Elbow Reef Lighthouse - history lives!
20 March 2017
This was our third trip to the Elbow Reef Lighthouse, with its interesting history. In the mid 1800's, shipwrecks were on the increase in the Bahamas, and England wanted to build navigation aids in their colonies. To keep vessels from grounding on the treacherous shoals near Hope Town, the Elbow Reef Lighthouse was built in 1864. But the building of this lighthouse was hampered by sabotage from the locals, whose major source of income was from wrecking and salvaging. When the lighthouse was completed, it had a steady, non-flashing light.
The original light source from 1864 is still in operation...a 325,000 candlepower petroleum vapour burner. It works by using a hand pump to pressurize the kerosene in the iron containers below the lantern room, which then travels up a tube to a vaporizer which sprays the kerosene into a pre-heated mantle. The lighthouse mantle must be lit each night by the lighthouse keeper, just as it has been since 1864. Luckily we are moored close to the lighthouse, and can see the lighting of the lighthouse each evening!
In 1936 the Imperial Lighthouse Service decided the light needed to be more easily identified by ships at sea, and the Elbow Reef Lighthouse was given a major refit. To make the light 'flash', turning equipment and an eight thousand pound Fresnel lense floating in a circular tub of lubricant was installed.. The Fresnel lens has 5 'bulls eyes' that concentrate the light into piercing beams to produce a unique group of five white flashes every 15 seconds, with a visibility of 15 nautical miles. The heavy lens apparatus is rotated once every 15 seconds by a system of gears and weights on long cables, similar to a 'grandfather clock'. The lighthouse keeper on duty has to use a hand winch to wind up the weights every two hours. This system works totally without electricity and runs very smoothly...just as long as the keeper does his job!