Gay Head Light Dimmed Ahead of Move
Familiar beacon before the lights go out.
Familiar beacon before the lights go out.
Approaching the lighthouse.
Approaching the lighthouse.
Lightkeeper Richard Skidmore and Len Butler of Gay Head Light relocation committee.
Lightkeeper Richard Skidmore and Len Butler of Gay Head Light relocation committee.
Automated double-cannon beacon has been spinning since 1989.
Automated double-cannon beacon has been spinning since 1989.
Richard Skidmore, keeper of the Gay Head Light, flipped the switch.
Richard Skidmore, keeper of the Gay Head Light, flipped the switch.
Signal pattern is red and white.
Signal pattern is red and white.
"One, true, three, goodnight light!"
"One, true, three, goodnight light!"
Temporary beacon stands up the road from the lighthouse.
Temporary beacon stands up the road from the lighthouse.
Temporary beacon will emit single white flash every seven seconds.
Temporary beacon will emit single white flash every seven seconds.
The light is out at the Gay Head Light, at least for awhile. At 10:33 a.m. on April 16, the automated double-cannon beacon installed in the Gay Head Light in 1989 stopped spinning and the iconic red-and-white signal went out in preparation for the upcoming relocation of the lighthouse. Up the road from the lighthouse, members of the Coast Guard Aid to Navigation Team prepared to activate a temporary beacon at the top of a metal pole secured to a large stone block.