Some of the World’s Most Interesting Lighthouses

No matter where you sail you’ll always be looking out for a lighthouse, or at least a beacon of light at night.

We’ve listed some of the interesting lighthouses in UK waters and around our Solent region so we thought we’d mention a few that you may one day reach thanks to the knowledge you have gained with our sailing courses.

Rubjerg Knude (Denmark)

The sea has always been a threat to lighthouses and the people who used to man them. Now is it coastal erosion that is becoming more troublesome than strong storms.

As the BBC reports Denmark’s Rubjerg Knude lighthouse is a 720-tonne structure that needs to be moved 70m to protect it from falling over.

Hercules of A Coruna

The only lighthouse in the world that is standing in the same place as it was in Roman times. And we should see it during this sailing adventure in May 2020.

It is 55m tall and protects the North Atlantic coast of Spain. Originally built in the 2nd century and renovated in 1791, is the oldest lighthouse in use today.

As you can imagine it has a lot of history so check it out here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules

Photo by Alessio Damato – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

La Jument

The lighthouse became well known in 1989, through a series of photographs taken by Jean Guichard.

This video not only tells the story but reunites the guard Theodore Malgorne with the photographer.

The Two Capes

Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope are famous points for sailors to pass. Hopefully during the day and clement weather!

There is a famous light tower at Cape Horn. It is difficult to reach but this video gives you a great idea of what it feels like when you do.

At the Cape of Good Hope you’ll find the new lighthouse at Cape Point (above) which cannot be seen from the West until ships are at a safe distance to the South.

Its light is the most powerful on the South African coast and has a range of 63 miles.

Photo by Ernmuhl at lb.wikipedia

There are many more famous lighthouses and a good election can be found here:   https://10mosttoday.com/10-most-famous-lighthouses-in-the-world/

Posted by: First Class Sailing