Fog Bell Has Landed

As part of a grant from the Legacy Fund of Heritage Canada, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Swallowtail Lighthouse, we have been renovating the trails and preparing a tribute to the lightkeepers.  Part of this includes returning the bronze fog bell that was used for many years to alert mariners in times of restricted visibility.  With the propensity of fog in the Bay of Fundy, many months of the year, fog alarms were as important as the light.

Bell house prior to 1922 at the extreme easten end of the peninsula. 
The photo was posted to the Facebook group - Old Grand Manan Photos

Reference to the fog bell begins in 1915 when a building was built at the extreme end of the Swallow Tail peninsula, although the date on the bell is 1904.  In 1922, the bell was moved to sit beside the lighthouse to make it easier for the light keepers to keep the winding mechanism operating which in turn rang the bell.  Originally, fog bells, horns, guns were only sounded in response to a fog horn or bell from a passing vessel but with the development of an automated system, similar to what is used with spring wound clocks, the fog bell could be sounded throughout inclement weather that restricted visibility.



Close-up of bell house on northern side of lighthouse.  Elmer Wilcox photo, 1958.



Bell house and fog bell on northern side of Swallowtail light house.  Elmer Wilcox photo, 1958

Both the bell and the bell house were moved to the northern side of the lighthouse where the bell sat until 1980.  A fog horn had replaced the fog bell at an earlier time. The bell had developed a small crack where it was continuously rung and the tone of the bell had changed. The lightkeeper at the time, Grimmer Ingersoll, organized the removal of the bell from the point to the Grand Manan Museum where it sat in front of the Deep Cove School House.  Moving the bronze bell was not an easy feat.  At 900 kg (2000 lbs), it took brute force and lots of ingenuity to accomplish the task.  Unfortunately, the bell did suffer some damage when it was moved in 1980 and two chips can be found on the edge of the bell where chains were wrapped around it.

Light keeper, Grimmer Ingersoll, and friends moving bell in 1980,
eventually getting it to the Grand Manan Museum

When the Swallowtail Keepers Society was formed in 2008, the Museum agreed to donate the bell back to Swallowtail.  A large deck was built by Terry Davidson, George Best and Ken Ingersoll, over the concrete base of the old flag pole and a stand was attached to hold the bell.  Repairs had to be made to the top of the bell and modified to include an eye and shackle for lifting. Michael Brown of Waterfront Fabricating drilled through 6.5 inches of steel at the top of the bell to install two new plates and an eye.  The bell originally had two bolts that held the bell on an I-beam but these were not appropriate if the bell was to be lifted and then lowered onto the stand. The bell could have been strung in a cargo net but that complicated the moving process and recovering the cargo net afterwards, given the weight of the bell.

Terry Davidson and George Best beginning the bell deck

Finished bell deck awaiting the bell

Once the bell was ready to be moved, Randy Brownlee and the M.G. Fisheries boom truck picked up the bell and drove it to the top of the hill at Swallowtail, leaving only 300 m (1000') to move the bell but with 54 steps, a wooden foot bridge, a gravel path over undulating terrain, and a flight of stairs up to the deck, that was not an easy feat.

M.G. Fisheries boom truck that moved the bell from the Grand Manan Museum
 to the top of the stairs leading to Swallowtail.  Randy Brownlee photo.

Inquiries went out to the Canadian Coast Guard and a military base to see if they might be able to use one of their helicopters to move the bell.  No promises were made but it was suggested that if everything was in place, if a helicopter was available, it might happen.  In the middle of November, the Canadian Coast Guard needed their heavy lift helicopter to move building material to Partridge Island in Saint John, NB to construct a new helicopter pad.  Since that is only 25 minutes by helicopter, we were asked to be ready on short notice.  A call at 8:30 on November 21 set the final process in motion.  The helicopter would arrive at 1:30 to move the bell.  This in part was to take advantage of the decreasing wind in the afternoon and to allow myself to be present since I was booked to make a right whale aerial survey the next day with the Fisheries and Oceans Canada as part of the Lobster Mitigation program for Lobster Districts 36, 37 and 38.  locations of right whales are provided to lobster fishermen to help them avoid conflicts with right whales and their fishing gear.

Calls were made to a few people to pass the word about this special event.  Over a dozen people watched as the helicopter arrived to survey the pick up location and the bell deck.  Because of the weight of the bell, only the pilot and one crew member was aboard to do the lifting.  One person was at the bell to hook up the cable and two were at the bell deck to position the moving bell onto the stand.

Jamie McCavour grabbing hook from Canadian Coast Guard helicopter

Jamie McCavour, Canadian Coast Guard,  hooking up cable to bell before lifting

With great anticipation and a bit of trepidation hoping that nothing would happen and the bell wouldn't be lost into the ocean, the helicopter moved into position.  The bell slowly rose off the wooden pallet where it had been sitting.  The pilot then took a long wide circle to approach the bell stand from the south, just as the Grand Manan Adventure ferry rounded Swallowtail.  After a few false approaches, the bell finally was positioned accordingly and was quickly unhooked from the helicopter.  A cheer went up from the onlookers.

The Grand Manan ferry, Grand Manan Advenutre going around Swallowtail as bell
was being brought in a wide arc to the bell deck.  Note the bell house is attached to the lighthouse.

Bronze fog bell lifting into air.  Martha Eaton photo.

Canadian Coast Guard helicopter taking bronze fog bell to the bell deck in a wide arc.

