NELL MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST LONG ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE
May 14-15, 2005
By Tom Pregman

Gary and Patty Larson and I took the Bridgeport / Port Jefferson Ferry past the black tower of the Tongue Point Lighthouse and were off to the first Long Island Lighthouse Challenge weekend. The silhouette of the Old Field Point light in the glistening waters welcomed us to NY. We attended the Friday night "kick-off" dinner at the Islandia Marriott Hotel, in our stand-out yellow NELL club shirts, with Dennis and Esther Whelan and attracted several perspective new members.  Patty helped Bill Younger with his presentation by sharing her dental floss.    He had needed a string to tie to a Little Lights of Mine Orient Point Light to remind guests that those on the tables came with a "string attached".  You were required to share their story or present them to a young friend or stranger.  Despite a gloomy forecast, we had no rain and had a great weekend working our way counterclockwise around the island.  We later heard that many people started with the east end lights and waited 2 hours to enter Horton Point.  We did much better going backwards.  We started our challenge at Old Field Point Light.  We were shuttled in by bus and only the grounds were open.  There were few people there which allowed for better photos of the old stone lighthouse which serves as town offices. Eatons Neck is an active USCG Station rarely open to public access.  The tall white tower with its Fresnel lens was not open for the tour. (Maybe next year?)  It is essentially surrounded by base housing but we managed some good shots sporting our new navy blue shirts with large USCG Station Eatons Neck logo of the tower and CG cutter.  The Larson's wore theirs for the day and everyone asked if they were CG personnel. Timing is everything.  We arrived for the shuttle boat out to Huntington Harbor Light just before the Seaport Express pulled out.  There is a very active group working on restoration of this light at the head of the harbor who gave a very nice tour.  We climbed the tower to its contemporary lens.  We didn't arrive at Fire Island until after 4:00 PM.  Good late PM sun for photos of the tower and wildlife.  Great view from that tall tower with its aero-beacon light.  One of the too many deer that inhabit the area came right over and jumped right up onto the boardwalk in front of Patty. From there we drove out to Sag Harbor and stayed the night at Barron's Cove Inn so we could get a fast start to Montauk and the other east end lights.  We needed every minute.  The morning was grey but still clear enough at Montauk Light.  We toured the museum with its 3 1/2 order bi-valve Fresnel lens that once graced this tower, then climbed to the top where the volunteer welcomed us to her office.  What a great location at the tip of the island.  We spent too much time strolling down the beach for "setting" photos of the lighthouse before the fog rolled in and enshrouded the tower completely.  Good before and after photos. We knew it was a long walk out to Cedar Island, but it was l-o-n-g-e-r than we expected taking 1.5 hours with time for photos and shell collecting, but worth every minute.  The light is at least a mile walk each way and boarded up including the lantern room but makes for spooky shots. Bill Younger was at this station signing the special event Cedar Island Harbour Lights for sale there.  I shared the photo album of our Nantucket trip with him and other NELL members we met there.  Ron and Pat Bandock had experienced that tour, but Rick Korycinski and Sis Merrell had not. It was 2:00 PM and we had to rush across the two Shelter Island ferries to get to our next stops.  Timing worked for us again and we got to Horton Point with no line.  We climbed the tower with its green contemporary lens and gargoyle roof rain spouts. Next stop was the East End Seaport Museum and its 2nd order and other Fresnel lenses.  We didn't leave enough time to enjoy this museum.  It was well after 4:00 PM and we had to catch the 5:00 PM Orient Point / New London ferry. We jumped out of the car to quickly photograph the Long Beach Bar (Bug Light) monument with very distant hazy view of the light, then sped off to our last stop across from the ferry terminal.  We collected our last "wooden nickels" handed out at each stop for the light visited there. These were for Long Beach Bar, and Orient Point and Plum Island Lights which we would see from the ferry, but others viewed from the late PM cruises which were part of the Challenge out of Greenport.  We made the ferry with 5 minutes to spare before they began loading, took a few shots of those last NY lights in the haze, and finished with a sunny welcome back to CT passing New London Ledge Light.  WE DID IT !!!

Link to photos by Tom Pregman

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