses. Our extensive tour of these two history-rich
countries will feature a vast array of these vuurtoren, Dutch for “fire tower,” as well as
traditional villages, windmills, and cheese markets. Our trip is aptly timed to view the
colorful fields striped with tulips, hyacinth and gladiolas for which the
region is known.
Other Scheduled Stops
After gathering in Brussels, Belgium, we travel to the charming cities
of Ghent and Bruges. Heading out to the coast, we view the many lighthouses in the four North Sea ports
Tour of Ghent
and will continue north to the Netherlands’ city of Middelburg, a late 8th century fortified town with its Bruge Canal Cruise
merchants’ mansions and old moats.
Coast Lighthouse Museum
The tour will pause in vibrant Amsterdam and then continue north to the West Frisian Islands in the Free day in Bruges
Wadden Sea, before concluding the excursion back in Amsterdam.
Kinderdijk (city of windmills)
This comprehensive tour of Belgium and the Netherlands
Rotterdam Maritime Museum
promises a vast array of historic cities, authentic villages, and
Escher Museum
the many natural wonders of the coastlines and islands. Come Tour of Delft
Itinerary Summary
along and enjoy the architectural and cultural marvels from
Free Day in Amsterdam
canals to dykes and, of course, lighthouses!
Amsterdam canal cruise
April 9 Arrive Brussels
Zaanse Schans traditional village
April 10
Ghent/Bruges
Scheduled Lighthouses
April 11-12
Bruges
April 13
Middelburg
Scheveningen Noorderhoofd
Belgium:
April 14-15
Rotterdam
Scheveningen Zuiderhoofd
Nieuwpoort
West
Mole
April 16
Delft
Van de Valk Pier Scheveningen
Nieuwpoort
East
Mole
April 17-18
Amsterdam
Katwijk Lighthouse
Nieuwpoort
Lighthouse
April 19-20
Den Helder
Noordwijk an Zee Lighthouse
Oostende
West
Pier
April 21-22
Harlingen
IJmuiden Nieuwe Zuiderhoofd
Oostende
“Lange
Nelle”
April 23-24
Amsterdam
IJmuiden Oude Zuiderhoofd
Blankenberge
April 25
Flights home
IJmuiden Lage Range Front
Lightship Mayflower
IJmuiden Hoge Range Rear
Zeebruge Old Mole
IJmuiden Nieuwe Noorderhoofd
Zeebruge Zeeluis (Omookaai)
IJmuiden Oude Noorderhoofd
Zeebrugge (Heist) Range Rear
Egmond aan Zee
Lightship West Hinder II
Zanddijk
Knokke-Heist Lighthouse (replica)
Huiduinen
Kijkduin “Lange Jaap”
Netherlands:
Lightship 11 Texel light tower
Nieuwe Sluis (Breskens) Range Rear
Schilbolsnol
Vlissingen Lighthouse
Den Hoorn
Kaapduinen Range Rear
Eierland (Texel)
Kaapduinen Range Front
Lightship 10 Texel
Zoutelande Range Front
Vlieland
Westkapelle Lighthouse
Terschelling (Brandaris)
Noorderhoofd Range Front
Ameland (Bornrif)
West Schouwen (Haamstede)
Lemmer (replica)
Westhoofd (Ouddorp)
Urk
Goedereede
Elburg
Brielle (Stenen Baken)
Haderwijk (de Vischpoort)
Hellevoetsluis
Volendam
Lightship 12 Noord-Hinder
Paard van Marken
Hoek van Holland High Range Rear
Single - $6,287 (Cash Discount - $6,098)
Scheveningen
Double - $9,675 (Cash Discount - $9,385)
Fiscal Year, 2014
4th Quarterly Bulletin
South Carolina & Georgia
Lighthouses and Southern Charm
May 2 - 10, 2015
Centering around the oldest cities in South Carolina and Georgia this tour
is loaded with lighthouses, history and southern charm. We will visit every
standing lighthouse in both states and provide ample time to explore two of
the South’s most beautiful cities: Charleston and Savannah. In Charleston
we will be staying at a hotel set in the original Citadel Military College in the
heart of the historic downtown. Savannah’s free day will allow you to embark
on a historic tour or browse the River Street boutiques just steps away from
our hotel. Choose from historic forts, haunting cemeteries, classic southern architecture, parks, plantations,
churches, museums and monuments. Add to this some difficult to access lighthouses as well as some good ol’
fashion southern cooking and you have the makings of a tour that will allow you to delete some things from
your bucket list. Beginning and ending in Charleston, our first boat trip will be out to see the lights of Cape
Romain, one of the few locations where both the new and old towers still stand. That same day we will cruise
