Lighthouse

We visited the Cape Hatteras lighthouse today, which was a about a 15 minute drive from where we’re staying in Avon. Though lighthouses these days are only used as a backup when electronic systems fail, they hold magic for me. If they could only speak, they’d tell countless tales of hurricanes and shipwrecks. This one, along with Bodie Island, Okacroke Island, Roanoke Marshes, and Currituck, would be full of lore; after all, these waters down here are known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

According to my brief research, this area is so dangerous because the Gulf Stream collides with a branch of the Labrador Current just off Cape Hatteras, which forces ships into a dangerous twelve-mile long sandbar called Diamond Shoals.

Lighthouses never fail to inspire nostalgia. When I get near one, sensations of hot summer days, sand in my flip flops, and melting ice cream cones come to mind. Today was an exception; it was the only time I can remember getting close to one during the winter.

It did not fail to excite. This one is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States, measuring 198.49 feet from the bottom of the foundation to the top of the pinnacle of the tower. It also still has its two Fresnel lenses in operation, the light from which can be seen 20 miles away.

I love that each lighthouse has a distinctive paint pattern (called a “daymark”) and light sequence (“nightmark”), so a mariner will always know where he/she is when sailing along the coast, day or night. This one is unforgettable: a bold white and black swirl sitting atop a bright red granite base.

The first lighthouse at Cape Hatteras was built in 1803, but it was ineffective because it was too short and made of sandstone, so it blended into the background. Its signal was weak, and it was poorly constructed. Thankfully, Congress approved funds to rebuild it, and the new one was lit on December 16, 1870. Over the years, it has faced vandalism, beach erosion, and cracks in its foundation, among other issues. In 1999, it was moved 2,900 feet in 23 days to its current location and sits at a much safer 1,500 feet from the ocean. It resembles a retired grande dame in its stately and secure location; she has earned a quiet, peaceful retirement where she spends her days being admired. Ain’t she a beauty?