An Account of the Bell Rock Light-House: Including the Details of the Erection and Peculiar Structure of That Edifice; to Which Is Prefixed a Historical View of the Institution and Progress of the Northern Light-HousesStevenson, Robert
History
An Account of the Bell Rock Light-House: Including the Details of the Erection and Peculiar Structure of That Edifice; to Which Is Prefixed a Historical View of the Institution and Progress of the Northern Light-Houses
Stevenson, Robert
Bell Rock Lighthouse (Scotland); Lighthouses -- Scotland
The Light-house Yacht being employed in the general service of the
Northern Light-houses, she left the Bell Rock on the 16th of April,
to load stores at Leith. But the Sir Joseph Banks Tender being now
completely equipped, she sailed to supply her station, for the first
time, on the 20th of May, having on board several sets of moorings for
the use of the vessels in attendance at the Rock. The mushroom-anchors
of these moorings weighed about one ton each, and had about thirty-two
fathoms of chain attached to them, which was made from iron, measuring
seven-eighths of an inch in thickness. These moorings were laid down in
fourteen fathoms water, at about 200 fathoms apart, on a rocky bottom,
and at the distance of about a quarter of a mile on the north-western
side of the Rock, as will be seen from Plate V. After completing this
operation, and supplying the Floating-light with necessaries, the
Tender returned to Arbroath previously to the commencement of the
operations at the Rock for the season.
[Sidenote: 1808, May.]
[Sidenote: Wednesday 25th.]
[Sidenote: The writer begins the operations of the season.]
In the month of May, the number of artificers in the work-yard,
consisting of masons, smiths, mill-wrights, joiners and labourers,
amounted to sixty. On the 25th, the writer embarked at Arbroath, on
board of the Sir Joseph Banks, for the Bell Rock, accompanied by Mr
Logan _senior_, foreman-builder, with twelve masons, and two smiths,
together with thirteen seamen, including the master, mate and steward.
The vessel sailed at 3 o’clock P. M., under a salute of three hearty
cheers from a great assemblage of people on the quays; but before
getting to the Rock, it was too late for making fast to the moorings
that night; and she kept cruising about, with the Floating-light in
view, which proved a great comfort to the seamen, in directing them to
tack the ship, before she got too near the Rock.
On this occasion, the prospects of the writer were very different
from the state of things upon his sailing to commence the last year’s
operations, when much doubt and uncertainty attended every step. The
experience of last season, together with the facility and confidence
afforded by the erection of the Beacon, which had withstood the storms
of a winter, together with the use of a new Tender, which could now be
moored so near to the Rock as to be perfectly convenient for the boats,
and was at the same time capable of being cast loose from her moorings,
to take the people on board on any emergency;--these circumstances gave
a degree of security and promptitude to the work, which relieved all
concerned of much anxiety.
[Sidenote: Thursday 26th.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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