In addition to their nature cruises, Bar Harbor Whale Watch in Maine runs regular sightseeing cruises that go near several of the local lighthouses. For years, pre-pandemic, the company also ran occasional all-day lighthouse cruises that passed close to as many as 15 or 20 lighthouses. An annual July cruise was known as the Grand Slam cruise. The cruises were put on hold during the pandemic. The tradition is being revived, with an all-day cruise going near at least 20 lighthouses this September 24. In this episode is a discussion with Zack Klyver, who has organized the cruise; co-narrator Bob Trapani Jr. of the American Lighthouse Foundation; and photographer Mike Leonard, who will be on the cruise to offer photography tips. Also narrating on board will be Jeremy D’Entremont, USLHS historian and host of this podcast.
The second segment concerns an exciting project at Graves Lighthouse in outer Boston Harbor. Graves, a 113-foot-tall granite tower on a barren, wave-swept ledge, began service in 1905 with a huge first-order Fresnel lens from Paris. The lens was removed in the 1970s and is in storage at the Smithsonian. Boston businessman Dave Waller bought Graves Lighthouse at government auction in 2013. For the past few years, Dave has been assembling his own first-order lens from spare parts, and that lens has now been installed in the lighthouse. Dave discusses this groundbreaking endeavor with host Jeremy D’Entremont.
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Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for 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 podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org