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49-493: The station named Nantucket or Nantucket Shoals was served by a number of lightvessels (also termed lightships) that marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals south of Nantucket Island . The vessels, given numbers as their "name," had the station name painted on their hulls when assigned to the station. Several ships have been assigned to the Nantucket Shoals lightship station and have been called Nantucket . It

98-487: A 375 mm (14.8 in) electric lens lantern at each mast head. Lightship 106 was placed in relief service following replacement by Lightship 117 in 1931, returned to Nantucket when Lightship 117 was sunk in 1934, and returned to relief service when replaced by Lightship 112 in 1936. Lightship 117 at Nantucket was sideswiped by the SS ; Washington in early 1934, and four months later, on 15 May 1934, she

147-617: A crude estimation of the lightship's location relative to the approaching vessel. Tests conducted by Trinity House found that sound from a bell submerged some 18 feet (5.5 m) could be heard at a distance of 15 miles (24 km), with a practical range in operational conditions of one to three miles (1.6 to 4.8 km). Holding the vessel in position was an important aspect of lightvessel engineering. Early lightships used fluke anchors , which are still in use on many contemporary vessels, though these anchors are prone to dragging, making their performance unsatisfactory in rough seas. Since

196-540: A duplex revolving high intensity light of British design... rated at 5.5 million candlepower." On December 20, 1983, the WLV-613 relieved WLV-612 at 2:30 AM, remaining on the Nantucket station until approximately 8 AM when the WLV-613 was replaced at the Nantucket Shoals station with a Large Navigation Buoy. Likewise, with its last five-and-a-half hours of service, the WLV-613 was the last lightship on Nantucket Shoals and

245-619: A museum ship in Boston and Lightship 612 was reassigned to cutter duty. Finally, after being decommissioned on 29 March 1985 and ending the 165 year era of United States Lightship service, Lightship 612 was sold to the Boston Educational Marine Exchange and shortly thereafter was taken over by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In March 2000, she was purchased by William and Kristen Golden, restored as

294-560: A reserve beacon, in case of the main light's failure. Initially, lightship hulls were constructed of wood, shaped like the small merchant ships of the time, but this proved unsatisfactory for a permanently anchored ship, so the shape of the hull evolved to reduce rolling and pounding. As iron and steel hulls were popularized, they became used in lightvessels, and the advent of steam and diesel power led to self-propelled and electrically lit designs. Earlier vessels had no propulsion systems and had to be towed to and from their positions. Much of

343-407: A tall mast upon which to mount the light. Initially, these lights consisted of oil lamps that were run up the mast and could be lowered for servicing, while later vessels carried fixed lamps which were serviced in place. As they became available, Fresnel lenses were used, and many vessels housed them in smaller versions of lighthouse lanterns. Some lightships had two masts, with the second housing

392-496: Is a slightly larger type of vessel that derives its power from diesel electric generators. Where a main light with a visible range in excess of 20 nautical miles (37 km) is required, a '20 class' vessel is used, as the main light from a Trinity House solar lightvessel has a maximum range of 19 nautical miles (35 km). Hull numbers: 19, 22, 23 and 25 (the 20 class); 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17 (solar lightvessels); and LF2 and LF3 (solar lightfloats). The first United States lightship

441-511: Is short for Feuerschiff , which means lightvessel in German. Two of them are normally located at: Both positions have the same characteristics: All three ships are operated by the Waterways and Shipping Office Wilhelmshaven and can be seen in the harbour of Wilhelmshaven during maintenance. In Russia , lightships have been documented since the mid 19th century. The lightvessel service

490-671: The Civil War lightships were identified by name, usually that of the station where they served. As they were moved from station to station, however, the keeping of records became hopelessly tangled. Therefore, in 1867 all existing lightships were given numbers by which they would be permanently identified, and the station at which they were presently serving was painted on their sides, to be changed as needed. Lightships held in reserve to serve in place of those in dock for maintenance were labeled "RELIEF". Surviving lightships are commonly taken to be named according to these labels, but for instance

539-471: The Great Lakes ). The first United States lightships were small wooden vessels with no propelling power. The first United States iron-hulled lightship was stationed at Merrill's Shell Bank, Louisiana, in 1847. Wood was still the preferred building material at the time because of lower cost and ability to withstand shock loading. Wooden lightships often survived more than 50 years in northern waters where

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588-481: The rule of thumb being 6 feet (1.8 m) of chain for every foot of water. As well as the light, which operated both at night and in fog from one hour before sunset to one hour after sunrise, early lightvessels were equipped with day markers at the tops of masts, which were the first objects seen from an approaching ship. These markers were primarily red and occasionally white, and their designs varied. Filled circles or globes, as well as pairs of inverted cones were

