Being on Elbow Cay - in the Hopetown area is a really special thing. We had some friends on boats there and met new ones and so our visit to this corner of Abaco was quite social. One of the landmarks that is associated with Hopetown is the red and white lighthouse that was built there in the 1860's and still watches over the area - warning sailors of the dangerous reefs just offshore.
The Bahamas is a third world country (even though many people think of it as a resort country) and one of the things that accompanies a 'free' third world country is the lack of a lot of rules and structure. Anyone who has read my blog for long knows that after returning from visiting any of these countries that have less structure, I refer to the US as the 'land of no' (click here for past posts on that subject) . We have a rule for everything and every kind of structure in place to keep us from harming ourselves (so we can't sue someone later). We've become used to this and I think it's a real shame - but then again - many people need to be protected from themselves I guess. As I've traveled to different parts of the world, I've been very fortunate to be able to experience some extremely special things - just because I've asked to.
Jeffery getting a new mantel ready for the light
So, as I sat in the Hopetown harbor watching the famous swords of light rotate around and pierce the night sky with 5 beams passing by every 15 seconds, I thought to myself "I'll bet that I can go up top while the keeper lights the light". The lighthouse itself is open to exploration, but it closes to visitors at 5 pm nightly, so my plan was to just go to the door about 15 minutes before dark and wait for the light keeper to show up and ask him.
Priming the vaporizer
So, the next morning, I asked our friend Brad who is living on his sailboat "Mothra" in the harbor, and seems to know everyone - if he knew the light keeper and if he thought I could be there during the lighting of the light. Brad said it would be no problem and to do exactly what I'd planned on doing - just show up before dark and ask.
Getting the mixture right
So, that was my plan. I dinghied over to the old cement dock that is the main access to the lighthouse and waited outside until Jeffery - the light keeper showed up. I asked him if I could watch him light the light and he said sure.
The light is fueled by kerosene and surprisingly it only uses 2.5 gallons per night. The delivery system is pressurized by hand to 60-70 psi and the kerosene is pumped up to a vaporizer just below the mantel. To get the kerosene to vaporize initially, the keeper puts a couple of ounces of kerosene in a container just below the vaporizer and heats it up for about 5 minutes. This heat is maintained while the light is lit so there's no need to 'prime' it afterward. Once the vaporizer is functioning properly, the keeper has to coax the right mixture of vaporized kerosene to the mantel for the proper glow. It appeared to be a bit of a learned art.
This flame, when refracted through the fresnel lens can been focused and seen for 17 miles.
During the day, there's a curtain around the fresnel lens that keeps the sun from shining in a focused manner through incredibly large magnifying glasses. While lighting the light, we worked on the inside of this curtain. After the light was burning (about a 15 minute process), the curtain is dropped and the weights which have been wound to just below the light are allowed to begin their 2 hour descent - which is what makes the lens turn at a speed of 4 rpm. Below is some official info about the light:
"The light source for Elbow Cay was built by Chance Brothers of Birmingham, England and is till sending out the light today from the top of the Elbow Reef Lighthouse. The hood petroleum burner is rated at 325,000 candlepower, a first order light. A hand pump is used to pressurize the kerosene in heavy iron containers in the service room, directly below the lantern room and travels up a tube to an atomizer which sprays into a mantle (a hood of network fabric) having been pre-heated before lighting. Some camping lanterns operate similarly.
"The beautiful Fresnel lenses concentrate the mantle's light into a piercing beam straight out towards the horizon. The eight thousand pound lenses and burner equipment float in a circular tub of lubricant thereby reducing friction so that seven hundred pounds of weight, when wound up to the top of the tower by a hand winch and using a series of bronze gears, rotate the four ton apparatus once around every 15 seconds and very smoothly at that. The keeper on duty has to wind up the weights every two hours. The smooth sweep of the turning lenses with their five swords of light cutting the darkness over the sea, while the light constantly glows between those beams, is know as the 'soul' of a lighthouse. Once seen and compared to an electric flashing light, it is not soon forgotten and the use of the word 'soul' is more easily understood."
During the day, I put my GoProHD camera on a headband and headed up the lighthouse, then put it on a 5 ft. pole to give a good perspective view. You can see the video from that below (watch it in HD if you have a fast connection)
The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his reaction, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him - he's always doing both.
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