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Author Topic:   Fiddler's Reach Fog Bell

Morocco posted 12-02-2013 02:00 PM ET (US)
A friend of mine restores lighthouses and nautical equipment in Maine. This is a fog bell that he's just rebuilt for a museum there -- thought you all might be interested. (I recorded the sound for my cell phone email notification!)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201724238126579
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler's_Reach_Fog_Signal
Happy Holidays!
M
Morocco posted 12-02-2013 02:06 PM ET (US)
Ooops.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201724238126579
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler's_Reach_Fog_Signal
jimh posted 12-02-2013 02:16 PM ET (US)
The recording of the bell in action (first link above) is most fun to watch (and listen to). Thanks for posting.
I was not aware that there were "fog bells" used as aids to navigation from land.
Dave Sutton posted 12-02-2013 09:33 PM ET (US)
Jim:
Many oceanic lighthouses had fog bells, often mechanized, ringing distinctive bell patterns so mariners could tell one from another. There were three ways in the old days to tell what light you saw or heard: Daytime, you looked at the distinctive color pattern painted on the exterior. Night you looked at the flashing pattern, and in fog you listened for the bell pattern. On my way south towards Florida in my trawler, I stopped at the calvert Marine Museum in Solomons Island MD, and they have the automated fog bell working in the lighthouse that forms part of the museum. The mechanism was run by a large weight that slowly falls thru a trapdoor under the bell, like a huge grandfather clock weight.

Dave
.
jimh posted 12-03-2013 06:59 AM ET (US)
My initial thought about fog bells was perhaps they were more common on the ocean coasts than on the Great Lakes, but in doing some reading about fog bells, there was a mention of one being used on the Great Lakes, at a light on White Shoals, in Lake Michigan. The bell was placed underwater!

quote:
A submarine bell located in 70 feet of water approximately 3/4 of a mile from the crib was installed in 1911, and placed into operation on September 20. Powered by a submarine electrical cable from the station, the sound transmission property of the water allowed the bell to be heard through the hulls of approaching vessels long before the fog signals could be heard in thick weather.
http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/michigan/whiteshoal/whiteshoal.htm
tedious posted 12-03-2013 12:16 PM ET (US)
Very cool. Fiddler's Reach is a highlight of my favorite day run, from Boothbay Harbor, up the Kennebec to Bath, then down the Sasanoa River to the Sheepscot and through Townsend Gut home. It's a great loop - classic Maine scenery the whole way.
Tim
knothead posted 12-03-2013 11:35 PM ET (US)
Here is a little story kind of along the same line.
In 1984 some friends and I moving a large sailboat to the Virgin Islands when we ran into some bad weather in the eastern Bahamas. After thrashing about for a day and receiving a dismal weather forecast we decided to layover on San Salvador Island.
While exploring the island during our enforced layover we ran across an operating lighthouse that used no electricity.
The lighthouse light was illuminated by a kerosene powered mantle, much like the mantle on a Coleman camping lantern. Each night the lightkeeper would fill the kerosene tank, pressurize it with a hand pump much like an oversize bicycle pump, crank up the weights which ran a clockwork mechanism that rotated a first order glass fresnel lens. The fresnel glass lens alone weighed about 4 tons and floated on a bed of mercury to reduce the turning friction of the lens. During the day a shroud of white muslin was lowered over the lens to prevent it from acting as a giant magnifying glass and melting the brass apparatus that held the mantle and kerosene feed line. Keep in mind that with a fresnel lens the light source is located at the focal point of all the lenses which is why you can get such a long range out of a relatively dim light.
Our navigation charts showed that this particular light was visible for 17 miles, which to me was quite incredible for a lighthouse with no electricity and built in the late 1880's with no apparent modern upgrades. I suppose getting replacement parts is a problem.
I later found out that the British built lighthouses like this all around the British Empire, some bigger, some smaller.
Obviously the Brits were much better versed in non-electric lighting rather than electric lighting as evidenced by the Lucas Electrics found in British sports cars.
I am often amazed the mechanical devices that were made and used and perfected in the 19th and early 20th centuries that used no gasoline or electric power. We truly stand on the shoulders of giants.
regards---knothead
jimh posted 12-04-2013 04:46 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the interesting narrative about the old light San Salvador Island.
Regarding why the lens would be covered during the day, it doesn't make much sense to worry about the sun focusing its rays on the internal lamp or burner. The lens is oriented at the horizon, so only a rising or setting sun would be aligned with the lens. To avoid that problem it would only be necessary to stop the rotating lens with its beam aimed North and South--the sun never is on the horizon at those headings. Perhaps they covered the lens to prevent it from getting dirty.
Chuck Tribolet posted 12-05-2013 03:52 AM ET (US)
The image of the sun would be focused below the lamp, and
could melt the supports for the lamp.

