The Southeast Light

The breeze from the Atlantic was a welcome respite from the hot sun overhead. Sunlight bounced off the shimmering water below the bluffs. I turned to find an angle to capture the lighthouse, taking care not to get too close to the fence that kept me from falling to the rocky shoreline below.

History

In 1874 the Southeast Light was completed on Block Island. Casting it’s warning from Mohegan Bluffs, The lighthouse is the highest in New England.

Years before, a local businessman had lobbied hard for it’s construction, hoping to reduce the number of shipwrecks. Since it’s completion, it has saved countless lives warning mariners of the dangers near the island’s southern coast.

When the light was built in 1873 locals cautioned against placing it too close to the clay cliffs. They reminded the officials that they were constantly moving their own livestock fences every decade away from the eroding cliffs that were under relentless assault from the sea.

Saving the Light

By 1983 the beacon faced a reckoning. Less than 80 feet from the cliffs, the lighthouse would be lost to the forces of nature unless something was done.

It took ten years and three acts of Congress to move the entire structure to safety, but in 1974 the beacon was lit again, safely positioned away from the precipice.

Day Turns to Night

The lighthouse is a marvelous structure by it’s own right, but difficult to photograph. It would have been better if I had been able to position myself suspended in the air a few hundred feet off the edge of the bluffs over the open sea, but not owning a helicopter or possessing wings meant I’d have to keep my feet on the ground. It’s was midday, and I would be away before sundown on the last boat off the island. The beam of the light was not easily seen now.

I raised my camera, invoking the gods of digital manipulation and creativity.

“Let it be dark!” I cried.

Darkness fell on the cliffs as the sun was blotted out.

” Let the beacon shine” I called, “and maybe a light illuminated by an oil lamp in the second story window” Both appeared.

“Ok, that will do it.”

I pressed the shutter button.

How to get there:

A trip to the island is something many Rhode Islanders treat themselves to in the busy summer months, I recommend waiting until September, when kids go back to school and the crowds abate. Travel to Galilee, Rhode Island, and catch the Interstate Navigation Ferry. It’s about a 45 minute trip, and you can walk to a local bike rental in town to get around. The ride to the light isn’t too difficult and the road winds along the shoreline with some wonderful views. Be sure to get back into town on time so you can catch the ferry out. After the last boat leaves for the day, it’s a long swim home!