Lighthouse of the Week, January 10-16, 2021: Seal Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

Note:  this is Seal Island, Canada, not Seal Island off the coast of Maine, which is also known as Machias Seal Island.

This week's lighthouse is ostensibly in Nova Scotia, but it's really an island well south of Nova Scotia, named Seal Island (as I am guessing you have guessed by now).

So click here to see where.   It's zoomed WAY out so it's possible to see where it is in relation to Nova Scotia.

Here's what Lighthouse Friends has to say about it:  Seal Island Lighthouse   It has been there awhile, dating back to 1831.   Apparently there's a rock nearby named Blonde Rock that has caused a few shipwrecks.  Well, that wouldn't be the first time a ship full of sailors has gotten into trouble because of a blonde.

(A stretch, I know.)

I couldn't find an actual picture of Blonde Rock, but here's a picture of the HMS Blonde, which wrecked on the rock and gave the rock its name.

Now back to our lighthouse.

According to Lighthouse Friends, "The old lantern and [Fresnel] lens were taken to Barrington and installed atop a replica of the top half of Seal Island Lighthouse that now serves as Seal Island Light Museum."

I'll make a turn to the Lighthouse Directory (what a great resource) to get basic specifications.

"Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white flash every 10 s. 21 m (68 ft) octagonal pyramidal wood tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands; lantern painted red."

The Lighthouse Directory notes that the lighthouse is endangered due to both remote location and poor maintenance.

So now, pictures of this historic, remote, endangered lighthouse.  There aren't very many;  a lot more of the one in Maine are findable.  There are quite a few more of the replica in Barrington, which is half-size.

First picture is from the National Trust of Canada, which is linked above on the word "endangered".

 

And two more