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Nantucket/LV-112
Proudly made in USA
Attention
lighthouse lovers!
If you love lighthouses and want to learn about these guiding lights and navigational aids all over the world, then
The Lighthouse Directory is the website for you. It provides an astounding amount of information, linking to more than 17,200 of the world's lighthouses. Russ Rowlett, Adjunct Professor of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, compiled the directory with the assistance of hundreds of lighthouse fans around the world who have enriched this site with their own information and suggestions. For a long time, Rowlett tried to maintain a list of lighthouses from his many friends and contacts, but it had grown too long (and too out of date) to display on the comprehensive site. Rowlett offers special thanks to
Michel Forand for his suggestions and editing, touching essentially every page of the directory, and Jeremy D'Entremont, Ted Sarah and Klaus Huelse, each contributing in vital ways.
The Maine
Lighthouse Museum
Another unique educational resource for U.S. Lighthouse history, Lifesaving and Lightship Services is the Maine Lighthouse Museum (MLM), located in Rockland, Maine, the heart of the Midcoast. Last October, the U.S. Lightship Museum presented a PowerPoint presentation at the MLM about U.S. lightships and
Nantucket/LV-112.
The mission of the Maine Lighthouse Museum is to educate the public regarding the longstanding traditions, heroism and progress of America's Lighthouse and Lifesaving Services and the U.S. Coast Guard through the conservation and interpretation of the nation's most significant collection of lighthouse and lifesaving artifacts. From sparkling lenses to heartwarming stories of the keepers and their families, the Maine Lighthouse Museum is truly America's lighthouse museum. For more information, log on to the
Maine Lighthouse Museum or call 207.594.3301.
American Express
Amex Industrial Services, Inc.
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials - Atlantic Chapter
BAE Systems
Bluefin Robotics
Boston Forge & Welding Corp.
Boston Harbor
Shipyard & Marina
The Boston Foundation
ThreeBees Fund
Burnham Associates, Inc.
Burnham Marine
California Public Safety Radio Association
Cameron International Corporation
Charitable Adult Rides and
Services, Inc.
City of Boston
C/J Towing & Recovery
Claflin & Son
Nautical Antiques
Crandall Dry Dock Engineers
Capt. Robertson P. Dinsmore Fund
Donahue, Tucker &
Ciandella, PLLC
East Boston Foundation
Eastern Bank Charitable
Foundation
Egan Maritime Institute,
Nantucket Shipwreck &
Lifesaving Museum
Fitzgerald Shipyard
Foss Maritime
Friends of the
Boston Harbor Islands
H&H Propeller, Inc.
J. Hewitt Marine
Electrical Services
Kelly Automotive Group
H.F. Lenfest Fund
The Lightship Group, LLC
McAllister Towing &
Transportation Co.
Joe and Pepette Mongrain
Fund
National Trust for
Historic Preservation
New England
Lighthouse Lovers
New London Maritime Society and Custom House Maritime Museum
The Sail Loft, LLC, Nantucket
Sherwin-Williams
Industrial Marine Coatings Division
T & M Services
Town of Oyster Bay,
Long Island, NY
U.S. Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association
West Marine
U.S. Lighthouse Society
Westerbeke Company
USLM Members
Verizon Foundation
Zuni Maritime Foundation
USS Zuni / USCG Tamaroa
Individual Donors
USLM is a member
of the following organizations
The flag of the United States Lighthouse Service
Teach children about lightships with the book
Lightship
Editorial From School
Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2: Lightships were anchored where lighthouses could not be built. They protected our ocean harbors as well as points along the Great Lakes. The last one (
Nantucket/LV-613
) was decommissioned in 1983, so this fascinating picture book is a piece of nautical history. Brian Floca's watercolor drawings depict daily life aboard one of these vessels, cooking, sleeping, working, all the while rolling with the rhythm of the waves. Many hazards were involved. Big ships came too close, anchors lost their mooring, and weather caused many problems. But when the fog rolled in, the lightship sprang into action. Lights flashed and horns sounded, allowing ship traffic to make it "through fog and night, past rocks and shoals, past reefs and wrecks, past danger." The drawings are very detailed. Some pages are collages of small scenes. Many are full spreads. The sailors' facial expressions are amusing to watch, and the resident cat appears on almost every page. The front and back endpapers show a cutaway view of one of the vessels. This fascinating, little-known slice of history should prove interesting to every child who loves big boats.
-- Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI
(review originally published by Reed Business Information, Inc.)
The book
Lightship
, by Brian Floca, can be purchased on
Amazon.com
. For more information about lightships, click on Brian Floca's
blog
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For more information about the U.S. Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association and the U.S. Lightship Service, click on logo
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Lead, Kindly Light
By John Henry Newman
(1801-1890)
"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life."
Note:
"Lead Kindly Light" was a poem originally written by
John Henry Newman (1801-1890), who was 33 years old when he found himself on a boat from the Sicilian city of Palermo to Marseille, France. Newman, who was recovering after being dangerously ill with a fever, was on the boat to return to his native England when he penned the lyrics to "Lead, Kindly Light." The context that Newman was recovering from a frightening illness in the middle of the sea gives insight to the lyrics.
Photo above: Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California, by
Darvin Atkeson
Poem posted on
LV-112 while in service on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station
"When a sailor gets to thinking
He is one of the best
Let him ship out on a lightship
And take the acid test.
And if he feels like bragging
I don't think that all of his tales
Will be of deep sea sailing
But of the ship that never
Poem provided by Peter Brunk,
USCG-Ret., Commanding Officer,
Nantucket/LV-112, 1970-71, who serves on the USLM Board of Directors
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This comprehensive New England shipwreck website is a helpful resource for SCUBA divers, maritime history researchers and enthusiasts. The site includes many photographs, charts, reference documents and history about many shipwrecks located in New England waters. For more information,
The Sinking of the U-853
by Capt. William Palmer
When the German enemy submarine
U-853 entered U.S. waters off Portland, Maine in 1945, it torpedoed and sank the
USS Eagle-56.
Nantucket/LV-112, converted to an examination vessel,
USS Nantucket (1942-45) during WWII, helped save the crew of the
USS Eagle-56.
This is a book about the
U-853
story, researched and written by
Capt. Bill Palmer
, a long-time shipwreck researcher, diver and preservationist.
Description of book: "Out in the cold Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rhode Island, lies the remains of what was once a feared and mighty hunter. It's not a fish or shark, for that matter it is not even a marine creature. It's what men feared the most when they went to sea aboard their vessel back during the World War II years. It's a German submarine called a U-Boat. The
U-853 was the last German submarine sunk in World War II. She was sunk with all hands just minutes before World War II ended. The once mighty hunter feared by all who put to sea, now lies in 130 feet of water off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, her grave marked only by a circle on the nautical charts, DANGER Unexploded Depth Charges, May 1945."
Capt. Palmer has been running a charter boat for wreck-diving, shark-fishing and shark-cage-diving off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut for 40 years.
German U-boat attack off Portland, Maine, during WWII, involving
LV-112 (USS Nantucket)
This book is the story of a small U.S. sub-chaser, the
Eagle 56, caught in the crosshairs of a German U-boat, the
U-853, whose brazen commander doomed his own crew in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to record final kills before his country's imminent defeat a few weeks later in May. And it is the account of how one man, Paul M. Lawton, embarked on an unrelenting quest for the truth and changed naval history.
For more information, log onto: "
Due to Enemy Action
"
"In February of 1952, one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast struck New England, damaging an oil tanker off the coast of Cape Cod and literally ripping it in half. On a small lifeboat faced with frigid temperatures and 70-foot high waves, four members of the U.S. Coast Guard (Bernie Webber and three other crewmen) set out to rescue the more than 30 stranded sailors trapped aboard the rapidly sinking vessel. 'The Finest Hours' is the story of their heroic mission, which is still considered the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history."
(Michelle McCue, 9/9/14)
Bernie Webber (later served on
Nantucket/LV-112, 1958-60) and the three other crewmen were awarded the coveted USCG Gold Lifesaving Medal for their heroism in what is considered by maritime historians to be "the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history." Mr. Webber, who was a member of the USCG Lightship Sailors Association, was extremely helpful in assisting the
USLM-Nantucket/LV-112 compile research information and historic documents about
LV-112. He was a pleasure and honor to work with. Bernie passed away in January 2009. He was considered "A Real American Hero" and is dearly missed.
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The full length movie "The Finest Hours' is available on DVD.