to a remote barrier island through a bird-watchers paradise to South Carolina’s oldest lighthouse, the Georgetown Lighthouse. Here you will have
an opportunity to beachcomb and enjoy some shelling opportunities. Along the way we may encounter dolphins, eagles, and alligators. Leaving
Charleston after a free day to explore on your own, stops will be made to view Sullivan’s Island, Morris Island and Hunting Island lighthouses and
we will venture onto a golf course to see the Hilton Head Range Light. Speed boats and golf carts will be
provided to tour Daufuskie Island before we head to Savannah. A free day in Savannah will be followed
Itinerary Summary
by two more boat trips to tour Sapelo Island and the elusive Little Cumberland Island Lighthouse. One
more boat ride will take us out to get an up-close view of Cockspur Island and a water view of Tybee
May 2 - Charleston Airport
Island. The end of the tour is highlighted by climbing two wonderfully preserved and restored lighthouses
May 3 - Charleston
at St Simons Island and Tybee Island. It promises to be fun, entertaining, educational and loaded with
May 4 - Charleston (Free Day)
southern hospitality!
May 5 - Hilton Head
May 6 - Savannah
May 7 - Savannah (Free Day)
May 8 - Brunswick
Scheduled Lighthouses
May 9 - Charleston Airport
May 10 - Flights home
Old Cape Romain
New Cape Romain
Georgetown
St Phillips (Fort Sumter RR)
Sullivan’s Island
Morris Island
Hunting Island
Hilton Head Rear Range
Harbour Town
Haig Point
Bloody Point Front Range
Savannah Harbor
Sapelo Island
Sapelo Island Front Range
Little Cumberland Island
St. Simons Island
Cockspur
Tybee Island
Single - $3,495 (Cash Discount - $3,390)
Double - $5,546 (Cash Discount - $5,380)
Fiscal Year, 2014
4th Quarterly Bulletin
New Jersey “Plus”
Lighthouses and Liberty
June 1 - 8, 2015
Beginning in the “City of Brotherly Love” the Society’s 2015 New Jersey tour adds
“plus” with our first tour of the new National Lighthouse Museum and a boat
cruise to include some extra New York lighthouses. Along the way we will visit
three of the tallest lighthouses in the country, the first one to install a Fresnel lens
and the oldest lighthouse in the U.S. “Lighthousing” begins with two rear range
skeletal towers at Tinicum and Finn’s Point, a visit to the East Point Lighthouse
and a tour of the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse whose design resembles the Point Fermin and East Brother Lighthouses in California. The day concludes with a climb to
the top of the beautiful Cape May Lighthouse (199 steps) and a visit to the museum
housing the lighthouse’s first order lens. Our initial cruise of the tour departs the following day from Cape
May for views of the lights in Delaware Bay (Brandywine, Cross Ledge, Fourteen Foot Bank, Miah Maull Shoal, Elbow of Cross
Ledge, and Ship John Shoal). Upon returning to shore, we will spend the afternoon relaxing in Cape May, the nation’s oldest seashore
resort. The next morning begins by climbing 228 steps to the top of Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City, the first lighthouse built
under supervision of the Lighthouse Board. If that isn’t enough, we will stop to see the first order lens from Barnegat Lighthouse and
then climb Old Barney, the fourth tallest lighthouse in the country. Our day concludes at a much
shorter lighthouse at Sea Girt, the site of the first radio beacon mounted in a shore installation
Scheduled Lighthouses
in the U.S. The next day is nothing short of historical as we start with a tour of one of the few
remaining twin lights in the country located at the Highlands of Navesink. Built with two lights
Tinicum Rear Range
to distinguish it from the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, this was the first lighthouse in the country to
Finns Point
display a Fresnel lens. One of these lenses, a spectacular seven ton bi-valve lens, is on display
East Point
at the lighthouse, where you can climb one of the towers and view the oldest lighthouse in the
Hereford Inlet
country at Sandy Hook (1764), which will be our next tour stop. The remainder of the day will
Cape May
be spent on Staten Island visiting the Staten Island, Elm Tree, and Fort Wadsworth lighthouses.
