September 13-16

Bill and Jan Bass came to Beaufort on Thursday.  They are both avid sailors and we have sailed together many times.

Friday morning, we leave the dock in Eureka for an overnight trip to Cape Lookout.  The winds were non-existent, so we motored all the way.  Upon arriving at the Cape, we anchored near the lighthouse and all four of us climbed the lighthouse. 

Clara and I have climbed the lighthouse several times in the past, but this is the first time we've climbed since the park service has opened the lighthouse to the public for climbing.  We had been wanting to do this and have taken the Maxwell's and Lantz's out to the lighthouse to climb it, but at the time, there were just enough openings for climbs for them, so we had not done it.

Climbing Cape Lookout lighthouse is a truly unique experience.  The lighthouse was built in 1859 and it is probably one of the few place in the world that you can look out at a landscape that essentially looks like it did 150 years ago. 


Clara's Great Grandfather, John B. Quidley was the 2nd Assistant Keeper at the Lighthouse in 1905-06.  He was transferred to Cape Lookout from Cape Hatteras, where he had been a lighthouse keeper.  He was again transferred to Cape Lookout in 1911, and family lore is that after this transfer, he decided to move his family from the very remote Cape Hatteras to Beaufort.  He moved his family to the house next door to where we currently live here in Beaufort in 1915. 

The Park Service placed a placard on the walk to the ocean at Cape Lookout which features Clara's Great Grandfather, John B. Quidley

The climb to the top of the lighthouse afforded us a great opportunity to photograph Eureka.

Eureka in the environment she loves (and so do we)

Friday night was pleasant anchored in the bight of the Cape (our usual parking spot).

Saturday morning, the wind had picked up enough that we had a very pleasant sail back to the homeport. 

Sunday morning, Bill and Jan left for a meeting in Savannah, Ga.