Aquinnah officials and residents have started crafting a strategy to address mounting criticism of the new LED beacon installed in the Gay Head Lighthouse. 

In the weeks after the U.S. Coast Guard installed the new light in June, residents aired several complaints, including about the beam’s rotation direction, which is opposite of how the light has spun for decades, the apparent dimness of the beams and the lantern’s inability to shine during the day.  

At a select board meeting Tuesday, board member Chris Manning, who is also the lighthouse keeper, said he has informed the Coast Guard about the issues, and the federal agency is seeing what it can do. 

“They are looking into addressing some of these concerns, primarily… the direction of the rotation of the beam…” Mr. Manning said. “Obviously, the way that it’s set up, you can’t just flip the switch [to] make it go the other way, because that would completely change the flashing characteristic that the light projects.”

Mr. Manning said the Coast Guard told him that even though the beams may not appear as bright from land, from sea it’s much more intense and fairly defined. While former beacons would shine 24 hours a day, the new LED light is UV-sensitive and only turns on when it’s dark.

The Coast Guard was in town in mid-July to repair a blown fuse that was located within the rectifier, a device that converts AC power from the lighthouse outlet to DC power, which the new beacon uses. Mr. Manning said a technician from the U.S. Coast Guard replaced the rectifier after the light was out for two nights. 

Beverly Wright, a former tribal chairwoman who first raised concerns with the select board earlier this month, said the town should send a letter to the Coast Guard voicing their concerns. 

Mr. Manning said he’s not opposed to sending a letter, but wanted to wait until he hears back from the Coast Guard about the potential solutions they are exploring. 

“If we can keep it at the lowest level possible and address some of these concerns in-house with our local team, I think that’s the best route to go,” Mr. Manning said. 

Select board chair Juli Vanderhoop said the lighthouse committee should write a letter.

“I understand the concern about not making our demands too strenuous on them, but just to make the notes and then to thank them for coming out and for any attention that they can give…. that would be great,” she said.

The town is exploring alternatives in case they hit a brick wall with the Coast Guard.

Isaac Taylor, the assistant lighthouse keeper, said some members of the lighthouse advisory board have been reaching out to other lighthouses that have taken their Coast Guard lanterns out and replaced them. 

“The template for what we can do in that respect, gently, easily and appropriately, is there,” Mr. Taylor said. 

He said the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in North Carolina is an example. The Coast Guard plans to replace their halogen lamp with a reproduction Fresnel lens. 

“I think that there’s many options out there for the future if this doesn’t cut the ice,” Mr. Taylor said. 

Ms. Wright asked the board to keep the lighthouse’s importance to the community at the forefront of their decision making. She told a story about when she was a little girl, sleeping underneath the lighthouse in sleeping bags with friends. 

“When the beam went around, you could see if there was a boogeyman..” Ms. Wright said. “It was clear at night for us to sleep there. You don’t see that now with that little light.”