Could You Live On A Lighthouse ?

XR3i · 23-03-2016 10:11PM

i was thinking about building a lighthouse myself

cowboyBuilder · 23-03-2016 10:13PM

Definetely !

Just as long as it had decent damp protection - and I could bring plenty of books.

I fantasize about solitude like that cos I rarely get any peace nowadays !

jimbis · 24-03-2016 02:13AM

Would love too! Although I would miss my family.
Probably the only situation were I'd actually sit down and write the book I've always wanted too..... And I ain't no book worm.

TheLastMohican · 24-03-2016 02:33AM

On a Lighthouse or, "in a lighthouse"?

Cathy.C · 24-03-2016 04:23AM

Yes, have always loved lighthouses. Paid a silly amount of money recently for an oil painting of the one in Howth. Spur of the moment purchase. Just seen it in the gallery on the top level of St Stephen's Green and had to have it.

Aglomerado · 24-03-2016 03:05PM

Oh yes. Bring it on. Another lighthouse lover here. My house is full of lighthouse-themed stuff.

I spent a weekend in the cottage by Loop Head lighthouse once, and yearn for another!!

maudgonner · 24-03-2016 03:11PM

TheLastMohican wrote: »

On a Lighthouse or, "in a lighthouse"?

In a Lighthouse or 'on a light house'?

'Cause if the house was very light you might have to live on it, stop it floating away.

silverharp · 24-03-2016 04:05PM

I stayed in one for a weekend, the stairs were the main pain in the ass. It would keep you fit though might be a pain around election time, every door bell ring would be followed by a string of expletives .....

cml387 · 24-03-2016 05:02PM

You may not want to read about those Scottish lighthouses keepers who disappeared.

HeidiHeidi · 24-03-2016 05:09PM

Might be an idea to make sure it's one attached to land :eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ZmnF7SCcU

It's a lifelong dream of mine to somehow get onto the Fastnet some day.

HeidiHeidi · 24-03-2016 05:21PM

And just to cheer the prospect up even further..... a story from a lighthouse off Anglesey, Wales.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalls_Lighthouse

More disturbingly, the old lighthouse brought about a change in lighthouse policy in 1801 after a gruesome episode. The two man team, Thomas Howell and Thomas Griffith, were known to quarrel, and so when Griffith died in a freak accident, Howell feared that he might be suspected of murder if he discarded the body into the sea.[7] As the body began to decompose, Howell built a makeshift coffin for the corpse and lashed it to an outside shelf. Stiff winds blew the box apart, though, and the body's arm fell within view of the hut's window and caused the wind to catch it in such a way that it seemed as though it was beckoning.[7] Working alone and with the decaying corpse of his former colleague outside Howell managed to keep the lamp lit.[7] When Howell was finally relieved from the lighthouse the effect the situation had had on him was said to be so extreme that some of his friends did not recognise him.[7] Until the automation of British lighthouses in the 1980s lighthouse teams were changed to rosters of three men. In 2011 (repeated 3 April 2014), the affair was the subject of a BBC radio play called "The Lighthouse" written by Alan Harris.[8]

Capt'n Midnight · 25-03-2016 11:35PM

Most lighthouses are in areas with bad internets.

And you'd need to bring some good eye blinds or curtains for the lights.

Never mind the noise of the waves crashing there's foghorns going off all night. Of the sort that you can hear 5 miles away.

Still lighthouses in fog look cool with the beams rotating overhead.

And they do have impressive backup for electricity so your phone will be charged even if you can't get any reception.

Bongalongherb · 25-03-2016 11:39PM

I don't think so after what happened these lighthouse keepers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDqhQ9wlQxQ

XR3i · 26-03-2016 06:08PM

i am actually building my lighthouse inland, about 50 miles from the sea, maybe i should call it a round tower

26-03-2016 08:02PM

I'd have no problem with a month, any more and I'd go bananas. I love the look of lighthouses, though I've never been in one. They probably don't look like I think they do inside.

I've always appreciated a nice high ceiling though. :P

Spanish Eyes · 26-03-2016 09:18PM

I love solitude, but the only thing that would worry me is if I got sick or something.

No ambulances or doctors out on a rock in the middle of the sea. But the drama of a helicopter rescue might be interesting!

donegaLroad · 26-03-2016 09:58PM

some years ago myself and two friends were doing a job on Aranmore Island off Donegal. One afternoon we were taking a 15 minute break for a cuppa with a local man who happened to be there, he was the lighthouse keeper on the island for years. We sat there for 2 hours listening to his amazing stories of incidents which happened while he was in charge of the lighthouse.

A lone rower from the USA landed on Aranmore one day, having rowed all the way across the Atlantic. The BBC and RTE were out when they heard the news.

Other stories of huge storms and boats going missing, and the different ships that you would be in radio contact with from all over the world.

I would love to give it a go for a year, but those days are gone.

