ABACO’S MAJESTIC SUMMIT (134 ft asl) : ABACO LANDMARKS (2)

February 19, 2016 by Rolling Harbour

ABACO’S MAJESTIC SUMMIT (134 ft asl) : ABACO LANDMARKS (2)

The header photograph is in fact nothing to do with Abaco. Apologies for any confusion. You can put away your ice axe, crampons or skis. It’s the Matterhorn, towering over the border of Switzerland and Italy, complete with high altitude, year-round snow and sub-zero temperatures. Abaco has its own skiing, of course, but solely of the watery sort.

I was curious as to the exact location of Abaco’s highest point. There are a couple of rocky hills in the pine forests of South Abaco that I thought might be candidates. All sources I checked agreed that the altitude is a dizzying 134 feet, with some equating that with 40 metres and others with 41. It would be nit-picking to use the straight conversion of 40.8432 metres. I am that nit-picker.

A site called PEAKBAGGER is useful for such queries. Click on the link and it takes you to the Abaco entry; elsewhere on the site there is a mass of remarkable worldwide altitude information that you could easily spend an hour or 2 investigating.

EIGHT ESSENTIAL ABACO SUMMIT FACTS TO ASTOUND YOUR FRIENDS

Elevation: 41 meters / 134 feet
Name: “Unnamed High Point” [according to John Bethel, it is known locally as ‘Pidgeon Hill’]
Latitude/Longitude: 26° 34′ 6” N; 77° 8′ 14” W 26.568399, -77.137319
3rd highest point in the Bahamas
54th highest point in the Caribbean
1014th highest island point in the world
Nearest high point is on Eleuthera
No ‘ascents’ by registered ‘Peakbaggers’ (this is now on my bucket-list for personal achievements – and it’s an easy start on the way to fame and the conquest of Everest).

THE PRECISE LOCATION OF ABACO’S HIGHEST POINT

Peakbagger’s map places the high point close to the Highway north of Marsh Harbour. Although the land relief shown on the Peakbagger map suggests a higher ridge to the north-west of the red circle, it is in fact only 30 metres high.

Quite a while back I contacted Sandy Estabrook, éminence grise behind the wonderful ABACO ESCAPE website. Within a very short time he got back to me with a clipping from a nautical map, confirming the high point’s location as the one given by Peakbagger.

Far more importantly, it turned out that Sandy actually ascended the summit in 2009 with a friend and without oxygen. His expedition journal states simply:

“Heading South along Queens Hwy, Frank pointed out a hill on the Sea of Abaco side of the road. It had quite some elevation of over a hundred feet or more it seemed. I have not seen a higher place in all of Abaco. And atop the hill was a tower that I was told was built by real estate interests some years ago for prospective clients to view the surroundings. We climbed the tower and I took a couple pics”.

The tower will be familiar to travellers passing by on the Highway. I had read that this was a good place to look out for birds, and had assumed it was some sort of fire-watching tower. The use of a tower to scope out land for development is an ingenious one, but the landscape remains undeveloped. Here are some photos from the vantage point taken on Sandy’s expedition.

View roughly south-east from the tower to Hope Town. The lighthouse is visible to the right.

Looking north-east, with Great Guana Cay just visible on the horizon

The view north(ish) along the ridge, with the Highway snaking up to Treasure Cay

AERIAL VIEWS

WHERE IS BASE CAMP?

Turn east off the Highway and take the spur road to the right. Park at the wider area near the end. Prepare for a scramble up. If there is – or was – a path to the top, I expect it’s overgrown now, unless for some reason it has been cleared. And if anyone undertakes the challenge, it would be fun to post your account of the adventure plus views from the top – especially looking west.

Thanks to Sandy Estabrook and to Peakbagger

This is a rijig of a post I did in 2013, because it fits in with my new ‘Landmarks’ series. Also, I (luckily) have loads more followers these days. If there have been any significant changes to the location, I’d be pleased to hear and amend accordingly. And if there are any other local names for the hill, I’ll add them.

ELBOW REEF LIGHTHOUSE, ABACO: THE OLD LADY’S BIG DAY

June 19, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

ELBOW REEF LIGHTHOUSE, ABACO: THE OLD LADY’S BIG DAY

There are various overwrought ‘describing’ words that have become devalued and tired through overuse. Unique. Unsurpassed. Unparalleled. Iconic. However the famous and much-loved Elbow Cay Lighthouse could plausibly lay claim to any one of those adjectives. Let’s make that ‘all’. Earlier this year, following a meticulous survey, repairs and refurbishments were made to this stately 89 foot high, 101 step light that came into operation in 1863 during the height of the American Civil War.

