Race Rocks Light

For the light in New York State, see Race Rock Light.

Race Rocks Light is one of the first two lighthouses that were built on the west coast of Canada, financed by the British Government and illuminated in 1860. It is the only lighthouse on that coast built of rock, (granite) purportedly quarried in Scotland, and topped with sandstone quarried on Gabriola Island. The Islands of Race Rocks are located just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, about 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Victoria, British Columbia.

Race Rocks Light

Location	Next to Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada
Coordinates	48°17′52.9″N 123°31′53.1″W
Tower
Constructed	1859–1860
Construction	stone tower
Automated	1997
Height	24.4 metres (80 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	tower with black and white bands, red lantern
Operator	Race Rocks Marine Protected Area[1]
Heritage	recognized federal heritage building of Canada
Fog signal	(3) 60 s
Light
First lit	26 December 1860
Focal height	36 metres (118 ft)
Range	19 nmi (35 km; 22 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 10 s

History

The lighthouse was built between 1859–1860 by the crew of HMS Topaze and outside labourers under a contract awarded to John Morris by the British Government.^[2] It was illuminated on 26 December 1860, six weeks after the smaller Fisgard Island lighthouse built at the entrance to Esquimalt Harbour near Victoria. In 2010, both lighthouses celebrated their sesquicentennial. See A complete history of the Light Station and Ecological Reserve.

It has a 24.4 m (80 feet) cylindrical tower with black and white bands, and flashes a white light every 10 seconds. Its foghorn sounds three blasts at one-minute intervals.^[3]

The lighthouse has been automated since 1997 at which time Lester B. Pearson College took over the management of the station and the surrounding Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Restoration of the interior and exterior of the historic light tower was carried out in 2009.^[4]

Oceanographic research

The Race Rocks Light is one of 12 lighthouses part of the British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program, collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements everyday since 1921.^[5]

Keepers

• George Nicholas Davies (1861 – 1866)
• Thomas Argyle (1866 -1888, retired)
• Albert Argyle (1888- 1889)
• W.P. Daykin (Dec. 6 1889 – Jan 1891 transferred to Carmanah)
• Frederick Mercer Eastwood (Jan 31 1891 – 1919)
• James Thomas Forsyth (1919 –1932)
• Henry I. McKenzie (1932 –1933)
• Andrew Ritchie (1933 – 1940)
• Thomas Westhead (1940 – 1948)
• Arthur Anderson (1948 – 1950)
• Percival C. Pike (1950 – 1952)
• Gordon Odlum (1952 – 1961)
• Charles Clark (1961)
• Ben Rogers (1961 – 1964)
• J. Alan Tully (1964 – 1966)
• Trevor M. Anderson (1966 – 1982)
• Charles Redhead(1982 – 1989)
• Mike E. Slater (1989 – 1997)^[6]

See also

• List of lighthouses in British Columbia
• Race Rocks Tidal Power Demonstration Project

Notes

1. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Southern British Columbia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
2. "First contact with Easter Island". Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
3. "Race Rocks". Notmar – List of Lights: Pacific Coast. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
4. "Race Rocks,Restoration of Lighthouse". Retrieved 2010-01-31.
5. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2019-03-21). "Data from BC lightstations". www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
6. Race Rocks Light Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved April 28, 2016

References

• Walbran, Captain John T. (1971), British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History (Facsimile reprint of 1909 ed.), Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN 0-88894-143-9, archived from the original on 2016-03-03

External links

• Aids to Navigation Canadian Coast Guard
• Home page featuring history of the light station