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To learn more about
lighthouse news, click on
Lighthouse Digest
Explore the oceans in depth and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with
Oceanus magazine
Oceanus
explores the oceans in depth, highlighting the research and researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in news, features and interviews written by magazine staff, with full-color photographs and illustrations. Each issue covers a wide spectrum of oceanography, spanning coastal research, marine life, deep-ocean exploration and the ocean's role in climate, as well as ocean technology and policy. To learn more, click on magazine cover above.
Lightships, Lighthouses & Lifeboat Stations:
A Memoir and History
Lightships, Lighthouses & Lifeboat Stations is part history book, part memoir, written by Bernie Webber, recipient of the Coast Guard's highest award, the Gold Life-saving Medal, and hero of the Disney movie The Finest Hours. While the public will recognize Webber's name from the movie and the bestselling book by the same name, few people know that during his lengthy Coast Guard career he served on lightships (ships anchored in dangerous areas to warn other vessels of hazards) in addition to lifeboat stations (small boat rescue stations) and lighthouses. Webber poses the following question: "How did the lightship men cope with the isolation, constant loneliness, boredom, fear, or just sheer terror? All were part of life on board a lightship. Rough seas tossed the ship about, rearing up and down on the anchor chain. This was a world of isolation, noise from operating machinery, and blasts from the powerful foghorn that went on for hours, sometimes days, at a time." Webber answers that question in this book, drawing on a combination of personal experience and meticulous historical research. Discussions of men going mad, lightships being run down by larger ships, anchor chains breaking, and lightships cast upon shoals are offset by humorous stories and the author's reflections on his best days at sea. Fourteen historic photos are included, as well as a foreword by Michael Tougias.(reprinted from Amazon).
Help support the restoration of LV-112 by donating your old car and receive a tax deduction
How it works
We have teamed with Charitable Auto Resources, Inc. (CARS), to accept vehicle donations across the United States. Once
you contact our customer service representative about making a donation, everything will be taken care of, including a receipt for your tax records. Sale proceeds will be donated to the USLM in your name. Donating your vehicle to the U.S. Lightship Museum is as easy as calling our representative toll-free at 855-500-7433.
For more information, click here.
The Lightships
of Cape Cod
Authored by Frederic L. Thompson, 1996, 2nd printing, 112 pages, soft wrap. Signed by the author. Illustrated with over 93 beautifully detailed photographs. Much sought-after, this scarce volume chronicles the history of the lightships in this vital area. Wonderfully detailed black-and-white photographs enhance the author's vivid description of the history and life aboard these vessels. One of the only volumes ever written exclusively on this subject, this fine work will make a fine addition to any library. Price: $14.95 plus shipping ($5.95), total: $20.90. May be purchased online
from the USLM; just click on "Donate" button in this newsletter and add a notation in the area provided. Or mail a check or money order addressed to: U.S. Lightship Museum, PO Box 454, Amesbury, MA 10913
U.S. Lightship Museums
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[Note: To see entire eNews, click link above newsletter]
Nantucket Lightship/LV-112
receives $575,000 grant from Boston:
Heading for dry-dock!
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LV-112 in dry-dock at the Fitzgerald Shipyard, Boston Harbor undergoing its first phase of restoration in 2011-12. This was the first time it had been dry-docked in 20 years since the USLM assumed ownership in late 2009
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The U.S. Lightship Museum (USLM) was recently awarded a $575,000 grant from the Community Preservation Act (CPA)-Boston, directed towards the restoration of
Nantucket Lightship/LV-112
. The grant will allow the historic lightship to enter its next phase of critically needed hull maintenance, structural restoration and preservation work needed for the lightship's forward lower hold's transverse floor frames and port/starboard ballast tanks. We sincerely thank the City of Boston, its Councilors and the Community Preservation Committee for this transformational funding.
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LV-112 in dry-dock 2011-12 after eight tons of marine growth was removed from the hull. Marine surveyor Charles Deroko stands next to propeller and rudder
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Areas to be restored with these funds are part of of the ship's
83-year old original structure, which has been subjected to the corrosive effects of seawater, the pounding of mountainous seas during gales, hurricanes and horrific sub-freezing winter storms, and constant stress on its hull. It was anchored at sea in nearly 200 feet of water, 100 miles off the mainland for 39 years, the longest of any lightship serving on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station since 1854.