637-789: The "Lightship Chesapeake " actually served at two other stations as well as being used for examinations, and last served at the Delaware Light Station. In another case, the LV-114 was labeled "NEW BEDFORD", though there has never been such a station. In an attempt to sort out the early lightships, they were assigned one or two letter designations sometime around 1930; these identifications do not appear in early records, and they are to some degree uncertain. There are three different and overlapping series of hull numbers. The Lighthouse Service assigned numbers beginning with "LV-" and starting from 1; however, not all numbers were used. When

686-590: The 2010 edition of the United States Coast Pilot , the International Maritime Organization has established an "area to be avoided" for the Nantucket Shoals. Vessels transporting oil or hazardous materials and vessels of more than 1,000 gross tons should avoid the area bounded by the points in the below table. Download coordinates as: This Nantucket County, Massachusetts geography–related article

735-646: The Baltic in the 1980s, it was briefly renamed Ventspilssky while serving near Ventspils port in the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic . The last Russian lightvessel in service was Astrakhansky-priyomniy , of the same class as Irbensky. Until 1997 she was marking the deepwater channel leading to Astrakhan harbour while it was doing service in the Caspian Sea . Because lightvessels must remain anchored in specific positions for

784-651: The Coast Guard took over the lighthouse service, all existing lightships were renumbered with "WAL-" prefixes, beginning with "WAL-501". In 1965 they were renumbered again, this time with "WLV-"; however in this case the numbers given were not sequential. Given that only six vessels were constructed after the Coast Guard takeover, the "LV-" series numbers are most commonly used. It is estimated that there are 15 United States lightships left today. Among them: There are currently three identical unmanned German lightvessels in service, named FS1, FS3 and FS4. The initialism FS

833-525: The Lake Huron Cut. From 1854 until 1860, the lightvessel that operated at Minots Ledge , Massachusetts , had a light yellow hull, to increase contrast between the blue-green seas and the hills behind it. David Avery and Robert Hamblin in 1731 placed the earliest British lightship at The Nore near the mouth of the River Thames . This was a private venture that operated profitably and without

882-620: The United States ended on March 29, 1985, when the United States Coast Guard decommissioned its last such ship, the Nantucket I . Many lightships were replaced with Texas Towers or large navigational buoys  – both of which are cheaper to operate than lightvessels. In fact, lighthouses often replaced lightships. The naming and numbering of American lightships is often confusing. Up to and through

931-671: The approach to Kronstadt . Other Baltic lightships were located further to the West, with Werkommatala by Primorsk (Koivisto) harbour, Lyserortsky at the entrance of the Gulf of Finland , and Nekmangrund over the treacherous shoals off Hiiumaa Island's NW shore, known as Hiiu Madal in Estonian . Another well-known lightship was Irbensky of the Soviet Union era. It was the next-to-last Russian lightship. Having been located in

980-552: The constant change caused by strong currents, which are rotary rather than reversing. The shoals lie just off of a major transatlantic shipping lane . Numerous ships have been wrecked here, most recently and notably the oil tanker Argo Merchant in December 1976. Until 1983, the edge of the shoals was guarded by the Nantucket Lightship . Nantucket Shoals is made up of the following features: According to

1029-411: The danger of rotting was reduced. Lightvessel 16 guarded Sandy Hook and Ambrose stations for more than 80 years; she had both an inner hull and an outer hull with the space between filled with salt to harden the wood and reduce decay. Several lightships built with composite wood and steel hulls in 1897 proved less durable than either wood or steel. The first modern steel lightship in United States service

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1078-447: The early 19th century, lightships have used mushroom anchors , named for their shape, which typically weigh 3 to 4 tons. The first lightvessel equipped with one was a converted fishing boat, renamed Pharos , meaning lighthouse, which entered service on September 15th, 1807, near Inchcape , Scotland with an anchor weighing 1.5 tons. The introduction of cast iron anchor chains in the 1820s improved their effectiveness dramatically, with

1127-589: The entire Lighthouse Service. While in the Navy during World War I she continued her former peacetime routine warning shipping away from Nantucket Shoals and also aided in guarding nearby waters against German U-boats . Sailors from the Lightship aided in the rescue of people after the Boston Molasses Disaster , partly because it was docked nearby. After peace was restored in 1919, Lightship 85

1176-501: The first modern lightvessel was located off the Nore sandbank at the mouth of the River Thames in London , England, and placed there by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. Lightships have since become largely obsolete; being largely replaced by lighthouses as construction techniques advanced, and by large automated navigation buoys . The most important element of lightship design is

1225-569: The largest lightship ever built in the US, returned to Boston for renovation and preservation. Built in 1950 at Curtis Bay, Maryland by the United States Coast Guard Yard for $ 500,000, Lightship 612 was the last ship to serve a full tour of duty on the Nantucket Shoals station and was also the last US lightship in commission. In 1975 Lightship Ambrose , the Nantucket's sister ship, was renamed Lightship Nantucket II and

