The Last Hand Cranked & Kerosene (Paraffin) lit Lighthouse in the World. 1998
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- This video is of a couple of Lighthouses in the Bahamas. They were hand wound, paraffin (Kerosene) lit lighthouses. This was filmed in 1998 and since then only Elbow Reef Lighthouse, Abaco islands is operating in this way.It is now the only one of its kind in the World. I had no intention of editing this video yet as I had several British ones to do but recent events with Hurricane Dorian ripping through the Abacos has changed that. News of the fate of Elbow reef Lighthouse and all the inhabitants of Hope Town isn't clear at present, my thoughts and prayers go out to them. If you wish to help then check the following.www.nytimes.co...
also the Elbow Reef site is
www.elbowreefl...
![The Kerosene Keeper [Documentary] The world's last traditional lighthouse keeper & Hurricane Dorian.](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ygj4xHvwRgw/mqdefault.jpg)
Awesome piece of history, thanks for sharing Peter. Most enjoyable.
Thank you Paul, It is worth a visit if you ever get the chance.
Beautiful and classy. We miss this type of documentaries and we miss those old lonely light houses too
Thank you, glad you liked it.
If I remember right, isn't there a preserved lighthouse elsewhere that still has all the kerosene gear in it, but it's a museum now? In any case, this is simply spectacular, first time I've ever seen everything up and running as opposed to sitting still or as photograph or diagram in a book somewhere.
Guess that's why I collect oil lanterns and lamps and like to light them up at night, wanted a lighthouse, but couldn't fit it in the back garden and the aviation authorities would have a fit about an unregistered beacon.
Thanks shipwright, I'm not aware of another light like Abaco, It was fascinating to see something that I just missed when I joined all working away in a time warp. They are still trying to rebuild a lot of the damage from the Hurricane that struck them, but the light is still going strong, take care.
Fraserburgh still has the original lens and clockwork mech, but electric light. They should really reinstate the original oil lamp IMO, along with the fog horn, but I suspect funds don't allow.
Absolutely amazing time warp. I hope it carries on for many more years. Thank you!
Me too, it would be a shame to lose it. Thank you and stay safe.
Thank you Peter, very informative! My favorite part was lighting the light! It should have been called... "Elbow Grease"... relating to hard manual labor!
HaHa, Yes, why didn't I think of that, glad you liked it,cheers.
Thanks Peter another good one. And here's another for you and other past Keepers-
OF TOWERS AND MEN. ©
The towers that imprisoned them,
took the brunt of storm and wave;The light they kept through the long, long nights;
and the ships they worked to save.
From Muckle Flugga to Les Hanois;and from Bishop Rock, their light reached far.Each light, a signature of warning bright;From Dusk to Dawn, they guide the shipping, through the stormy night.
And within each tower, resided Keepers brave;tireless, they 'kept the light', as loyal as a slave?Three men in a tower tall;three men to a station, that was all.
For wind swept weeks on end, and more;
from 'The Lizard', up to 'Skerryvore'.The Keepers work was never done;the men did hale from Wick to Basildon.
But now lamenting these empty towers;
for now, they use the Cosmic power.
The light which caused the Mariners smiles;has travelled ninety-three million miles.
BY JACK D. HARRISON. 18-SEPT-2019
(NB- Les Hanois is pronounced 'le
Han-war').
Cheers Mate, that was very good, well done, take care.
Fantastic bit of film work. Sorry to hear that so much damage has happened since. The website seemed positive that it can all be rectified.
Thanks Matt, yes they seem to have that old war time spirit over there and are getting stuck into repair or rebuild. stay safe.
@@PeterHalil Have to say I do envy that attitude sometimes. If you need something done then get done doing it!
Lovely film as ever and very poignant to think of all that has happened there recently. Thanks for this , fascinating to see the old technology in use! A true keeper of the light 🙂
Thank you, I've since heard that the Lighthouse survived but have no news of the rest of the Island or its people.
Hi Peter - Been watching a lot of your videos lately. Thank you so much for creating these. It is indeed a time gone. I know what it is like to live in places such as this as I used to work on Radar equipment on some of the most isolated islands in the world. But I loved it - got to places very few have been to. Never made it to a lighthouse though. lol All the best and thanks again.
Cheers.
Jim
Thank you Jim, glad you like them. Sounds like you've got some interesting tales to tell, perhaps video or photos? I was x navy so I've seen a few places far east, take care and stay safe
Thanks Peter,that was brilliant.thanks😁👍👏👏👏
Cheers David, glad you liked it.
Awesome, again , old school, lighting the way,,, nothing will ever replace lighthouses! ,,, ever ,, there’s just too much history, and people need to be aware of these magnificent structures. And keep them shining .!!!
Yes, I agree. I love History and it saddens me to see what destruction some people do in what they call progress. In my World there is room for both, (History & Progress). Take care.
