The Oak Island Lighthouse
June 20, 2010 by gary
Filed under Attractions And Events
The Oak Island Lighthouse was completed in 1958. It was once the second brightest light in the world. The total cost of construction was $110,000.00 (it would be millions of dollars today!).
The lights are 169 feet above the water. The structure is 148 feet tall, but it stands on a slight hill.
There is no spiral staircase as are found in most older lighthouses, but instead there is a series of ships ladders with a total of 131 steps to the lantern gallery level.
The base is set upon 24 concrete-filled steel pilings 10 3/4 inches in diameter and 67 feet deep. The pilings are capped by a 30 foot wide by 3 foot deep octagonal concrete base upon which the tower structure was built.
The main tower is 128 feet tall, built of monolithic reinforced concrete. It was poured continuously into a movable form that was raised by jacks at the rate of one foot per hour.
To accomplish this task a concrete mixing plant was set up on the site to allow for the continuous 24 hour a day operation for days.
The tower has a uniform inside diameter of 16 feet 4 3/4 inches. The wall is 8 inches thick, and the three stripe color pattern is permanently cast into the concrete.
To establish a color for each section the first forty feet is the natural gray of Portland cement. The next fifty feet was poured with white Portland cement and white quartz aggregate for the white color. The top fifty two feet is gray Portland cement with black coloring.
The smaller diameter concrete section at the top was formed with stationary metal forms after the top floor was poured. Windows in the tower were constructed of stainless steel but sashes have been replace with vinyl.
The 11 foot tall aluminum lantern housing was installed by Marine Corps helicopters. Total height of the structure above the foundation slab is 153 feet.
The characteristic flashing pattern for the light is four one-second flashes every 10 seconds.
The lighting apparatus in the Oak Island Lighthouse is made up of 8 aero beacon lighting fixtures, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom.
When first activated in 1958, the lower bank used carbon-arc mercury lamps in 36-inch reflectors. These reflectors with their housings were adapted from aircraft spotlights used in World War II.
When these lamps were in use the Oak Island light was the second brightest in the world. When the upper bank of lights, comprising of 24 inch theatrical lights and 1,000 watt Quartz lamps became the primary beacon and the bottom were decommissioned, it lost that distinction!
Today the brightest light along this part of the Atlantic coast is the Sullivan’s Island Light near Charleston, South Carolina which was erected in 1962.
Free tours are given on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 AM till 2 PM starting on the Wednesday before Memorial Day until the Wednesday After Labor Day. Tours are to the 2nd level ONLY.
· Weekly seasonal tours are only to the 2nd level of the tower, NOT to the observation balcony at the top!
· Children MUST be 7 years or older to enter the lighthouse due to government safety regulations.
· No more than 15 visitors will be allowed inside the tower at any time.
· Visitors are requested not to wear flip-flops, high heels, open-toed or hard leather heels/soles. Sneakers are the preferred shoes.
· Climbers are required to have both hands free for climbing due to the steepness of our steps. No exceptions will be made!
· Weather permitting (visitors are not allowed in the lighthouse if there is lightning in the area)
· There are no Restroom facilities on site
· All tours are free of charge
Sea Turtles
June 20, 2010 by gary
Filed under Around The Town
Here are three videos showing a Turtle laying eggs, eggs hatching and baby turtle making his (or her) way to the ocean! This time of year the Turtles are coming ashore at Oak Island to lay their eggs – you can help by observing the rules at the bottom of this page!
Sea turtle laying 209 eggs:
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Sea Turtles Hatching at Sunset Beach,NC during August, 2009 near midnight:
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A Sea Turtle makes his (or her) way to the ocean!:
You can help the turtles when you visit Sunset Beach by following a few simple guidelines:
Do Not Disturb: If you see an adult sea turtle coming on shore, stay quiet and keep your distance! Otherwise she may get scared and go back into the ocean without nesting. They are an endangered species and it is a federal offense to harass them.
Turn Off All Flashlights! Lights may scare or confuse the adult female and cause her to leave without nesting.
Lights Cause Hatchlings To Go In the Wrong Direction: Please turn off all outside lights each night. Also if there are curtains or blinds use them so your indoor lights do not lead the hatchlings away from the ocean.
Never Pick Up A Hatchling. It is critical that they crawl on their own.
Do Not Disturb The Nest Area. Watch for the nest markers.
Stay Off Sand Dunes & Do Not Pick Sea Oats. Sand dunes provide critical habitat for sea turtles and help prevent flooding during times of extreme tides and storms. Foot traffic kills plants and severely damages the sand dunes. The penalty for failure to adhere to this requirement is a $100 fine.
Help Us Keep Our Beaches Clean -Sea turtles may mistake a plastic bag or other forms of litter for a jellyfish (they eat them). All personal items and equipment must be removed from the beach each day- these items may trap a sea turtle.
Please Fill In All Holes On The Beach When Done Playing.- Holes can trap sea turtles and are a safety hazard to humans.
Keep Dogs On Leashes At All Times!- No dogs shall be permitted on the beach strand between the hours of 9:00am and 6:00pm during period of Memorial Day through Labor Day regardless of whether they are leashed or not.
Fireworks can scare off nesting sea turtles and leave behind trash that may be mistaken for food by marine wildlife.- Discharge of fireworks is not permitted per North Carolina state laws.
Please Report all sightings of nesting turtles, dead turtles, unmarked nests or crawls (looks like a bulldozer came out of the water).Call the Holden Beach Turtle Watch 24 Hour Pager at 910-754-0766
Keep up with the Turtle Watch by clicking here
Local Author’s Books: Huge Hit!
June 20, 2010 by gary
Filed under Around The Town
Local Author and Illustrator Miller Pope has spent a lifetime as an artist Read more
Featured Property
June 5, 2010 by gary
Filed under Real Estate
BANK OWNED…Very nice 2nd row home with wonderful ocean view!!
This 3 bedroom 2 bath home offers a large family gathering room with a great ocean side deck. h/c outside shower with changing area, storage underneath, plenty of parking, master suite with private balcony upstairs, hurricane shutters, and much more.
This one is ready for your family. Could be a nice income producing property.
Buyers, this is an AS IS property. The seller makes no representation or guaranties of any kind. Any personal property conveys with no warranties.
226 W Beach Dr Oak Island, NC 28465 $373,500
For more information on this or any other property anywhere in the area please contact me martha@pope-realestate.com. Visit my coastal NC Real Estate website at: pope-realestate.com
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