Steve Lloyd and Bob Hebert (Canadian Coast Guard) coordinating the landing of the fog bell on the stand

Bob Hebert (Canadian Coast Guard) unhooking the cable on the fog bell once it was positioned on the stand.

Here are two videos taken of the move

(pick up of the bell from the top of the hill by the Coast Guard helicopter).

I walked down to the see the bell in position and had a great sense of accomplishment as I came over the rise and saw the bell.  While the bell is slightly off centre, that can be fixed.  I took great pleasure in ringing the bell for the first time since it had been removed from Swallowtail.  The tone echoed nicely and while I don't have perfect pitch, the tone is supposed to be an F, according to the manufacturer, Meneely Bell Company of West Troy, NY.

Canadian Coast Guard crew - Bob Hebert, Jamie McCavour, Paul Mosher (pilot) and Steve Lloyd

Deck Extension on Keepers House

When the keepers house at Swallowtail was leased as a bed and breakfast, a wonderful cedar deck was added on the southern side with access from the house through two patio doors.  The deck was only accessible from the western side and while some people did walk up on the deck, to get to the lighthouse it was necessary to walk back around the northern side of the house.

Beginning the extension of the deck on the keepers house.

This winter while restoration work was being carried out at the keepers house and boat house, the deck railing on the eastern side was knocked over by the wind during one of our northeast gales.  Although the railing was stood back up again and secured, the next gale took the railing and shook it so violently that all the pickets and rails were taken apart and flung onto the ground.

Joining the old and new decks.

It was then that I decided that forces beyond us were giving us a message - the railing had to go and the deck extended so people could walk across the deck to the lighthouse or come back over the deck to the keepers house.  This would more closely mimic the board walks that had connected the keepers houses (both old and new) to the lighthouse.

The rock outcrop was incorporated into the deck extension.
The deck is sculpted around the rock to match the observation deck.



Bench incorporated into the deck under construction.  The deck
extension allows access to the lighthouse from the southern side of the keepers house.

 Because the ground was frozen we had to wait until the spring to build the extension.  We also needed to make it strong enough to withstand the ferocious winds so it didn't get stood on end as the old boards walks were after an October hurricane in 1963.  We skirted the side facing the north to reduce the amount of wind that could be forced under and the deck, hopefully reducing the amount of uplift and keeping the deck in place.  We incorporated a bench instead of a railing so people could enjoy the views.  Because of a rock outcropping, the deck had to narrow as it extended to the east.  To match the observation deck, the deck was sculpted around the rock.

Upended board walk after an October 1963 hurricane.

Watching herring purse seiners

Herring purse seiners usually work at night when the herring schools are closer to the surface and easier to encircle but this time of year the herring are sometimes closer to the surface earlier. Such was the case today in Pettes Cove, where three herring purse seiners set their nets. My husband and I went up to the new deck at Swallowtail for a better view than from our deck which also has a view of Pettes Cove. Much to our pleasure six other people were also on the deck enjoying the view, two people were in their vehicle and two people had hiked out to the lighthouse. Even in November, Swallowtail is a major attraction to islanders and tourists alike.

We were also thrilled to have two humpback whales and a minke whale feeding in the cove. At one point the two humpbacks whales were next to one of the purse seiners before both moving more inshore.

It is great to see our work being appreciated, although there was a wish for a bench, which is on the list for next year's projects.

Here is a photo of two of the purse seiners and an arrow where the humpback surfaced. The two small boats or tow boats, help set the purse seine and also tow the larger vessel away from the net and therefore keeps it from collapsing on itself. The herring is used for many things including canning (sardines), farmed salmon food and lobster bait.

Before and After: Buildings at the top of the hill

I was looking through my photos of the two buildings at the top of the hill, including the former Ross Island Boat House moved to Swallowtail in the 1960s. I thought I would share some before and after photos of this amazing transformation with new roofs on both buildings (including the little pump house), new deck and paint. Before pictures were taken in April 2008, after photos in September 2009.

Eastern side of the old boathouse from Ross Island:


Southern side of the old boathouse from Ross Island:

Northern side of the old boathouse from Ross Island:

Thanks everyone who helped with labour or donation of materials to turn these little buildings into gems!

Weekend deck building

Each weekend, Terry Davidson has been donating a day supervising the construction of the deck around the former Ross Island boat house at the top of the hill at Swallowtail. A few volunteers including Ken Ingersoll, Bryant Eaton, Mike Stymest and Lloyd MacFarlane have been helping. Last Sunday, Terry sculpted the cedar deck around the rock outcropping and two additional piers were dug to have the deck extend out along the driveway and make access easier from both sides of the building.

There have been lots of questions from tourists about what we are doing and hopefully we will be able to get some signage, including how to find the lighthouse by road. Many summer residents have been returning this week and have also commented on the work being done.

Let us know if you want to help. We don't always advertise what we are doing but we can let you know what needs to be done and how you can join in.

Deck Party

The deck is taking shape around the former Ross Island Boat House. Some of the under structure was built on May 3 thanks to the supervision of a carpenter from the island, Terry Davidson. It will be mostly a continuing weekend project as people volunteer their time on their days off.

Once the deck is completed, it will make it easier to paint the building. We are also considering replacing a couple of the windows with windows that were removed from the keepers house to increase the view from inside the building.

The views are spectacular and the deck will wrap around three sides of the old boat house. I'm sure it will be well used and a place people will add to their favourite spots.

We plan to have the former boat house as a greeting centre for visitors, complete with old photographs of the light station and other interpretative information. For those who are unable to go out on the peninsula, it will be a great alternative.