Brandywine Shoal
Our “plus” day begins with a tour of the newly opened National Lighthouse Museum located at
Cross Ledge
the old U.S. Lighthouse Service “super” depot site on Staten Island where, at one time, equipMiah Maull Shoal
ment was tested and all lighthouse keepers were trained. We’ll then catch a ride on the Staten
Elbow of Cross Ledge
Island ferry over to Manhattan and board another vessel for a 3 ½ hour cruise in and around
Ship John Shoal
New York Harbor. Some of the lighthouses included are: the Statue of Liberty, Great Beds, West
Absecon
Bank, Robbins Reef, and Romer Shoal.
Tucker’s Beach (Replica)
On our return trip to Philadelphia the
Other Scheduled Stops
Barnegat
following day, we will take time to visit
Sea Girt
several historical sites in and around the
Barnegat Light Historical Museum - 1st order lens
Navesink
city before heading back to our airport
Cape May County Museum - 1st order lens
Sandy Hook
hotel for the farewell dinner. This excitNational Lighthouse Museum, Staten Island
Conover Beacon
ing tour will leave you with memories
Historic Philadelphia tour
Staten Island
of a number of “pluses” including tall
Elm Tree
lighthouses, the Jersey shore, historical
Fort Wadsworth
locations, the National Lighthouse MuStatue of Liberty
seum and, as always, the friendship of your fellow wickies!
Robbin’s Reef
New Dorp
Prince’s Bay
Itinerary Summary
Coney Island
Great Beds
June 1 - Philadelphia - Welcome Dinner
West Bank
June 2 - Cape May
Romer Shoal
June 3 - Cape May
Old Orchard Shoal (Ruins)
June 4 - Neptune, NJ
June 5 - Staten Island, NY
June 6 - Staten Island, NY
June 7 - Philadelphia - Farewell Dinner
Single - $3,237 (Cash Discount - $3,140)
June 8 - Flights home
Double - $5,103 (Cash Discount - $4,950)
a
Fiscal Year, 2014
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Summer Solstice Expedition to the
Outer Hebrides
June 14 - 29, 2015
The Western Isles of Scotland and Hebrides are remote, wild, and scenically
one of the most spectacular corners of the world. Most of the lighthouses are
located on tiny islands or remote cliffs which are only accessible by boats capable
of safely navigating the hundreds of miles of narrow passage ways and bays.
Exploring the Hebrides by boat is an adventure so very few people ever get the
opportunity to take, because only a handful of small boats are equipped and
rated highly enough to safely carry passengers.
USLHS is very fortunate to have successfully chartered a former Norwegian ocean-going rescue boat, which
has been lovingly converted to include six cabins designed for a dozen passengers. Yes, you read it right. We can
take only 12 people on our midnight sun adventure, so an early sign-up is critical if you want to go.
We can promise you a spectacular journey with the rugged Scottish highland mountains and the Cuillin
peaks of Skye as a backdrop. In complete contrast the Outer Hebrides are kissed by the warm waters of the Gulf
Stream, bringing aquamarine colors and white sandy beaches to the island of Berneray where we visit
Barra Head lighthouse. The population of many islands has declined dramatically over the last 100
years. None perhaps more evident on our journey than the Isle of Canna, where there is evidence
of human habitation for more than 9,000 years, but today only 12 full-time residents remain.
Our adventure starts in Glasgow, Scotland, and a scenic journey northwest to the highland port
of Oban. Here we board the vessel, our home for the next 10 nights. Every day crew members not
only guide and hike with us on the islands, but they also dive for
scallops and fresh seafood for our chefs to prepare. If you enjoy
Itinerary Summary
a single malt scotch you are in for a real treat, as we will be
visiting the Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull. No boating
June 14 - Glasgow
Scheduled Lighthouses
adventure to this corner of the world would be complete without
June 15 - Tobermoray
a stop at “The Old Forge” on Loch Nevis. The most remote
June 16 - Canna
pub in mainland Britain is only accessible by boat or a 34-mile Butt of Lewis
June 17 - Hyskeir
Tuimpan Head
mountain hike.
June 18 - Mingulay
Upon returning to Oban, we travel to Glasgow and fly to Arnish Point
June 19 - Ushenish
Eilean Trodday
Stornoway on the northern Isle of Lewis. Here we visit three
June 20 - Moonon Bay
Waternich Point
lighthouses, plus the ancient Gearrannan Blackhouse Village,
June 21 - Ascrib Islands
Neist Point
and the Callanish Stones - a 3,500 year mystery circle similar
June 22 - Kyle of Localsh
Ushenish
to Stonehenge.