@@PeterHalil You forgot the esb headquarters
Hi Peter Thanks for showing this the lighthouse oozes with history same as Smeaton's at Plymouth, The light is the same princible as the Tilley Lamp and Primus Stove they just keep going as long as they are looked after. This Keeper needs to remove the jet and clear the debris out of it instead of just pricking it. Thanks again.
Yes, I just missed that era of oil lights when I joined but everything I've been told by other Keepers that were on lighthouses with these lights talk about the strict regime of cleaning the burners etc in potash daily, they would have one in situ, cleaned ready to go at night whilst a second one was being cleaned ready for the following night. I never saw any of that going on on this lighthouse, take care.
Very timely upload, Peter, considering what has just passed through the Bahamas. I expect the Abaco lighthouse is the only building still standing on the whole island...
All the best.
Yes, I toyed with whether I should or shouldn't, but it shows how low lying the Islands are and how flimsy a lot of the buildings were. I do hope that they recover from their horror as when I was there I met nothing but beautiful kind people, take care.
@Peter Halil This is fascinating, thank you, I absolutely love your videos
Thanks for the little time travel Peter!
Thank you and I'm glad I made it out there to record it. I joined the Lighthouse service too late to have experienced this method myself.
Enjoyed watching this! My grandfather his brother and my great grandfather were lighthouse attendants. My gpa, b4 he passed, was the last living man who attended a lighthouse when they still used kerosene on the Great Lakes in MI.
He manned the White Shoal b4 retiring and also Skillagee Lighthouse.
Thanks for that Jerri, it's always great to hear from
people like yourself with Lighthouse history in the Family. Your Family certainly served the seafarer more than most, cheers and take care.
Common in Canadian lighthouses until approximately 1960 was the kerosene fired "Aladdin lamp". This was supported on a tank of mercury which acted as a near frictionless bearing. This located upstairs from the living quarters! Mercury vapour could and would waft downstairs. Couldn't have been good healthwise for the keepers.
Thank you for that Jim, most interesting. I think the only ones we were living inside the "tube" with, were out to sea. Cheers and stay safe.
If there ever was a 'keeper's semi-retirement' option, i reckon this would be it. Boy that is a beautiful location.
Hi Paul, Yes one brilliant location but the Island was devastated by a hurricane and is still in the recovery rebuild phase. The Lighthouse survived OK but not so the buildings around it.
That is the oddest looking Fresnel lens, the paraffin lamp and clock work are not as loud as a engine, the clockwork sounds nice
Yes very different, probably how a Lighthouse was meant to sound like.
@@PeterHalil Only experience now is a mechanical clock or watch
Hi Peter. I wonder if you were in any way funded officially,or did you compile these pieces of history ,on your own account.? .Either way fascinating..Thank you.!
No everything was funded by me. Tried to get funding and met with...not really buildings, have you tried Maritime...then, not really Maritime , have you tried buildings?..and so on, you get the picture, very soul destroying, so we guestimate over the years probably over £10,000, travel, fuel, equipement, videos then another hit to digitize it all, yikes, glad you liked it, take care.
I can imagine that a few keepers occasionally lost their eyebrows if the burner misbehaved. I really hope the lighthouse is okay as it'd be terrible to lose the last hand-cranked oil burner. And I even more than that I hope that the people are okay as well, as they can never be rebuilt or reconstructed. It's a pretty terrible time.
Yes, Thanks, my thoughts as well, nature can be very cruel as well as beautiful, stay safe.
I think it has been electrified since, shame as having one lighthouse powered by clockwork or oil preferably nowadays used cooking oil
Not a lot of people can appreciate something like this . I’m sure I was a wickie in a past life.
Hi Andrew, Yes you can see that with the numbers on this site, now if I only had a dancing cat! LOL, take care.
Thanks peter for another cool vid, keep it the good work! You ever cover any irish lighthouses? Hook head would b local one
Hi Tony, no I've stuck to the ones that Trinity House over here did, with just that one extra trip to the Bahamas. The hardest part with my videoing is trying to get permission to finish what I started all those years ago as I was short of 5 Lighthouses when they made me redundant. Trying to deal with the "New" Trinity House is very hard work, being an ex Lighthouse Keeper counts for nothing it seems.
@@PeterHalil Hi peter, sorry for delayed response! Ah i get what u mean yes thats a shame as there is some beautiful houses here too. Im sad to hear that your finding it hard, but your work is great & appreciated i would loved to have been a keeper so i get to experience what it was like through your channel, thank you.
@@tonykennedy6161 Cheers friend, your kind words mean a lot, take care.
I don't understand the lens elements behind the bullseyes.. Are they meant to allow for some constant light visible to ships or do they serve another purpose?
Hi Oliver, The bulls eyes do the major beam of the light, the curved triangular prisms around them direct any escaping light into the beams, thus making a more powerful light. Cheers
@@PeterHalil Thanks for replying, I was more referring to the prisms on the opposite side of the bullseye where you would not expect a flash?
