Lighthouses R Us

People who know me well, or have been to my house or office will know that I am a big fan of all thing nautical, and lighthouses in particular. I am not sure how this interest came about, as I have always been very nervous of my lack of swimming ability, and as a result not very confident in the water.

When I was a kid growing up in Kilmarnock, we used to have a swimming baths in the town. The deep end of these baths was 9ft. My father was a great swimmer, one of the few things I admire in him, and one time when I was very young (like 3 or 4 years old), he ran along the side of this pool and dove in the 9ft end. Being young and impressionable, I thought "What a good wheeze" and followed. Needless to say, that didn't end well!

I guess I developed a fear at that point and never really learned to swim properly or enthusiastically, one of my greatest regrets. I can swim a little bit and could probably get by in an emergency, but I have never been confident enough to dive in and muck about, which is a real shame.

However despite that, I have always felt a great affinity with the ocean and large bodies of water. I have sailed a few times, with a vest obviously, and in common, I am sure, with most people, my dream house is beach front with the sound of crashing surf. At some of the most troubled times in my life, I have gone to the ocean or sea, to sit quietly and contemplate my position.

As I was saying last week in my lightning post, Mother Nature is awesome. The power to be destructive like the picture above, whilst at the same time having the power to heal and calm is really quite phenomenal.

I guess that then translates into my interest in lighthouses. They are an attempt to control the ferocity and danger of the ocean a little by helping sailors avoid trouble. At the same time they are exposed to such great danger themselves because of their very locations. The one above, Wolf Trap Lighthouse, has had a turbulent past (read here if you are interested). Just as an aside BTW, the little bump out on the right is, or at least was, the toilet. Dropping right into the ocean, imagine that in a huge storm!

I am blessed in this area with an abundance of opportunity to check out some really cool lights, and did in fact go to see a few of them last year when we were up in Door County. This map of the lights around Lake Michigan, the largest body of water wholly inside the United States, shows almost 100 in and around the lake, if you click on the two detail maps to see the others, so I shouldn't run out.

Lighthouses often come with great stories too, tales of isolation, heroic rescues, adversity against the elements, etc (again check out the Wolf Trap link). I think I am in danger of becoming a lighthouse spotter, but I don't think I will ever wear a shirt like this; note I didn't actually say never!