How can one not love a lighthouse! I still worry that it looks like a sub from a distance. Lot of years sailing by her!
Brian S.
Place rating: 5 Warwick, RI
Dare Not Tread Beyond These Gates For Fear Your Boat The Race Will Take. The Race is a feisty place. It’s the part of Long Island Sound where 25 billion gallons of water rush through with every tide. Think of the sound as a garden hose. Now put your thumb on the end of the hose and cover part of it. See how the water suddenly squirts much faster? That’s The Race. You better treat the Race with the utmost respect or you will die. Go to some seedy local bar and you will see seasoned sailors talking all kinds of crap. Mention going through the race against the tide and the place will become quiet and somber. Everyone has heard or has experienced horror stories about this place. Currents running 4 or 5 knots are common and 6 knots are not unusual. I’ve seen The Race absolutely calm and sweet one minute and then when the wind or tide changes, 8 foot standing waves and rips and currents from hell suddenly appear. Not a place to take lightly. Kayaking or going through here in a small boat is something to think long and hard about. I’ve heard of large sailboats being broken in half by the fury of the Race. People have died in this place for a long time and I suspect people will die here in the future. It’s difficult to control a boat in the Race and since fog and crappy weather are common, many ships have met unpleasant fates around here. Fisher’s Island juts out into the Race and is difficult to see and avoid even in calm weather. So it made sense that a lighthouse would help guard this approach. The only problem is how exactly do you build a lighthouse in waters that inhabit this insane place. The answer came from two brilliant engineers by the names of F. Hopinson Smith and Tom Scott. They certainly knew how difficult it would be to build anything in the Race but persevered and after 7 long years finally completed the Race Rock Lighthouse in 1878. It was not an easy thing and designs changed and men died but it was finally done. The light is 67 feet tall and is of great significance not only because of how hard the construction was but also because it made the engineers realize that the stone and masonry lighthouses will no longer do the job. So a stronger, cheaper and easier to build cast iron towers were designed and started to make their appearance. The Race Rock Lighthouse is still out there. I see waves breaking over the top of the light when the Race is misbehaving but at other times it looks so serene and peaceful. It’s still a place to treat with the utmost respect but it’s also a place to look at and reflect. This is nature and the sea at it’s most insane, violent and threatening. A welcoming friend that will kill you. But it’s also a place to admire and always, always, always respect.