1274-795: The largest lightship ever, for $ 300,956.00. This ship was paid for by the British government as reparation for the deadly collision between Olympic and Lightship 117 . During World War II, Lightship 112 was withdrawn from the Nantucket Shoals station and used as an examination vessel in Portland, Maine. On 5 January 1959, she was blown 80 miles (130 km) off-station in hurricane-force winds accompanied by fifty-foot seas. This event effectively put her out of communication for several days due to water-damaged electronics. Lightship 112 outlasted all other lightships assigned to that station, having marked it for 39 years. On 10 May 2010, Lightship LV-112 ,

1323-636: The last lightship in service in the United States. The WLV-613 is currently owned by William and Kristen Golden, who also own the WLV-612. Lightship 85 : Lightship 117 : Lightship 112 : Lightship 612: Lightship WLV-613: Lightvessel A lightvessel , or lightship , is a ship that acts as a lighthouse . They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times,

1372-702: The lightship honored him by illuminating his schooner at the Kennedy Compound . Built at the United States Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Baltimore , Maryland in 1952. It was the last lightship ever built and launched in the United States, and the last lightship commissioned in service. Commissioned in September 1952 as the WAL-613 with a conventional mast, it was refit in 1953 with a "large cylindrical lantern housing installed on tripod foremast with

1421-545: The majority of their time at sea, they are more at risk of damage or destruction. Many lightships have been lost in hurricanes. Nantucket Shoals Nantucket Shoals is an area of dangerously shallow water in the Atlantic Ocean that extends from Nantucket Island , Massachusetts , eastward for 23 miles (37 km) and southeastward for 40 miles (64 km); in places water depth can be as shallow as 3 feet (0.91 m). Depth soundings are unpredictable due to

1470-464: The most common designs among them. For visibility purposes, most later lightships had bright red hulls that displayed the name of the station in white, upper-case letters; relief light vessels displayed the word RELIEF instead. Some vessels had hulls coloured for specific purposes. For example, the Huron Lightship was painted black since she was assigned the black buoy side of the entrance to

1519-574: The need for government enforcement of payment for lighting services. Further vessels were placed off Norfolk in 1736, at Owers Bank in Sussex in 1788, and at the Goodwin Sands in 1793. Over time, Trinity House , the public authority charged with establishing and maintaining lighthouses in England and Wales, crowded out the private light vessels. Trinity House is now responsible for all

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1568-554: The only fully operational Lightship in the United States and converted to a luxury yacht that was berthed at Rowes Wharf in Boston. In the summer of 2007 she was available for charter in Nantucket harbor and Newport. The Nantucket Lightship WLV612 was chartered for one year by the 5 star Delamar Hotel in Greenwich Connecticut in 2008, served as the mothership for the New York Yacht Club summer cruise and

1617-412: The remaining lightvessels England and Wales, of which there are currently eight unmanned lightvessels and two smaller light floats . In the 1930s, "crewless lightships" were proposed as a way to operate a light vessel for six to twelve months without a crew. The first lightvessel conversion to solar power was made in 1995, and all vessels except the '20 class' have now been converted. The '20 class'

1666-444: The ship was taken up by storage for lamp oil and other supplies, as well as crew accommodations. The crew's primary duty was to maintain the light; other tasks included keeping records of passing ships, observing the weather, and occasionally performing rescues. In the early 20th century, some lightships were fitted with warning bells mounted on their structure or lowered into the water, to warn of danger in poor visibility and to permit

1715-566: The two ships spelled one another, relieving each other approximately every 21 days. At 2:30 a.m. on 20 December 1983 the Lightship 613 relieved Lightship 612 until 8:00 a.m. when she was relieved by a Large Navigational Buoy , making Lightship 613 the last Lightship on station in the US and on Nantucket Station. In December 1983 the Lightship 613 was sold to the New England Historic Seaport to become

1764-584: Was 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Nantucket Island, the farthest lightship in North America, and experienced clockwise rotary tidal currents. Lightships and their crews were exposed to many dangers. In addition to the obvious hazards posed by the weather and sea conditions, vessels marking shipping lanes on occasion were struck by the very traffic they existed to protect. Ships would home on their radio beacons at night and in fog, but were expected to post lookouts and to turn away in time. Lightship 11

1813-490: Was built in 1853 by Tardy & Auld of Baltimore, Maryland for $ 13,462.00. Lightship 11 was built of white oak and equipped with two lanterns and a hand-operated 1,050-pound (480 kg) bell fog signal. Each of the lanterns contained eight constant-level oil lamps. Lightship 11 was blown ashore in 1855 and rebuilt at the New York Navy Yard for further service at Brenton Reef, Rhode Island. Lightship 1