Chuck
EJO posted 12-06-2013 02:32 PM ET (US)
jimh
The South Haven, MI lighthouse (South Pier) for you fai weather boaters down South this is what it looks like in Michigan in Dec/January //lighthouse-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/sohaven.jpg still rings a bell to this day and when it is foggy and I'm sailing home it's horn sounds like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pUZdKhcL8
These great old Aids to Navigation all over the US, and world for that matter, only still exist due to the generosity of private citizens and their non-profit organizations and efforts to keep them going.
So next time you are close to one, stop in and find out how you can donate a buck or more to keep the light on.
Skipper E-J
jimp posted 12-06-2013 11:13 PM ET (US)
Great post!
Those bells can drive you crazy. "Rules of the Road": Anchored in restricted visibility - ring the bell rapidly for 5 seconds every minute. The bridge watches went crazy.
Knot/JimH - Made it to San Salvador/Watlings Island in March 1972. Got to climb the lighthouse. Also, the cover during daylight also keeps the lens clean. The "light room" can become extremely hot during the day, windows/doors may be left open - salt spray, dust, etc can all land on the lens reducing its visibility.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/jimp/ SanSalvadorlighthouseMarch1972_zps8fb4909e.jpg
jimp posted 12-06-2013 11:13 PM ET (US)
P.S. That's not me in the photo.
jimh posted 12-07-2013 12:35 PM ET (US)
That First-Order Fresnel lens is quite a piece of engineering and design. I don't think there are any that large in the Great Lakes.
Re the lens being covered during daylight hours to prevent the sun from being focused into the interior: that may be something more common in the equatorial latitudes. I do not recall hearing about that being done up here in the Great Lakes, at Latitude 45-North. Also, I don't think our sunlight is as strong, nor were the lenses as big at that First-Order beauty.