You can read more about the lighthouse, its importance and its machinery in various earlier posts (use the search box), and there is other material including details of the recent repair program HERE. This post is simply to advertise the forthcoming 2nd Lighthouse Festival that takes place in Tuesday June 23rd. The flyer below tells you all you need to know about the day.

For this event, the students of Hope Town Primary School, in conjunction with the invaluable ELBOW REEF LIGHTHOUSE SOCIETY , have produced a wonderful book celebrating the lighthouse, with proceeds of sale benefitting the school’s volunteer programs and the Society’s ongoing projects. I am sure will be a best seller – make it happen!

As last year, the events will include an auction. Among the wide variety of items to be auctioned will be a 15″ x 15″ print on canvas of my photo of a Western Spindalis, taken on the drive of the Delphi Club and included in “THE BIRDS OF ABACO” (a copy of which was auctioned last year).

Maybe a few more pics of such an interesting building are called for…. And a reminder of some key words to scatter liberally into your conversation at the event. Or anywhere, really: “Fresnel Lenses”, “Mercury Bed”, “Clockwork Mechanism”, “Trinity House, London”.

And finally a wonderful photo of Hope Town centred on the Lighthouse complex. Enjoy June 23rd.

Logo of the World Lighthouse Society

Credits: Lighthouse exteriors and Spindalis RH; all interiors Mrs RH; props to Elbow Reef Lighthouse Society (and ?David Rees for the aerial view…); Annie Potts for her inspiring book “Last Lights” about the intriguing lighthouses of the Bahamas

ELBOW REEF LIGHTHOUSE, HOPE TOWN, ABACO: 150 YEARS OLD TODAY!

June 24, 2014 by Rolling Harbour

HOPE TOWN LIGHTHOUSE ABACO: THE WORKS

ELBOW REEF LIGHTHOUSE, as it is properly called, is 150 years old. It is the stripy icon of Abaco – and quite flashy as well. One of the last remaining kerosene-lit lighthouses in the world, it retains its mechanisms and fresnel lenses in remarkable condition, a tribute to the conservation lovingly devoted to the building. Below is a re-post of an article I wrote some time ago, with photos of some of the internal works and some facts and figures thrown in, There’s a big event in the lighthouse’s honour today – here’s the flyer for it. We’ve donated a signed copy of “The Birds of Abaco” for auction, and I hope it makes a few $$$$ for the cause.

Our visit to Elbow Cay was one part of our day’s Island Hopping / Reef Snorkelling expedition with Kay Politano. In Hope Town, while most of the party wandered round the streets (and shops…) Mrs RH took the boat across the harbour to the Hope Town Lighthouse. This must be the best known landmark of Abaco – ‘iconic’, perhaps, in the modern sense of the word. The weather on the day was pretty poor, with thick cloud and intermittent rain and drizzle. Which is a pity, because the photos would have looked even better with sunshine and blue sky…

All photos: Mrs Rolling Harbour

HOPE TOWN LIGHTHOUSE FACTS

(CLICK on Coordinates below for position and Hope Town info)

Location:	Elbow Cay, port of Hope Town
Coordinates	26.539421°N 76.958840°W
Year first constructed:	1862
Year first lit:	1864
Construction:	Masonry
Tower shape:	Conical
Markings/Pattern:	Red and white bands
Focal Height:	37 m (121 ft)
Original lens:	First order Fresnel
Range:	23 nmi
Characteristic:	Fl(5) 15s
Admiralty number:	J4572
NGA number:	11800
ARLHS number:	BAH-010

THE HOPE TOWN LIGHTHOUSE is one of only three Manual Lighthouses left in the World. It has a spring mechanism that has to be hand cranked every few hours to maintain the sequence of five white flashes every 15 seconds. The lamp burns kerosene with a wick and mantle. The light is then focused as it passes through the optics of a first order (largest size) Fresnel lens which floats on a bed of mercury.

