No trip to any family island is complete without a visit to the local lighthouse, and rightfully so, as we have some of the most interesting lighthouses in the world. Just like the Elbow Reef lighthouse in Abaco, the Dixon Hill lighthouse in San Salvador is still hand-wound, like it was 128 years ago when it was first brought to The Bahamas.
According to the information sheet just inside the front door of the Dixon Hill lighthouse, the underwriters at Lloyds of London were complaining that too many ships were being lost on the reefs of San Salvador and the British government commissioned the manufacturing of the lighthouse from Chance Brothers and Co. in Birmingham, England. The lighthouse was one of nine others erected by the British government throughout The Bahamas during the late 1800s.
Although some legends blame the losses on the deliberate acts of "wreckers" using false lights to lure ships onto reefs to take advantage of marine salvaging law, the reality was that the high concentration of lost ships in the area were due to normal perils of the sea. The lighthouses along with better charts, more qualified crew and more seaworthy ships powered by steam put an end to the Bahamian wrecking industry in the late 19th century.
Despite GPS and other modern navigation technology, lighthouses remain relevant as navigation aids; there are still 17 lighthouses maintained by The Bahamas Port Department. The oldest lighthouse in The Bahamas is also the oldest lighthouse in the West Indies and sits at the western end of Paradise Island at the entrance to Nassau Harbour. Built in 1817, the lighthouse still serves its purpose nearly 200 years later, flashing its white light every five seconds when conditions are good and red when conditions are dangerous for entry into the harbour.
Each lighthouse has its own characteristic, or flash pattern, to help sailors know where they are in the night. During the day, sailors would rely on the different paint patterns to know which lighthouse they were looking at. In areas of heavy fog, such as in New England, lighthouse keepers would also have to fire fog cannons with different sound patterns every hour.
Every two hours and 15 minutes in Dixon Hill, San Salvador, the lighthouse keeper and his family take turns cranking the falling weight back to the top of its cable so that it can slowly drop again, giving power to turn the mantle and causing the lighthouse to give off its signature double flash every 10 seconds. Lighthouse keepers must also maintain the lighthouse and lens, polishing it every day along with the windows; they must polish the brass, maintain the equipment and paint every inch of the lighthouse over and over again.
If you ever get the chance, make sure you visit Dixon Hill, and if you are really lucky, you will get a tour from one of the most dedicated civil servants you'll ever meet. Along with the view, you can ponder the lighthouse: the ultimate risk management tool.
o Stephanie Cleare is a fully licensed and qualified account executive at Tavares & Higgs Insurance with 12 years experience in the Bahamian insurance industry. Email her at scleare@tavareshiggs.com
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