My dad had a dream of becoming the keeper of Green Island (Country) light. This dream was first seeded in his mind while he visited his aunt Jane, the wife of one of the earlier keepers, and finally came to fruition when after a succession of keepers after uncle Henry (Burke) retired, the job finally came to open competition.
Dad applied and came in second. A gentleman from New Harbour ……. Henderson was first, as he was a veteran of WW I. He decided he didn’t want it after all, so my dad realized his dream when he took over the station from Tremaine Cooke of Isaac’s Harbour.
After Uncle Henry’s retirement, the old light was torn down, and a new combination light and dwelling was built. The contractor was Ai Luddington of Drum Head, and there was several keepers in rapid succession, among whom was Ray Luddington of Drum Head; Peter’s grandfather; the last before dad was Tremaine.
Dad took over in the spring of 1928. The salaries for light keepers and probably all civil servants, were notoriously low back then, ($85. Per month) so dad, like many other keepers along the coast, decided to augment his wages by fishing, and procured an old ‘ Oscar ‘ boat to achieve this aim.
He powered her with a double cylinder marine gas engine, a four stroke, manufactured by Hercules Motors Inc. Which due to it’s design shook with vibration to such a degree, that it would cause passengers and crew to have double vision.
My mom didn’t much like traveling to and from the island. Once on board the big boat she was fine, it was the launching and landing that got to her, especially if there was a little sea (surf) on the beach. For this task dad used a single dory, AKA, The Shelburne handline dory.
Green Island was noted for being a difficult place to land. The so called cove is a mere indentation in the beach, which changes in fall and winter storms………..it can be the finest of gravel one day and very large stones the next. The small dory was and would still be the vehicle of choice to effect a safe landing and/or launching in such conditions.
One fine summer day, probably in 1930, mom had been ashore visiting and was bound home to the island. Reaching the mooring where the little yellow dory sat curtsying to the white caps coming in around the Yellow Rock from the sou’ west wind, dad rounded up and reversed the Falcon, and lifting the mooring out of the dory’s bow place it on the pawl ost of the big boat, tied it to the stem and all was in readiness to load his passenger, the mail and groceries.
With dad in the dory, to hold her in against the big boat, mom proceeded to get aboard the dory. They had done this many times, but this time Murphy came around. Mom was about to take her seat on the after thwart of the dory when she lost her balance and fell between the dory and the big boat. Being a non-swimmer, she went down to visit with the bottom dwellers.
When she broke the surface dad grabbed her by the wrist. To do this he had to let go his hold on the big boat. They were now drifting to leeward toward New Harbour Point. Mom wanted to hold on to the stern becket (a rope strap in the bow and stern of a dory to facilitate handling) and let dad tow her to the beach, but as there was a bit of a sea on, he thought she might break an ankle or leg, so he made a snap decision.
Rolling the little dory down toward mom ‘ til the water was flooding in over the gunnel, he gave a mighty heave and took her aboard along with a couple of barrels of water.
A dory, just like any other boat becomes unstable when water is taken in, the water sloshes round changing the center of gravity with great rapidity, this is known as free surface effect, and it was now threatning to capsize the dory as it drifted side to the sou’ west lop.
Dad bailed madly with the dory scoop, made for the purpose, but not for the volume of water that he had to contend with just then. Mom sitting on the dory’s floor boards, bailed too; with dad’s battered old felt hat!
They finally got safely ashore on the north beach, and made their way to the light, but neither of my parents ever forgot that near miss
Seanachie
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