1800's Navigation aid succumbs to storm

[dtmackey]

I was saddened to see a local daymark navigation aid, that was in disrepair for several years, finally collapse into the sea earlier this month during a nor'easter storm. Erected in the early 1800s, this mark has stood the test of time, weathering many hurricanes, Blizzard of 78, The Perfect Storm and countless more. It stood 30' above the water on a 5' ledge (at MLW) that is otherwise surrounded by 20- 30' deep water, depending on tide. The sad thing is this could have been prevented, Salem made numerous requests to the CG over the years to address the leaning structure, but nothing was done. Now at high tide, the remains lay just under the water and in an area of high traffic.

Only in the past 10 years did it start getting worse and this accelerated since nothing was done to prevent further damage.



Drone pic at low tide.



I highly doubt this will be rebuilt and they will instead drill a large steel pole into the ledge to support the daymarker, which is out of character for this area.

D-

[Dutchman]

To see something like this happen is always sad. As is the lack of funds to keep these daytime navigation aids from disappearing, as happens too much with old lighthouses due to modern technology.

I liked relying on these to find my correct entrance to a harbour or inlet, instead of my GPS chart. Especially when shallows were involved--worked for big boats for 150 years when they didn't have electronics. Why still not for us?

[jimh]

In Lake St. Clair, often called the sixth Great Lake, there are two old visual aid-to-navigation structures that have been preserved: the St. Clair Flats Range Lights. See

http://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=706

These structures date from c.1850. They were in very poor condition, but a local group headed by one particularly enthusiastic and dedicated individual got a grass-roots restoration project going. That probably saved them from just toppling over into the lake.

There is a similar restoration going on with the South Fox Island Light, located about 18-miles offshore in Lake Michigan. See

http://www.southfox.org/

This project is particularly difficult. Just getting out to the light and getting ashore requires a good weather day, a good boat, and a tricky landing. But there are dedicated volunteers who keep working on it. They have made significant progress.

If you want to preserve these old navigation structures, it is going to take private funding. The USCG is not interested.