A FRESNEL LENS (pron. ‘Fray-nel’) is a type of lens originally developed by a French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel specifically for lighthouses.Compared to conventional bulky lenses, the Fresnel lens is much thinner, larger, and flatter, and captures more oblique light from a light source, thus allowing lighthouses to be visible over much greater distances. Fresnel’s lighthouse lenses ordinarily fell into six orders based on their focal length, first order being the largest (wiki-assist)

For some more images of this iconic – or do I mean symbolic (discuss) – building CLICK===>>> ILOVEHOPETOWN You’ll find that around half the images are of the lighthouse, internal and external. Then look at the colourful remainder. Then it’s a short step to the Facebook page and more info about this charming Cay

Logo of the World Lighthouse Society

MOUNT ABACO: THE ISLAND’S MAJESTIC SUMMIT (134 feet)

October 31, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

MOUNT ABACO: THE ISLAND’S MAJESTIC SUMMIT (134 feet)

The header photograph is not in fact anything to do with Abaco. Apologies for any confusion. It’s the Matterhorn, towering over the border of Switzerland and Italy, complete with high altitude, year-round snow and sub-zero temperatures. Abaco has its own excellent skiing, of course, but solely of the watery sort. However, recently the question arose as to exactly where the highest point on Abaco is situated. All sources agree that the altitude is a dizzying 134 feet, with some equating that with 40 meters and others with 41. It would be nit-picking to use the straight conversion of 40.8432 meters.

I once did a post comparing the altitude of Abaco with Mount Everest – if you have the patience, you’ll find it HERE. A check on G@@gle throws up a fascinating site called PEAKBAGGER. Click on the link and it takes you to the Abaco entry; but elsewhere on the site there is a mass of remarkable worldwide altitude information that you could easily spend an hour or 2 investigating. The essential info for Abaco is this:

Elevation: 41 meters, 134 feet
Name: “Unnamed High Point”
Latitude/Longitude: 26° 34′ 6” N; 77° 8′ 14” W 26.568399, -77.137319
3rd highest point in the Bahamas
54th highest point in the Caribbean
1014th highest island point in the world (which seems very unlikely, somehow)
Nearest high point is on Eleuthera
No ‘ascents’ by registered ‘Peakbaggers’ (this is now on my bucket-list for easy personal achievements)

Peakbagger’s map places the high point close to the Highway north of Marsh Harbour. This puzzled me, partly because I remember Ricky Johnson showing us a significant rocky outcrop deep in the pine forest of south Abaco. Also, the land relief shown on the Peakbagger map suggests a higher ridge to the north-west of the red circle.

So I did what any Abaco researcher would do – I contacted Sandy Estabrook, éminence grise behind the wonderful ABACO ESCAPE website. Within a very short time he got back to me with a clipping from a nautical map, confirming the high point’s location as the one given by Peakbagger.

Far more importantly, it turned out that Sandy actually ascended the summit in 2009 with a friend and without oxygen. His expedition journal states simply “Heading South along Queens Hwy, Frank pointed out a hill on the Sea of Abaco side of the road. It had quite some elevation of over a hundred feet or more it seemed. (I have not seen a higher place in all of Abaco). And atop the hill was a tower that I was told was built by real estate interests some years ago for prospective clients to view the surroundings. We climbed the tower and I took a couple picts”.

The tower will be familiar to travellers passing by on the Highway. I had read that this was a good place to look out for birds, and had assumed it was some sort of fire-watching tower. The use of a tower to scope out land for development is an ingenious one, but the landscape is mercifully still undeveloped. Here are some photos from the vantage point.

View roughly south-east from the tower to Hope Town. The lighthouse is just visible to the right.

Looking north-east, with Great Guana Cay just visible on the horizon

The view north(ish) along the ridge, with the Highway snaking up to Treasure Cay

AERIAL VIEWS

Normally, high points acquire a name at some time. Even quite low ones. Perhaps Abaco’s high point deserves one. In which case, Parrot Peak? (But the parrots, while symbolic of the island, don’t frequent the area). Hummingbird Hill? (Tiny and perfectly formed). A134? (Uninspiring). All suggestions welcome…

STOP PRESS Within 24 hours, John Bethel has kindly to say “I have always known this hill to be called Pidgeon Hill”. So, it has a name already. I’ll try to find out some more about this – for example whether the name is historic or recent. Can anyone add anything to this?

Thanks to Sandy Estabrook and to Peakbagger