Frosty lighthouse

A chilly December 30 left the glass in the Swallowtail lighthouse frosted, giving the light a diffuse glow. No heat in the light tower prevents the frost from melting off the glass when it is cold.

Just one more day left in this first decade of the twenty-first century. It has turned cold today , -14C, after being 8C just a couple of days ago and 1C yesterday. It also feels colder because of the strong NW wind which has been rattling our house all night. Looking toward Swallowtail this morning, the sea smoke or ice fog or as it is called locally, vapour, is being pushed up and over the lighthouse. The windows in the lantern are frosted over giving a soft glow to the light.

Here is a short video of Pettes Cove and Swallowtail with the sea smoke being blown over the surface. The top poles of Cora Belle weir can seen in the sea smoke.

What a chilly day it would be to be a lightkeeper at Swallowtail, having to walk from the keepers house to the light tower and back. It is quite evident on days like this why there was a board walk with a railing connecting these two buildings. It would be easy to get blown off the path and add blinding snow, get lost on this short walk.

The automated light today keeps working for the most part with little maintenance, although no one is keeping heat on in the tower to keep the windows free of frost there are few on the water these days looking for the guiding light.

Sea smoke, ice fog or vapour surrounding the top poles of the Cora Belle weir in Pettes Cove.

Sea smoke, ice fog or vapour forming on the surface in Pettes Cove.

Icicles from water runoff on the cliffs near Swallowtail.

Icicles on rocks near foot bridge leading to Swallowtail.

Christmas on Grand Manan

A light covering of snow is still holding on to the Swallowtail peninsula, with the lighthouse in competition for whiteness on the point. The temperature has been a steady -2C all day and overcast with relatively light winds.

A walk down to Pettes Cove was a delight without having to buck strong winds. There was one other person on the beach, looking for beach glass and a harbour seal just offshore. Lots of white-tail deer tracks through the snow and the ravens and herring gulls have been busy with their daily foraging. Not sure who found the giblets from the turkey that I left in the back yard on the snow but they have disappeared.

A very nice peaceful day, the last Christmas in the first decade of the twenty-first century - where has all the time gone? Was it not just 1999 and we were all wondering what this new century would bring?

Happy Holidays!

Rock formation at the end of Swallowtail

Not only were light houses important to navigation before Loran C and now GPS but also having precise knowledge of the coastline and various landmarks or rock formations helped mariners find their way. Around Grand Manan there are many unique rock formations, many of which are named, such as Seven Days Work, the Bishop, King Point, Southern Cross. These are so distinctive that they are often printed on the nautical charts but some are small and are not documented but are local knowledge.

There is a unique rock formation at the eastern tip of the Swallowtail peninsula beneath where the fog bell and small building (now attached to the lighthouse) were located. From a certain angle these rocks look like a woman with a baby on her back or children climbing the rocks with a dog waiting beneath them. Even if the light house wasn't visible in thick fog, if these rocks were glimpsed, the mariner would know where they were. Of course, at Swallowtail, the fog bell and later fog horn would be another clue, but most of these formations are not located at a lighthouse.

I first learned of this when I was sailing around Swallowtail with one of the older fishermen. He pointed out the rock formation and had described it as a woman with a baby, but it was later described as a girl and a boy, a boy with a backpack, etc. The dog, however, is always the lower rock.

Next time you are travelling on the ferry, look for these rocks. They can only be seen from certain angles.

Remembrance - 1918

With Remembrance Day just past, a story involving the light keepers at Gannet Rock during WW1 was brought to my attention. Light keepers were often involved in life saving and the light keepers of Grand Manan lights were no exception.

In 1918, the German navy sent U-boats to the eastern seaboard which was largely unprotected. The vessel U-156 had orders to mine New York Harbour, patrol the Gulf of Maine and in particular Boston, Saint John and Halifax harbours, cut the transatlantic cable at Canso and capture a vessel to use as a raider. Her presence in the Bay of Fundy was unknown until a load of sailors from the schooner Dornfontein landed at Gannet Rock lighthouse in dories at 6:30 AM on August 3, 1918.

"On July 31, 1918, the new four-masted schooner Dornfontein cleared Saint John harbour bound for South Africa with a load of lumber. Three days later, 10 kilometres south of Grand Manan Island, N.B., U-156 suddenly rose from the sea and brought the Dornfontein to a halt with two shots across her bow.

While the schooner’s crew was hustled aboard the submarine, the Germans looted the vessel and then set it ablaze. As the ship burned to the waterline, her crew were fed a dinner of bully beef and rice. Then, five hours after the ordeal began, the schooner’s crew was put into dories and sent off amid waves and wishes of “Good luck!”, a sentiment not shared by the crew who had been “robbed of all we had on board worth taking.” But at least the sailors had escaped with their lives, and brought their story ashore at Gannet Rock, Grand Manan, the next day." Read the complete article: http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2005/03/the-u-boat-summer-of-1918/

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.

Link to some photos of painting buildings

Here is a link to photos posted on the Grand Manan Rotary Club website when the Seminole, Florida Rotary Club came to Grand Manan in September to help paint the keepers buildings.
http://www.grandmananrotary.com/Albums/Florida_friends09/index.htm