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East Boston fourth-grade students from the Curtis Guild School gather in front of U.S. Lightship Museum's LV-112 display at Boston City Hall. In a hands-on lesson about city government, the students and their teacher, John Rogers, attended the Boston City Council meeting to hear the presentations of the selected CPA grant finalists prior to a final vote of approval by the Boston City Council. Other LV-112 supporters from East Boston were also in attendance at the City Council meeting
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The hull below the waterline will be cleaned, and a marine survey will be performed including an ultrasonic inspection to measure for acceptable shell-plating thickness below the waterline. The last time this was performed with LV-112 in dry-dock, was 2011-12. Rivet integrity also will be examined, with repairs made to through-hull fittings and seawater valves, as necessary. In addition, new protective coatings will be applied to the hull and replacement zinc anodes will be installed to help arrest seawater corrosion and the damaging effects of electrolysis.
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The students and other LV-112 supporters in the City Council chambers displayed their "SOS Nantucket Lightship LV-112" badges. (SOS: Save Our Ship)
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Although the grant provides significant funding for this critical phase of restoration, the USLM is presently raising additional funds for the remainder of restoration work needed in other areas of the ship. LV-112's restoration is approximately 50% complete. Nonetheless, the remaining work needed is the most complex and costly, approaching approximately $2 million for completion of the restoration.
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LV-112 ready for relaunching at Fitzgerald's Shipyard in Boston Harbor, 2012
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The USLM saved Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 from being destroyed back in late 2009, when it assumed ownership for $1 dollar and brought it back to its original homeport of Boston from Long Island, NY. Since LV-112's decommissioning from the U.S. Coast Guard in 1975, this historic and largest U.S. lightship ever built has been a museum open to the public. It was owned by several well-intentioned nonprofit organizations. However, it was not properly maintained and slowly deteriorated to the brink of being scrapped. The USLM is extremely grateful to everyone who has provided financial support, volunteer time and effort towards Nantucket Lightship/LV-112's operation, restoration and preservation. Thank you all!
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Happy Birthday,
Nantucket Lightship/LV-112!
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| The daughter of Bureau of Lighthouses Commissioner H.D. King christens LV-112's hull with a bottle of champagne, prior to the launching of LV-112 on the shipways at the Pusey and Jones Shipyard, Wilmington, DE, March 21, 1936. The U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS) commissioned the construction of LV-112. The USLHS merged with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. Credit: Hagley |
This month,
Nantucket/LV-112 celebrated its 83rd birthday. The historic ship wa
s built at the Pusey and Jones Shipyard, Wilmington, DE, 1935-36, as a result of the sinking of Nantucket/LV-117 by the RMS Olympic (sister ship of the RMS Titanic) in 1934. The Olympic collided with LV-117 head on, hit the floating lighthouse broadside, instantly sinking the lightship during heavy blinding fog. Seven of the eleven LV-117 crewmembers perished, four of which went down with the ship to a watery grave and whose bodies were never recovered. The White Star Line and British government paid reparations to the lightship crew's families and funded the construction of LV-117's replacement, Nantucket/LV-112. Happy Birthday to Nantucket Lightship/LV-112! "Fair winds and following seas!"
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Artist's depiction of
RMS Olympic ramming
Nantucket/LV-117 on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station, May 15, 1934. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard. Original Painting by artist Charles J. Mazoujian
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Click the arrow above to see and hear Nantucket/LV-112 on National Lighthouse Day. When the USLM acquired LV-112 in late 2009, it was a "dead ship"; nothing was operational on the historic floating lighthouse. As a result of donors' generous contributions, the USLM has brought LV-112 back to life. Today, a majority of the ship's onboard systems are in working order, including its powerful foghorn and main rotating light beacon, designed to be seen 23 miles at sea
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Which ship in Boston Harbor is the
real
Nantucket Lightship?
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Nantucket/LV-112 (WAL-534), berthed in her homeport of Boston Harbor on the East Boston waterfront, 2019
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The simple answer is both
Nantucket Lightships
presently berthed in Boston Harbor are former U.S. Coast Guard
Nantucket Lightships
. However, only one of the two former floating lighthouses,
Nantucket/LV-112
, is a National Historic Landmark, National Treasure and floating museum, owned by a 501c(3) nonprofit and one of a kind. The other lightship,
Nantucket WLV-612
, was built in 1950. It is privately owned, has been converted to a luxury floating home, and is currently
for sale.