How Wonderful it's so beautiful do you know if it's still there since this hurricane
No I can't get any info, just trolling the news daily to find out. Even the Lighthouse website was down so no joy there. The lighthouse looked solid enough, my guess would be that the glazing at the top where the lens is would be the vulnerable bit. The Keepers houses didn't look strong and of course all of Hope Town was wooden houses with white picket fences. No high ground for the people to go to, so it doesn't look good, take care.
@@PeterHalil The lighthouse survived the Hurricane. Fortunately the island it was on was the only piece of land in the Bahamas that was hit. The rest of the Bahamas escaped unharmed.
@@TheKilroyman cheers, yes I did find that out and I get updates on facebook. They seem to care for their lighthouses more over there.
@@PeterHalil Unfortunately, that statement may only be true for 4 of the Bahamas's historic lighthouses: San Salvador Island, Great Inagua Island, this one. and Great Stirrup Cay. Many of the lighthouses survived Hurricane Sandy relatively undamaged, but they have been seriously neglected. Many lighthouses have had their entry doors smashed open by hurricanes or vandals, and there is recent footage of visitors simply opening the doors and going inside unopposed.
The Hog Island Lighthouse in Nassau, the oldest lighthouse in the Bahamas, is in serious need of repair. It's door was smashed open by Hurricane Sandy, and much of the interior is in serious levels of decay, even the lantern is unstable. The Great Issac Cay Lighthouse is severely rusted, and its windows are all smashed in the lantern. A hurricane smashed open the iron door, and visitors just walk in unopposed.
An attempt by the Bahamian Coast Guard to deter people from climbing the tower by removing the lower steps has been thwarted by a clever visitor who placed a rope ladder inside and now visitors can climb to the top again. The Gun Cay Lighthouse, whose lantern room has been placed on top of the Elbow Cay Lighthouse, had it's door smashed in by vandals, and now people can go in and out unopposed. Vandals have made a mess of the place, having drawn penises on the walls and other obscene graffiti I can't repeat here.
The Castle Island Lighthouse in the Acklins is in no better shape. It's stripes have faded away over time, and its been AGES since the place was given a lick of paint! The door is gone, probably smashed off by a hurricane or vandals, and there's graffiti all over the place, especially inside the tower. The lantern room is severely rusted. Visitors can enter the tower unopposed. The Hole In the Wall Lighthouse is also open to all comers. Vandals broke the lock and now the door can't be closed and secured.
The Bird Rock Lighthouse is also in terrible shape, but the nearby resort that owns it is working hard to restore it. The Cay Lobos Lighthouse near Cuba had its lantern room lobbed off in 2017 and has become very rusty over the years. Nobody ever talks about this lighthouse.
The worst of these is Cay Sal Lighthouse. It's lost all it's paint, it's glass, and it's lantern dome.
@@TheKilroyman Suppose keepers are good at deterring people from taking liberties with lighthouses, someone in America once shot at a Fresnel lens with a gun
Bless them goats :D
Are there any manned lighthouses left around the UK?
No is the simple answer, but most i think have an Attendant to look after them, In a lot of cases, an ex Keeper.
@@PeterHalil such a shame. It seems so romantic to me. Do attendants stay for long periods still? Thanks for replying i'm new here but i find your channel fascinating
@@AB0VETHALAW I may be wrong as I've been away from it for so long, but it seems like an Attendant in a lot of cases lives on site and stays till he wants to quit
@@PeterHalil ah cool theres still hope for me yet. Maybe when my son has grown up haha
The houses look exactly like the ones here in New Zealand.
Hello New Zealand, yes but I fear most of what was on my video has been smashed to pieces, I hope they recover from this, take care.
Peter Halil oh of course, that storm the other day, and now I heard they are in for another...so sad, such a beautiful place. It's great you captured a time piece.
@@onyourface207 Yes I heard that too, let's hope it misses them, they really could do without another one, stay safe
I assume with the similarity to the English lighthouses these must have been built by the British.
Hi Peter. Thanks for the video.
How often would the kerosine/air mix have to be pumped during the night. My father in law was a lighthouse keeper in Australia and I believe he initially had to pump it about 90 times?
Here is a Kerosine lit lighthouse that are are starting to restore in Mackay, Australia.
ruclips.net/video/eY9zLd44N7w/видео.html
Automate it, haaaaaaa...Still chasing helicopters, Peter?
Not lately cheers!
Would be great for Hook head to be converted to paraffin
I grew up in kerosene fueled lighthouse. The “trick” was to not blow the mantle out and have to start from scratch 🤦🏼♀️
Sounds good, tell us more?
Dis one d mos iriest one of dem all mon
Yea Man, just hope they are all ok
@@PeterHalil I found this video today it shows the Hopetown Bahamas Lighthouse after the visit by Dorian and it was still standing looking unscathed.
ruclips.net/video/Y-QAmo-3BFI/видео.html