Spanish Eyes · 26-03-2016 10:23PM

donegaLroad wrote: »

some years ago myself and two friends were doing a job on Aranmore Island off Donegal. One afternoon we were taking a 15 minute break for a cuppa with a local man who happened to be there, he was the lighthouse keeper on the island for years. We sat there for 2 hours listening to his amazing stories of incidents which happened while he was in charge of the lighthouse.

A lone rower from the USA landed on Aranmore one day, having rowed all the way across the Atlantic. The BBC and RTE were out when they heard the news.

Other stories of huge storms and boats going missing, and the different ships that you would be in radio contact with from all over the world.

I would love to give it a go for a year, but those days are gone.

Yes, they are all automated now.

Still the former lighthouse keepers should write a book or something to record all their experiences. I'd buy it anyway.

coolhull · 26-03-2016 10:27PM

I wouldnt be able to afford the electricity bills

tayto lover · 26-03-2016 10:32PM

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Yes, they are all automated now.

Still the former lighthouse keepers should write a book or something to record all their experiences. I'd buy it anyway.

There you go --

http://indigo.ie/~eaglejr/book.html

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/lighthouses

recylingbin · 26-03-2016 10:36PM

Get your cares away
Worry's for another day
Let the music play
...

timthumbni · 26-03-2016 10:44PM

I would love it. Sitting at work in the nude, not a feck in the world given.. Bring it
On...

red sean · 26-03-2016 10:53PM

[URL="[img]http://i.imgur.com/ujVNwal.jpg[/img]"]

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Ah peace perfect peace!

stoplooklisten · 26-03-2016 10:55PM

4 years now, i'm on these solitary rocks. I thought the ad said "light housework"

HeidiHeidi · 26-03-2016 10:56PM

timthumbni wrote: »

I would love it. Sitting at work in the nude, not a feck in the world given.. Bring it
On...

Brrrrrrrrr :eek:

timthumbni · 26-03-2016 10:59PM

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Brrrrrrrrr :eek:

Those oul 10000 watt lightbulb so give off a quare heat like...

tayto lover · 26-03-2016 11:04PM

I could quite easily spend a month on a lighthouse providing i had good books, Taytos, chocolate and plenty of food. AND a few golf clubs and a couple of buckets of golf balls to drive into the sea if i get bored.

Wibbs · 26-03-2016 11:13PM

timthumbni wrote: »

I would love it. Sitting at work in the nude, not a feck in the world given.. Bring it
On...

I recall reading of an incident where a British Lighthouse chap thought similarly and as the other two dudes were working the lighthouse he was swanning around in the attached cottage in the nip. As you do/might. Until a strangers's face loomed in the window. Apparently a couple of yachting types had shown up and figured it would be good manners to say hello to the lighthouse keepers. At that moment and with yer man's screams, the foghorn was temporarily redundant. :pac:

Bongalongherb wrote: »

I don't think so after what happened these lighthouse keepers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDqhQ9wlQxQ

Yeah an interesting story alright and that would kinda put you off. Certainly would with my age group if we watched Dr Who's Terror of Fang Rock as kids, which was based on the incident. :eek::D

Though my humble would now come to a far more mundane though still tragic conclusion. The two lads go out in their oilskins to secure some of their gear against the awful storm that was raging. The third lad stays behind, as was regulation and practice. The lads who went out get into bother because of the very high seas and one slips and falls in. The second lad figures no way is he going to get the guy to safety on his own, so runs back for help from the third lad, who runs out in a rush minus his oilskins. Then both are hit by a rogue wave while trying to rescue their mate. Evidence for a rogue wave(s) was there at the time. The steel railings on the landing platform were smashed flat and other items were strewn about. The stuff about half eaten meals and fallen chairs were added later by penny dreadful writers and were taken up as fact. A meme that is common with such tales. QV the Marie Celeste.

Rogue waves can lead to disaster and they defo exist. Way back when, I saw one in miniature on an Irish lake while on a fishing trip. Lough Mask to be precise. Storm came up and it got a bit choppy. Well choppy if you're in a rowboat. And can't swim… The average wave was about two or three feet in old money high. Below about a metre in new money. So a bit too much above the gunwales for comfort, but manageable. I was at the engine end working same and motoring through the swell aiming for the nearest shoreline, when I can see this wave coming that really stood the fcuk out. The exact height I would have no idea, but it looked at least twice the size of the rest. To the degree I was searching around looking to see another bigger boat leaving a wake. When it hit, the boat shook with the impact. The sudden dip in the trough before it hit was even more marked. Freaked me the fcuk out TBH.

Capt'n Midnight · 27-03-2016 05:58PM

XR3i wrote: »

i am actually building my lighthouse inland, about 50 miles from the sea, maybe i should call it a round tower

Been done already

Check out the Tower of Lloyd up near Kells.

donegaLroad · 28-03-2016 12:09AM

recylingbin wrote: »

Get your cares away
Worry's for another day
Let the music play
...

...down at Fraggle Rock

Could You Live On A Lighthouse ?

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