Our museum ship
,
LV-112,
was built in 1936 specifically for service on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station, serving on that station until she was decommissioned in 1975. Boston was always LV-112's homeport. LV-112 is the largest U.S. lightship ever built (148 feet, 10 inches) and never had any sister ships. During WWII (1942-45), LV-112 was converted to an armed Examination Vessel (USS Nantucket) and re-assigned to Portland Harbor in Maine. After the war she was returned to Nantucket Shoals Station. Briefly, LV-112 served as a Relief Lightship in the USCG First District in preperation for a major refit in 1960 and returned again to Nantucket Shoals Station until her retirement. LV-112 was converted from a steam-powered vessel to diesel power with a 900 HP - 8 Cylinder Copper-Bessemer diesel engine.
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Nantucket WLV-613 (left) and Nantucket WLV-612
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WLV-612
is currently berthed in Boston, awaiting private sale. She was built originally for San Francisco Lightship Station (1951-69) and has several sister ships.
WLV-612
only served on Nantucket Shoals Station for 8 years (1975-83) and was decommissioned in 1985.
There is also a third privately owned
Nantucket Lightship
(
WLV-613
), which
is moored in New Bedford, MA, Harbor.
WLV-613
alternated with WLV-
612
on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station from 1979-83. In fact,
WLV-613
was the last lightship to serve on Nantucket Station and last lightship to serve in the U.S. Lightship Service, which was discontinued in 1985.
WLV-613
served most of its career on Ambrose Lightship Station (1952-67). Both the
612
and
613
are the same hull design and size (128
feet). The only significant difference is that the
613
includes a unique tripod supported main light beacon. The same individual privately owns both the
612
and
613
. The
613
is in need of restoration, and its future is undetermined.
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WLV-613 as Ambrose Lightship, 1952-67
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A wintery tour on Nantucket/LV-112
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A hardy group from the New England Lighthouse Lovers (NELL) visited Nantucket/LV-112 for a tour on a cold 15-degree day this past January. However, there was plenty of heat and piping hot refreshments below deck to warm everyone's hearts. After the tour, everyone went to the Brookline (MA) Senior Center, where Bob Mannino, president of the USLM, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the "History of the U.S. Lightship Service 1820-1985," featuring the history of Nantucket Lightship/LV-112. The senior center also is hosting an LV-112 exhibit through April. Click red arrow in photo to see the video featured on Boston Channel 5's "NewsCenter 5 EyeOpener," an early morning news program
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Two East Boston students, Ashley and Wilson, recently visited Nantucket/LV-112, taking a turn at ringing the fog bell
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Celebrating 'The Kissing Sailor's' life
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Bob Burbank (left), former USCG LV-112 crew member and USLM volunteer who served on the Nantucket from 1959-60, talks with fellow military veteran George Mendonsa at a 2016 Veteran's Day celebration in Uxbridge, MA, where George gave a talk before a well-attended audience of military veterans and area residents.
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Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic
Life magazine image "V-J Day in Times Square," often known as "The Kiss." Credit: Alfred Eisenstaedt, Time Life Pictures/Getty Images. Video:
click here
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George Mendonsa was the sailor shown kissing a nurse in New York's Times Square after the end of World War II in a photograph that became a national symbol of jubilation. He died on February 17 in Middletown, RI. He was 95.
Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt took the photograph on Aug. 14, 1945, moments after word reached the public that the Japanese had surrendered. Times Square was packed with people celebrating the end of the war, and Eisenstaedt's series of photos showed a Navy sailor passionately clutching and kissing a woman in a nurse's uniform, Greta Friedman. Capturing the excitement of the moment, the photograph appeared on an inside two-page spread in Life magazine, August 27, 1945.
George Mendonsa was a U.S. Navy Quartermaster 1st Class assigned to the Fletcher-class destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537) during WWII. The Sullivans is presently a museum ship berthed at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, Buffalo, NY.
