This is the first of two episodes dealing with Scottish topics. Episode 66 will be posted on Wednesday, June 18, and will feature the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses.
The North Carr Lightship is the last remaining light vessel in Scotland. The first light vessel stationed near the North Carr rocks on the SE coast went on station in 1887. Only two years later it was replaced by a more substantial vessel. The third and final North Carr Lightship was built in Glasgow for the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1933. After its retirement in 1975, the lightship was sold to the North East Fife District Council.
Wikimedia Commons, photo by Timwether
In January 2002 it was moved to Victoria Dock in Dundee. In 2010, Taymara, a Dundee-based maritime charity, stepped in and took ownership. The work to stabilize the vessel is well underway, as the ravages of time and salt water continue to affect the integrity of the 86-year-old structure. Sam McKillop is the Project Administrator and Engineering Lead for the lightship restoration.
Wikimedia CommonsBy Laerol – Own work, CC BY 3.0
Also featured in this episode is a conversation with Dwight Berry of Maryland, a lighthouse enthusiast who discusses the lighthouses that can be visited in the vicinity of Baltimore.
U.S. Lighthouse Society archive.
Click here to learn more about Taymara and the lightship.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:38 — 28.8MB) | Embed
U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org
Great to hear about the North Carr Lightship.
Thank you, Peter, for initiating contact and helping to make this episode happen!