Tag: lighthouse

Chicken Rock

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My Mum and Dad recently jumped on a special ferry from Douglas in the Isle of Man to… er… Douglas… in the Isle of Man.
This “round the Island” trip is a chance for locals to go… er… round the island and see it from a different perspective.

Here’s one of the photos they took:

This is the Chicken Rock lighthouse off the south west coast of the Isle of Man. Wikipedia tells us:

The 0.1 hectare rock is home to a 44 m (144 ft) lighthouse which was designed by engineers David and Thomas Stevenson after it was realised that the lights on the Calf of Man were not sufficient to warn ships away. Construction of this tapered granite structure was completed in December 1874 and the first official lighting day was on 1 January 1875.

So not quite as old as the Cape Agulhas light, but given that this one is built on a rock that is completely submerged at high tide and which lies 4.5km off the mainland (and about 7.5km from the nearest port), I think that’s a pretty amazing feat of engineering for that time.

Under Repair

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Cape Agulhas lighthouse is undergoing some much needed repairs at the moment, as this photo clearly demonstrates:

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Taken by Mrs 6000 yesterday, you can see that the work is fairly extensive. And it needs to be: the winter storms on the Southern Tip show no mercy.

The lighthouse will have seen a few of them, having been built in local sandstone in 1848. And the damage that those storms can do was shown clearly in the late 1960s when the light was moved to an aluminium tower nearby (note to self: find picture of this), as the sandstone had eroded and the building itself was in danger of collapsing due to excessive weathering.
Thankfully (and rightfully), it was declared a national monument and it was restored and recommissioned in 1988.

The focal plane of the light is 31 metres (102 ft) above high water; the range of the 7,500,000 candlepower lantern is 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi). It rotates, giving off one white flash every five seconds. When they’re not repairing and restoring it,visitors are able to exercise their right to suffer terrifying vertigo by climbing the tower and examining the seemingly flimsy railings around the top.

Right now, I’m back in Cape Town, copying the lighthouse by having an external support structure around my right leg, which is being repaired and painted in bold red and white hoops before winter [don’t push the analogy – Ed.]. 

I miss Agulhas and I’m desperate to get back down there as soon as possible. But the 3 hour drive isn’t conducive to getting this ankle sorted and I know that sacrificing a visit this weekend is going to get that process over more quickly.

Other People’s Photos

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As I sit here cursing my bad luck and impatient to hear my fate (I only see the ankle expert tomorrow), I have been enjoying other people’s photos.

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Up top is a gorgeous stormy sea at Laxey in the Isle of Man from Gary Harrison.
Downstairs, a more local scene, with the continuing renovation work at the Cape Agulhas lighthouse.
I’m not quite sure what that huge scaffolding structure in the car park is for, but given their history with scaffolding down at the Southern Tip, it’s probably better to have a bit extra rather than not quite enough.

In the background…

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I’m still messing around with (literally) about 1000 photos that I’ve taken over the past two or three weeks – you’ll get to see them in due course. In the meantime, here’s one of the lighthouse at Cape Agulhas that it has been suggested might make a nice desktop background.

If you want it as yours, please feel free, by downloading the original here (handily in 16:9 format).
And – assuming I remember – I’ll try to prevent any staleness and stagnation by giving you something new to look at behind your each and every month.