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Bob Burbank (USCG), 1960 (left); George Mendonsa (USN), 1945
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Shoveling out in 2019
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Volunteers (from left) Chris McCann, Cindy Baxter and John Rogers finish a vigorous snow shoveling workout on Nantucket/LV-112's weather deck. The March 11 snowstorm dumped up to 17 inches of wet heavy snow in parts of Boston and a lot of snow on the decks of the Nantucket. This was the most snow Boston had in one storm all winter and hopefully the last for this season. Time for spring!
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Bring on spring and summer
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USCG crew member Rick Dasch, stands on Boston Lightship/LV-118's auxiliary mushroom anchor while on station at sea, getting ready to taking a dip to cool off on a hot summer day in 1965. LV-118 is presently a lightship museum, renamed "OVERFALLS," in Lewes, DE
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Nantucket/LV-106 and LV-109 found in South America
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Nantucket/LV-106 in dry-dock at the Atlantic Works Shipyard in East Boston, in the vicinity where LV-112
is now berthed,
1930. Credit: Digital Commonwealth/Leslie Jones
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Nantucket Lightship/LV-106
abandoned, partially submerged and left to rot on the banks of the Suriname River, Suriname, South America, c. 2000. Relief/LV-109 lies directly behind its sister vessel. It is believed that both lightships were transported to their present location after their South American owners decommissioned them in 1981. Photo credit: Travel-Pictures-Gallery.com
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After decommissioning, three U.S. Coast Guard lightships were sold and transferred to two South American countries as part of an International Development Program (aid). They continued their lightship duties in their new South American assignments. While researching the current status of the surviving USCG lightships, Jay McCarthy, of the USCG Lightship Sailors Association International, came across the fate of the three former USCG lightships: LV-106/WAL-528, LV-109/WAL-531 and LV-111/WAL-533.
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Photo taken of LV-106 approximately 10 years later, c. 2010. Photo credit: Gibute
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Sadly, L
V-106
and
LV-109
are beyond salvage. The third,
LV-111
, was transferred to Uruguay and has already been scrapped.
LV-106
was transferred to Suriname, where
LV-109
a
lso was eventually transferred.
Both have been abandoned on the banks of the Suriname River, partially submerged, overgrown with vegetation and left to rot.
LV-106
was actually built specifically for Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station and based in Boston Harbor. The following is a passage from a 1923
U.S. Lighthouse Service Bulletin
(Vol. II, No. 69, Sept. 1923, reprinted in
Lighthouse Digest
magazine) that introduces
LV-106
and its sister vessels (
LV-106
,
107
,
108
,
109
,
110
and
111
), built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine (still an active shipyard that builds U.S. Navy ships) in 1923, except
LV-111,
which was built in 1926.
"Better Protection For Nantucket Shoals:
The Secretary of the Commerce announces that on August 24, 1923, the Lighthouse Service placed a new light vessel on Nantucket Shoals. This is probably the most important lightship station in the world, as it is a mark steered for by nearly all trans-Atlantic vessels; it is also one of the most exposed stations..."
Nantucket/LV-106, built specifically for Nantucket Shoals Station, served there from 1923-31 and from 1934-36, at which time the newly constructed LV-112 (our ship) replaced LV-106. This information was furnished by USCG Lightship Sailors Association International and Lighthouse Digest magazine. For more information, click here.
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'Knot' your typical donation
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A very special knot board was recently donated to the USLM by Peter A. Brunk (USCG CWO4 Ret). Peter was the Commanding Officer of Nantucket/LV-112 from 1970-71. The LV-112 crew crafted the marlinspike knot board as a gift to Peter upon his reassignment to the USCGC Sledge, a construction tender. The LV-112's USCG crew's signatures are inscribed on the back of the knot board. Peter served 26 years in the USCG, retiring in 1980. Thank you, Peter!
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Support LV-112's restoration!
Become a USLM member today
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For a gift of $1,000 or more, donors will receive a limited-edition, fine-art print of the SS United States passing Nantucket/LV-112, signed by marine artist Gerald Levey
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Discover the value-added membership benefits when you become a member of the U.S. Lightship Museum (USLM). The USLM is a member of the Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM). All USLM members will be granted reciprocal privileges (free admission) at participating CAMM institutions. For more information about the benefits and the USLM Membership program, click on USLM Membership.
All electronic donations will be processed by PayPal.
We thank everyone for their ongoing
contributions
and support
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