MaineBusiness.com

People from all over the North America attended this years 2nd International Lighthouse Challenge, “Lights Across the Border,” that took place September 12 at West Quoddy Head and Lubec Channel lighthouses in Lubec, Mulholland and Head Harbour lighthouses on Campobello Island and Little River Lighthouse in Cutler.

Organizers for the event reported that the crowds were of a good size because of Maine Open Lighthouse Day, which also took place on the same day.

Lighthouse Challenge spokesperson, Kathleen Finnegan said, “We knew how many people to expect for the Lighthouse Challenge, because they had all registered in advance. However, when the Maine Office of Tourism, the American Lighthouse Foundation and the Coast Guard announced plans for Maine Open Lighthouse Day, they never consulted with us in advance if the date they selected would conflict with any other lighthouse events that had been planned a year before they picked their date. Our event was planned around the tides, for safe access to the lighthouses. However, many people who showed up for Maine Open Lighthouse Day, arrived far too early to allow safe access to island where Little River Lighthouse is located, which prolonged their wait.”

Finnegan went on to add, “Also, many of the Lighthouse Challenge participants arrived at Little River Lighthouse very late in the afternoon, because they waited so long in line at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse where an estimated 500 people showed up. For obvious reasons only so many people can climb the tower at West Quoddy or any lighthouse tower at any given time. However, it was the additional people who showed up for Maine Open Lighthouse Day at West Quoddy Lighthouse that caused many of Lighthouse Challenge people to arrive at Little River Lighthouse very late in the day. At one point we had so many people arrive late in the afternoon that we had to get help from local lobsterman, John Drouin, to transport people in his lobster boat.”

“Fortunately, no one complained,” said Tim Harrison, chairman of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse. He said the people were just plain happy to be able to climb three remote lighthouse towers in one day and view the others. “We had more children than ever this year, which was great, because they will be the future caretakers of our historic lighthouses and we want to get them involved at an early age. Also, this year, we had two high school student volunteers, Tyler Warner and Andrew Farnsworth, as tower guides.”

Harrison said he spent a lot of his time at Little River Lighthouse transporting people in a trailer hauled behind a small tractor who couldn’t make the long walk up and over the island. “They were almost as thrilled by the tractor ride as they were by seeing the restored lighthouse,” he said.

However, one of the big attractions of the day was the whales and the seals. Visitors at Head Harbour Lighthouse on Campobello Island and at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, reported whale sightings in the waters off the lighthouses. Plus, an estimated two dozen seals were showing off in the waters around Little River Lighthouse. At one point it seemed as if one seal wanted to climb in a boat and ride with the visitors. One man exclaimed, “I could see his whiskers, I could have petted him!”

As well as raising money for the ongoing restoration and care of the lighthouses, the event served as a boost to the area’s economy. All in all in was a good day of family fun that revolved around the great outdoors and lighthouses.