1862-486: Was built in 1855 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for $ 48,000.00. Lightship 1 was built of white oak and live oak and equipped with two lanterns and a hand-operated bell fog signal. Each of the lanterns contained eight oil lamps with reflectors. Lightship 1 was rebuilt in 1860 and the main anchor was replaced with a mushroom in 1881 and then a stockless mushroom anchor in 1886. Lightship 1

1911-486: Was built in 1896 by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine for $ 69,282.00. The vessel was built on a wood-sheathed steel frame and equipped with a 12-inch steam chime whistle, and a cluster of four electric lens lanterns mounted in galleries at each mast head. She carried a Baird evaporator and distilling apparatus. Breaking adrift required replacement of seven mushroom anchors and 565 fathoms (1,033 m) of chain between 1896 and 1900. Experimental wireless telegraph equipment

1960-607: Was chartered from November 2008 through 31 May 2009 at The North Cove Marina at the World Financial Center in Manhattan, New York. During the summers of 2009 and 2010, Lightship WLV612 was docked in Martha's Vineyard on Charter in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Newport and Long Island Sound, returning in the fall of 2010 for charters Newport. On 26 August 2009, after the death of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy ,

2009-406: Was common for a lightship to be reassigned and then have the new station name painted on the hull. The Nantucket station was a significant US lightship station for transatlantic voyages. Established in 1854, the station marked the limits of the dangerous Nantucket Shoals. She was the last lightship seen by vessels departing the United States, as well as the first beacon seen on approach. The position

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2058-520: Was established at Chesapeake Bay in 1820, and the total number around the coast peaked in 1909 with 56 locations marked. Of those ships, 168 were constructed by the United States Lighthouse Service and six by the United States Coast Guard , which absorbed it in 1939. From 1820 until 1983, there were 179 lightships built for the U.S. government, and they were assigned to 116 separate light stations on four coasts (including

2107-406: Was installed in 1901 and the vessel became the first United States lightship with permanent radio equipment in 1904. Lightship 66 was placed in relief service following replacement by Lightship 85 in 1907. Lightship 85 , a wooden lightship, was built in 1907 at Camden, New Jersey for $ 99,000.00. Lightship 85 was transferred to the U.S. Navy by Executive Order on 11 April 1917, along with

2156-473: Was lightvessel 44 built in 1882. One of the last United States wooden hulled lightships built, lightvessel 74, went into service at Portland, Maine, in 1902. The first United States lightships with steam engine propulsion were built in 1891 for service on the Great Lakes where seasonal ice required prompt evacuation of light stations to avoid destruction of the lightships. The official use of lightships in

2205-603: Was rammed and sunk by the British White Star ship RMS  Olympic homing in on its radio beacon in dense fog. Four men went down with the ship and seven survivors were picked up by the Olympic . Three survivors later died of injuries sustained from the collision. The sunken wreck now lies hidden in 200 feet (60 m) of water 50 miles (80 km) south of Nantucket Island , Massachusetts. In 1936, Pusey & Jones of Wilmington, Delaware built Lightship 112 ,

2254-407: Was returned to the U.S. Commerce Department . Lightship 85 was placed in relief service following replacement by Lightship 106 in 1923. Lightship 106 was built in 1923 by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine for $ 200,000.00. Lightship 106 was built on a steel hull and equipped with a 12-inch steam chime whistle, a hand-operated bell, a submarine bell, a submarine oscillator, a radio beacon, and

2303-919: Was subordinated to the Russian Hydrographic Office and most of the lightships under it were in the Baltic Sea . In the early 1900s there were about ten lightships in the Russian sector of the Baltics. Among these the following may be mentioned: Yelaginsky , located on the Yelagin Channel  – later moved to the Petrovsky Channel and renamed, Nevsky in the middle of the main channel to St. Petersburg , and Londonsky on Londonsky Shoal off Kotlin Island on

2352-444: Was transferred to Boston, Massachusetts in 1894. Lightship 58 was built in 1894 by Craig Shipbuilding of Toledo, Ohio for $ 50,870.00. Lightship 58 was built of an iron-plated steel frame and equipped with two lanterns, a 12-inch steam chime whistle, and a hand-operated bell fog signal. Each of the lanterns contained eight oil lamps with reflectors. Lightship 58 was transferred to Fire Island, New York in 1896. Lightship 66

2401-445: Was transferred to Martins Industry, South Carolina in 1892. Lightship 54 was built in 1892 at West Bay City, Michigan for $ 53,325.00. Lightship 54 was built of iron and equipped with two lanterns, a 12-inch steam chime whistle, and a hand-operated 1,000-pound (450 kg) bell fog signal. Each of the lanterns contained eight oil lamps with reflectors. Twenty-five tons of pig iron ballast were added in 1893; and Lightship 54

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