A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the first modern lightvessel was located off the Nore sandbank at the mouth of the River Thames in London, England, and placed there by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. Lightships have since become largely obsolete; being largely replaced by lighthouses as construction techniques advanced, and by large automated navigation buoys.
Point Judith Light is located on the west side of the entrance to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island as well as the north side of the eastern entrance to Block Island Sound. The confluence of two waterways make this area busy with water traffic and the waters around Point Judith are very cold and dangerous. Historically, even with active lighthouses, there have been many shipwrecks off these coasts.
The station named Nantucket or Nantucket Shoals was served by a number of lightvessels that marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals south of Nantucket Island. The vessels, given numbers as their "name," had the station name painted on their hulls when assigned to the station. Several ships have been assigned to the Nantucket Shoals lightship station and have been called Nantucket. It was common for a lightship to be reassigned and then have the new station name painted on the hull. The Nantucket station was a significant US lightship station for transatlantic voyages. Established in 1854, the station marked the limits of the dangerous Nantucket Shoals. She was the last lightship seen by vessels departing the United States, as well as the first beacon seen on approach. The position was 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Nantucket Island, the farthest lightship in North America, and experienced clockwise rotary tidal currents.
Carysfort Reef Light is located on Carysfort Reef east of Key Largo, Florida. The lighthouse has an iron-pile foundation with a platform, and a skeletal, octagonal, pyramidal tower, which is painted red. The light was 100 feet (30 m) above the water. It was the oldest functioning lighthouse of its type in the United States until it was decommissioned in 2015, having been completed in 1852. The light last installed was a xenon flashtube beacon. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was the light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay, including Ambrose Channel, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Sand Key Light is a lighthouse 6 nautical miles southwest of Key West, Florida, between Sand Key Channel and Rock Key Channel, two of the channels into Key West, on a reef intermittently covered by sand. At times the key has been substantial enough to have trees, and in 1900 nine to twelve thousand terns nested on the island. At other times the island has been washed away completely. The light marks the southernmost point of the Hawk Channel passage along the Florida Keys.
A Texas Tower lighthouse is a structure which is similar to an off-shore oil platform. Seven of these structures were built in the 1960s off the shores of the United States. Automation started in the late 1970s, which led to the obsolescence of the housing built for the keepers which resulted in such a large structure. Three of the towers were dismantled over time due to deteriorating structural conditions among other problems, while another one was destroyed in a ship collision. The last Texas Tower was deactivated in 2016 having served for over half a century. Today only three of the former lights remain.
The Robbins Reef Light Station is a sparkplug lighthouse located off Constable Hook in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, along the west side of Main Channel, Upper New York Bay. The tower and integral keepers quarters were built in 1883. It replaced an octagonal granite tower built in 1839. The U.S. Coast Guard owned and operated the light station until the 2000s.
Beavertail State Park is a public recreation area encompassing 153 acres (62 ha) at the southern end of Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The state park's main attraction is the active Beavertail Lighthouse, the current tower of which dates from 1856. During World War II, the park area was part of Fort Burnside, one of several coastal fortifications designed to protect Narragansett Bay. The park's scenic shoreline offers hiking, picnicking, and saltwater fishing.
Beavertail Lighthouse was built in 1856 and is the premier lighthouse in Rhode Island, marking the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The 64-foot (20 m) lighthouse lies on the southernmost point of Conanicut Island in the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island in Beavertail State Park, on a site where beacons have stood since the early 18th century. The light provides navigation for boats and ships entering Narragansett Bay in the East Passage between Conanicut Island and Newport, Rhode Island on Aquidneck Island. Other lighthouses are visible from Beavertail Lighthouse, such as Castle Hill Lighthouse, Point Judith Light, and Rose Island Light.
Little Gull Island Light is a lighthouse on Little Gull Island, a small island in Long Island Sound, located approximately 0.4 miles (0.6 km) northeast of Great Gull Island. Both islands are located in the Town of Southold, in Suffolk County, New York, and lie roughly midway between Plum Island and Fishers Island. Little Gull Island is approximately 4.6 miles (7.4 km) southwest of Fishers Island and the channel of water between them is the main entrance to Long Island Sound, known as "The Race".
United States lightship Nantucket (LV-112) is a National Historic Landmark lightship that served at the Lightship Nantucket position. She was the last serving lightship and at time of its application as a landmark, one of only two capable of moving under their own power. She served as the lightship for such notable vessels as the liners United States, Queen Mary, and Normandie.
Chesapeake Light is an offshore lighthouse marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The structure was first marked with a lightship in the 1930s, and was later replaced by a "Texas Tower" in 1965. The lighthouse was eventually automated and was used for supporting atmospheric measurement sites for NASA and NOAA. Due to deteriorating structural conditions, the lighthouse was deactivated in 2016. At the time, it was the last remaining "Texas Tower" still in use due to obsolescence.
Pomham Rocks Light is a historic lighthouse in the Providence River about 200 yards (180 m) off the shoreline of the Riverside neighborhood of the city of East Providence, Rhode Island. It is the northernmost lighthouse in Narragansett Bay.
The Cross Ledge Light was a lighthouse on the north side of the ship channel in Delaware Bay off of Cumberland County, New Jersey on the East Coast of the United States, southwest of Egg Island Point. It was replaced by the Elbow of Cross Ledge Light and the Miah Maull Shoal Light in the early 1900s and razed by the United States Coast Guard in 1962.
Diamond Shoal Light is an inactive offshore lighthouse marking Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras.
The Gros Cap Reefs Light is a lighthouse located at the entrance to St. Mary's River from Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior. The light was completed in 1953 and replaced a lightship stationed there since 1923. The lighthouse, owned by the Canadian Coast Guard, is located on the southwest edge of the Gros Cap Reef.
The Musselbed Shoals Light was a lighthouse which once stood in Narragansett Bay at the west entrance to Mount Hope Bay, south of Bristol Point. As with many Rhode Island lights, it was a casualty of the New England Hurricane of 1938.
The Peshtigo Reef Light is a lighthouse in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States, offshore in lower Green Bay. Constructed in 1936 to replace a lightship, it remains in service.
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