June 23 - Inverie
Barra Head
June 24 - Grey Isles
Hyskeir
June 25 - Oban
Canna
June 26 - Stornoway
Ardnamurchan
June 27 - Stornoway
Rona
June 28 - Glasgow
Eilean Beag
June 29 - Flights home
Kyleakin
Ornsey
Elean Chathastail
Lismore
Rubha Nan Gall
Other Scheduled Stops
Dunvagan Castle
Castle Brochel
Eilean Donnan
Clannish circle of Stones
2 people - $13,918 (Cash Discount - $13,500)
Fiscal Year, 2014
10
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Lighthouses and Pasties
July 11 - 20, 2015
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is over 16,000 square miles of timber,
wildlife, mines, waterfalls, mountains, inland lakes, and home to the
3% of Michigan’s population known as “yoopers”. With over 1,700
miles of shoreline on three Great Lakes connected by the locks at Sault
Ste. Marie, the maritime history of the U.P. is replete with ship wrecks,
lighthouses, and the production of more wealth (copper & iron) than the California gold rush. Beginning and
ending in Green Bay, Wisconsin, our tour will completely circle the Upper Peninsula including Menominee,
Newberry, Munising, Marquette and Copper Harbor. Lighthouse highlights include visiting the isolated
stations at Crisp Point and Au Sable as well as viewing the off-shore lights on the islands of Grand, Granite, Little Gull, and Manitou. Along the way
you will learn how to pronounce Seul Choix, marvel at the rock formations, waterfalls, and sand dunes of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and
ponder the splendor of the largest freshwater lake in the world. You will gaze out into Lake Superior at Whitefish Point where waves break together
from two different directions and see the spot where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. After visiting the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, you will
have trouble getting Gordon Lightfoot’s haunting melody out of your mind. Our tour will take you to the beacons that lit the Keweenaw Peninsula
and guided ships through the Keweenaw Waterway. The area north of the waterway is known as Copper Island, because the waterway separates the
northern part of the peninsula from the mainland. It is home to even more lighthouses including one with an unusual architecture at Sand Hills.
And, if that isn’t enough to entice you to join us, we will also take you to a copper mine, picturesque Tahquamenon and Munising Falls, a bear
ranch and the lighthouse at Big Bay Point where a murder rooted at the lighthouse inspired the novel and movie Anatomy of a Murder. Along with
all this history and culture, we will include regional culinary favorites including wild thimbleberry jam, whitefish cooked a dozen different ways
and, of course, the ubiquitous
pasty (rhymes with nasty). By
Scheduled Lighthouses
the time you finish the tour
Au Sable
Grand Marais Range Lights
Munising Range Lights
you will no longer be a troll,
Big Bay Point
Granite Island
Ontonagon
which is Yooper for someone
Copper Harbor
Gull Rock
Ontonagon West Pierhead
who lives “under the bridge”
Copper Harbor Range
Jacobsville (Portage River)
Point Iroquois
referring to those that live
Crisp Point
Keweenaw Waterway Lower
Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater
below (or downstate from)
Eagle Harbor
Manistique East Breakwater
Sand Hills
the Mackinaw Bridge. So,
Eagle Harbor Range
Manitou Island
Sand Point (Baraga)
pack a pasty, your How to
Escanaba Harbor
Marquette Harbor Breakwater Sand Point (Escanaba)
Speak Yooper book and make
Grand Island East Channel Marquette Lighthouse
Seul Choix
your way to the “Toilet Paper
Grand Island Harbor Range Mendota (Bete Grise)
Whitefish Point
Capital of the World” – Green
Grand Island North
Menominee North Pier
Bay, Wisconsin!
Other Scheduled Stops
Itinerary Summary
July 11
July 12-13
July 14
July 15
July 16-18
July 19
July 20
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Newberry, Michigan
Munising
Marquette
Houghton
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Flights home
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Marquette Maritime Museum
Munising Falls
Quincy Mine & Hoist
Oswald Bear Ranch
Tahquamenon Falls
Single - $3,485 (Cash Discount - $3,380)
Double - $5,938 (Cash Discount - $5,760)
Fiscal Year, 2014
11
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Door County
Sentinels and Shipwrecks
August 2 - 8, 2015
The Door County Peninsula of Wisconsin is flanked by 300 miles
of craggy coastline along the shores of Lake Michigan. Its surrounding
islands and treacherous passageways were the stuff of legends for 19th
and 20th century sailors. Consequently, 11 lighthouses were built,
making Door County home to the most lighthouses of any county in
the country. Our 2015 Door County tour will explore these, as well as
the lighthouses surrounding beautiful Lake Winnebago.