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Author	Topic: Fiddler's Reach Fog Bell
Morocco	posted 12-02-2013 02:00 PM ET (US) A friend of mine restores lighthouses and nautical equipment in Maine. This is a fog bell that he's just rebuilt for a museum there -- thought you all might be interested. (I recorded the sound for my cell phone email notification!) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201724238126579 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler's_Reach_Fog_Signal Happy Holidays! M
Morocco	posted 12-02-2013 02:06 PM ET (US) Ooops. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201724238126579 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler's_Reach_Fog_Signal
jimh	posted 12-02-2013 02:16 PM ET (US) The recording of the bell in action (first link above) is most fun to watch (and listen to). Thanks for posting. I was not aware that there were "fog bells" used as aids to navigation from land.
Dave Sutton	posted 12-02-2013 09:33 PM ET (US) Jim: Many oceanic lighthouses had fog bells, often mechanized, ringing distinctive bell patterns so mariners could tell one from another. There were three ways in the old days to tell what light you saw or heard: Daytime, you looked at the distinctive color pattern painted on the exterior. Night you looked at the flashing pattern, and in fog you listened for the bell pattern. On my way south towards Florida in my trawler, I stopped at the calvert Marine Museum in Solomons Island MD, and they have the automated fog bell working in the lighthouse that forms part of the museum. The mechanism was run by a large weight that slowly falls thru a trapdoor under the bell, like a huge grandfather clock weight. Dave .
jimh	posted 12-03-2013 06:59 AM ET (US) My initial thought about fog bells was perhaps they were more common on the ocean coasts than on the Great Lakes, but in doing some reading about fog bells, there was a mention of one being used on the Great Lakes, at a light on White Shoals, in Lake Michigan. The bell was placed underwater! quote: A submarine bell located in 70 feet of water approximately 3/4 of a mile from the crib was installed in 1911, and placed into operation on September 20. Powered by a submarine electrical cable from the station, the sound transmission property of the water allowed the bell to be heard through the hulls of approaching vessels long before the fog signals could be heard in thick weather. http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/michigan/whiteshoal/whiteshoal.htm
tedious	posted 12-03-2013 12:16 PM ET (US) Very cool. Fiddler's Reach is a highlight of my favorite day run, from Boothbay Harbor, up the Kennebec to Bath, then down the Sasanoa River to the Sheepscot and through Townsend Gut home. It's a great loop - classic Maine scenery the whole way. Tim
knothead	posted 12-03-2013 11:35 PM ET (US) Here is a little story kind of along the same line. In 1984 some friends and I moving a large sailboat to the Virgin Islands when we ran into some bad weather in the eastern Bahamas. After thrashing about for a day and receiving a dismal weather forecast we decided to layover on San Salvador Island. While exploring the island during our enforced layover we ran across an operating lighthouse that used no electricity. The lighthouse light was illuminated by a kerosene powered mantle, much like the mantle on a Coleman camping lantern. Each night the lightkeeper would fill the kerosene tank, pressurize it with a hand pump much like an oversize bicycle pump, crank up the weights which ran a clockwork mechanism that rotated a first order glass fresnel lens. The fresnel glass lens alone weighed about 4 tons and floated on a bed of mercury to reduce the turning friction of the lens. During the day a shroud of white muslin was lowered over the lens to prevent it from acting as a giant magnifying glass and melting the brass apparatus that held the mantle and kerosene feed line. Keep in mind that with a fresnel lens the light source is located at the focal point of all the lenses which is why you can get such a long range out of a relatively dim light. Our navigation charts showed that this particular light was visible for 17 miles, which to me was quite incredible for a lighthouse with no electricity and built in the late 1880's with no apparent modern upgrades. I suppose getting replacement parts is a problem. I later found out that the British built lighthouses like this all around the British Empire, some bigger, some smaller. Obviously the Brits were much better versed in non-electric lighting rather than electric lighting as evidenced by the Lucas Electrics found in British sports cars. I am often amazed the mechanical devices that were made and used and perfected in the 19th and early 20th centuries that used no gasoline or electric power. We truly stand on the shoulders of giants. regards---knothead
jimh	posted 12-04-2013 04:46 PM ET (US) Thanks for the interesting narrative about the old light San Salvador Island. Regarding why the lens would be covered during the day, it doesn't make much sense to worry about the sun focusing its rays on the internal lamp or burner. The lens is oriented at the horizon, so only a rising or setting sun would be aligned with the lens. To avoid that problem it would only be necessary to stop the rotating lens with its beam aimed North and South--the sun never is on the horizon at those headings. Perhaps they covered the lens to prevent it from getting dirty.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 12-05-2013 03:52 AM ET (US) The image of the sun would be focused below the lamp, and could melt the supports for the lamp. Chuck
EJO	posted 12-06-2013 02:32 PM ET (US) jimh The South Haven, MI lighthouse (South Pier) for you fai weather boaters down South this is what it looks like in Michigan in Dec/January //lighthouse-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/sohaven.jpg still rings a bell to this day and when it is foggy and I'm sailing home it's horn sounds like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pUZdKhcL8 These great old Aids to Navigation all over the US, and world for that matter, only still exist due to the generosity of private citizens and their non-profit organizations and efforts to keep them going. So next time you are close to one, stop in and find out how you can donate a buck or more to keep the light on. Skipper E-J
jimp	posted 12-06-2013 11:13 PM ET (US) Great post! Those bells can drive you crazy. "Rules of the Road": Anchored in restricted visibility - ring the bell rapidly for 5 seconds every minute. The bridge watches went crazy. Knot/JimH - Made it to San Salvador/Watlings Island in March 1972. Got to climb the lighthouse. Also, the cover during daylight also keeps the lens clean. The "light room" can become extremely hot during the day, windows/doors may be left open - salt spray, dust, etc can all land on the lens reducing its visibility. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/jimp/ SanSalvadorlighthouseMarch1972_zps8fb4909e.jpg
jimp	posted 12-06-2013 11:13 PM ET (US) P.S. That's not me in the photo.
jimh	posted 12-07-2013 12:35 PM ET (US) That First-Order Fresnel lens is quite a piece of engineering and design. I don't think there are any that large in the Great Lakes. Re the lens being covered during daylight hours to prevent the sun from being focused into the interior: that may be something more common in the equatorial latitudes. I do not recall hearing about that being done up here in the Great Lakes, at Latitude 45-North. Also, I don't think our sunlight is as strong, nor were the lenses as big at that First-Order beauty.