Light in the stormy night

We have had a stormy few days with ENE winds battering Swallowtail. Heavy rain and wind (over 90 kilometres/hour or 50 knots) last night knocked out the power for awhile. Swallowtail's light and foghorn are electrically powered and when the power goes off so do the light and foghorn. Backup systems used to be commonplace but transporting diesel fuel for generators by helicopter can be a risky business if anything happened to the bladder containing the fuel. This means that you don't have to look for the light to shine across Pettes Cove from Swallowtail when the lights go out because Swallowtail light goes out as well. And, of course, with no light keepers there is also no one to make sure a back up system kicks in automatically.

The only vessel plying the waters around Swallowtail the last couple of days has been the Grand Manan V ferry and even the ferry was tied up for 20 hours because of heavy seas. The guiding light of Swallowtail certainly isn't as required for navigation as it once was but it is a comfort to see the rotating light in all weather conditions, as long as there is power.

The ferry heading towards Blacks Harbour after being tied up from Thursday, February 25 at 3 PM to 11:30 Friday, February 26 because of stormy conditions. The ferry buried her bow going across Pettes Cove.

Here is a short video of the roiled waters in the Saw Pit February 25.

Stormy October Swallowtail

Fall brings with it lots of wind when you live on an island in the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. In one storm this October, one third of the Canadian flag disappeared. The wind at Swallowtail is always a bit worse because the peninsula sticks out into the bay and there are no trees or buildings to block or slow the wind.

Flags at the ferry ticket office, a short ditance away were not affected by this wind storm and always last much longer than any flying at Swallowtail. A flag that I have that is brought in each night lasts for years but has to be replaced, not from wear but because of fading.

The extreme wind was another reason for the board walks that used to connect the keepers house to the lighthouse, something to hold onto when moving between the two buildings but even those were at risk and were sometimes blown out of place and damaged in severe gales.

Here are a couple of shots of a windy October day. Northeast wind whips up seas quickly. With some wind storms, the spray can actually go over the lighthouse, hence the cables that hold the tower from toppling over.