Our tour begins and ends in Green Bay. In addition to some 29
lighthouses, we will have a chance to visit the fascinating Door County
Maritime Museum and tour the fully restored 1960s era Great Lakes
tug John Purves. We will be boarding a retired fire boat for one of our
lighthouse excursions. And of course, no visit to Door County would be complete without an authentic fish boil,
a traditional feast of local fish cooked over a dramatic fire, accompanied by pageantry and storytelling.
This tour offers an exciting opportunity to explore lighthouses protecting Wisconsin’s coastlines on
both Lake Michigan and Green Bay, as well as scenic Lake Winnebago. Along the way, we will hear the
Other Scheduled Stops
tales of the area’s early native inhabitants, French trappers, and the intrepid sailors and lighthouse keepers
of the Great Lakes. We will sample authentic cuisine introduced by settlers from Belgium and Scandinavia,
Door County Maritime Museum
and enjoy photo opportunities of well-preserved lighthouses, historic farms, and extraordinary natural
Thordarson Estate
beauty. In typical U.S. Lighthouse Society fashion, this is sure to be a memorable trip.
Itinerary Summary
Scheduled Lighthouses
Grassy Island Range Lighthouse
Sherwood Point
Sturgeon Bay Canal
North Pierhead
Bailey’s Harbor Range Lights
Old Bailey’s Harbor
Cana Island
Eagle Bluff
St. Martin
Poverty Island
Plum Island
Pilot Island
Pottawatomie (Rock Island)
Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse
Chambers Island
Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse
Neenah (Kimberly Point)
Bray’s Point
Asylum Point
Fond du Lac
Calumet
Aug. 2 Aug. 3-5 Aug. 6-7 Aug. 8 -
Green Bay
Ellison Bay
Green Bay
Flights home
Single - $2,882 (Cash Discount - $2,795)
Double - $4,928 (Cash Discount - $4,780)
Fiscal Year, 2014
12
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Northern California Lighthouses
Farallon Islands to St George Reef
September 22 - October 1, 2015
From the Bay to the border with Oregon, come and enjoy the
most complete tour of Northern California lighthouses we have ever
been able to offer.
Journey with us to the amazing San Francisco Bay including Alcatraz
Island Light, and out to the Farallon Islands for a photo opportunity of
a truly remote light station. Explore the famous “Fisherman’s Wharf”
and see the 1st order Fresnel lens from Farallon Island Light on display
there.
No lighthouse trip to Northern California would be complete without walking through the long tunnel and across
the suspension bridge to Point Bonita, or a hike down the cliff paths and 300 steps to the Point Reyes Light.
The northern California coastal landscape is rugged and wild, and among other beautiful lighthouses, this tour
will provide the unique opportunity to photograph up close the most expensive lighthouse built in
the U.S.—St. George Reef—which we will be seeing via vessel.
Our days are filled with 17 lighthouse adventures and magnificent coastal scenery including
Scheduled Lighthouses
monumental redwoods and local wineries. From Mendocino to Sonoma to Humboldt Counties,
your Northern California tour promises to be exciting and memorable.
Lightship RELIEF (LV605)
Oakland Harbor
East Brothers Island
Itinerary Summary
Yerba Buena Island Lighthouse
Alcatraz
September 22 - Oakland
Lime Point Lighthouse (remains)
September 23 - Oakland
Mile Rock Lighthouse (remains )
September 24 - Crescent City
Fort Point
September 25 - Crescent City
Point Bonita Lighthouse
September 26 - Eureka
Farallon Islands
September 27 - Fort Bragg
Point Reyes Lighthouse September 28 - Jenner
Point Arena Lighthouse September 29 - San Francisco
Point Cabrillo Lighthouse
September 30 - Oakland
Table Bluff Lighthouse
October 1
- Flights home
Trinidad Lighthouse
Battery Point Lighthouse
St. George Reef
Other Scheduled Stops
Simi Winery
Redwood Grove
Del Norte County Historical Society Museum
Single - $3,794 (Cash Discount - $3,680)
Double - $6,129 (Cash Discount - $5,945)
Fiscal Year, 2014
13
4th Quarterly Bulletin
Downeast Maine
Lighthouses and Lobsters
October 6 - 12, 2015
At the mention of the phrase “Down East,” one
envisions quaint fishing villages, snug bays, and myriad
lighthouses studding tree-lined shores. Our 2015
Maine tour brings you all this and much more. This
lighthouse adventure is timed such that we will travel during the peak of fall colors, and we’ll be there
when Maine’s famous lobsters are in season.
