New England Lighthouse Treasures

For one Legal Eagle, Lighthouses are a vacation paradise yet, Old Saybrook Town Attorney Michael Cronin views 30-year old abandoned Lighthouses as insurmountable legal problems! Hmm… wonder who the Prosecutor and Defense Attorneys are?

On a serious note, the federal disposal of Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is a growing concern for the town and rightfully so. The town of Old Saybrook has three major concerns: emergency management, navigational safety, and acquiring public access through the private property in the Borough of Fenwick. A previous post called Lighthouse Privacy explored the concerns of the Town and commented about providing agreeable public access in the spirit of Katharine Hepburn!

No matter who the federal government transfers ownership of the Lighthouse to, the town will have those major concerns to resolve for the safety of the private residents of Fenwick, the First Responders, mariners, and the public. Perhaps, the sound judgement of First Selectman Michael Pace who stated he hopes both lighthouses remain the property of the federal government, is the best solution to prevent a potential Lighthouse quagmire?

I understand why the federal government is transferring Lighthouse ownership because of manpower issues and high maintenance costs yet, our historic Lighthouses are currently Active Coast Guard Aids because Lighthouses continue to be important Backup Aids to navigation whenever a GPS navigation system fails on boats! Historic Lighthouses also provide visual comfort and guidance to mariners returning home in dark waters!

As long as American Lighthouses are needed, the future of our Coastal Castles will be bright! For every Lighthouse pending transfer of ownership, there is a solution. In the possible transfer of Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse and/or Lynde Point Lighthouse, the best solution to save both Lighthouses may be to transfer the federal Coast Guard ownership to the National Park Service.

For those just tuning in, the Legal Eagle mentioned above is Michael L. Gabriel who recently bought Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse and bought Bloody Point Lighthouse last year as noted by the previous post called Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse Buyer Revealed.

For Map Directions, please visit the Google Map of Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse

Related News Story:
A case of mistaken identity

Technorati Tags: lighthouse, Old Saybrook Lighthouse Quagmire, Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, Lynde Point Lighthouse, Saybrook Inner Lighthouse, Fenwick Point, Connecticut River, Old Saybrook, Connecticut

This entry was authored and posted by Debbie Dolphin on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Politics, Preservation News. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Comments may be held for moderation, and I reserve the right to delete inappropriate or off-topic comments.