We’ll begin and end in Bangor and head north to historic Campobello Island, the former summer home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an
island in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada. We will overnight in Lubec, Maine, the easternmost town in the continental United States,
whose region features the East Quoddy, West Quoddy, and Mulholland Lighthouses.
We’ll then head to Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, our base for three nights. Bar Harbor was New England’s premier summer resort in
the 19th century and boasts estates built for some of America’s most influential families. Our exploration of this region includes a tour of Acadia
National Park, Maine’s quintessential natural setting featuring rocky coastlines, mountains, ponds and marshlands where wildlife abounds. And, we
have arranged two jet-powered catamaran cruises from Bar Harbor to maximize viewing and photographing of the area’s many offshore lighthouses,
including Great Duck Island, Baker Island, Bear Island and Egg Rock Island as well as Bass Island and Burnt Coat Harbor Lighthouse. Along the
way, we hope to spot the many whales, porpoise, and seabirds—even puffins—who frolic in these rich coastal
waters. We have also allotted plenty of time on your own in Bar Harbor to walk, shop or even soak up the
history aboard a stately horse-drawn carriage.
Scheduled Lighthouses
Lighthouses, lobsters, fall colors, and abundant wildlife are
sure to intrigue and entertain even the most seasoned traveler.
East Quoddy
Itinerary Summary
Book now to join us in October for the Down East and Acadia
West Quoddy Head
Maine tour.
Mulholland
Oct. 6 Bangor -Welcome Dinner
Little River
Oct. 7 Lubec
Baker Island
Oct. 8-10 - Bar Harbor
Bear Island
Oct. 11 - Bangor- Farewell Dinner
Egg Rock
Oct. 12 - Flights home
Great Duck Island
Winter Harbor
Bass Harbor Head
Petit Manan
Moosepeak
Nash Island
Pond Island
Prospect Harbor
Other Scheduled Stops
Roosevelt Campobello Park
Acadia National Park
Single - $2,784 (Cash Discount - $2,700)
Double - $4,742 (Cash Discount - $4,600)
Fiscal Year, 2014
14
Tour Registration
4th Quarterly Bulletin
If a tour is full, we will return your check and place you on a standby list.
Standbys are notified on a first come, first served basis when openings become available.
I am interested in the tours that I have checked below:
GULF COAST
Number in Party
Number in Party
______
MICHIGAN’S UPPER PENINSULA March 15-24, 2015
July 11-20, 2015
NETHERLANDS & BELGIUM
______
DOOR COUNTY
April 9-25, 2015
______
August 2-8, 2015
SOUTH CAROLINA & GEORGIA
______
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA May 2-10, 2015
______
September 22-October 1, 2015
NEW JERSEY “PLUS”
______
NORTHERN MAINE
June 1-8, 2015
THE HEBRIDES
______
______
October 6-12, 2015
______
June 14-29, 2015
Send registration form with deposit to:
U.S. Lighthouse Society, 9005 Point No Point Rd. NE, Hansville, WA 98340
USLHS Tour Policies
• Tour prices include all coach and vessel charters, lodging, admission fees and most meals. The price does not include air fare. A 3% discount
off the listed price is provided for cash payments.
• A deposit of $200 per person is required to reserve space on all tours. Payment is due in full upon receipt of invoice. Deposits are refundable only if a reservation is cancelled 75 days prior to the beginning of the tour.
• Once full payment has been received, cancellations 30 days or less prior to the tour date are subject to a $100 per person cancellation fee.
Any non-recoverable advance payments will be deducted prior to any refund.
Please do not combine tour deposits with other payments such as membership dues. However, deposits for several tours may be combined in one check. Tour
prices are subject to change. Please see the Society website for other tour policies.
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Number: __________________________________________________
Exp. Date: _______
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PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY AND COMPLETE ALL FIELDS THAT APPLY.
Participants (Names as you would like on name tags)
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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