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During a recent trip to Massachusetts, I rallied the troops and went in search of the New Bedford Lightship. |
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| The Lightship New Bedford from the pier. The New Bedford Lightship was originally commissioned as LV 114 (later designated WAL-536) in 1930 at a cost of 280,000.00. In 1942, it served as an examination vessel during WW2, abandoning it's light keeping duties on the Fire Island Station. After the war, it returned to Lightship status, this time off the Diamond Shoals of North Carolina, and later as a Relief ship, taking temporary duties in different locations as other Lightships were in maintenance periods. |
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| Long distance view fron atop the New Bedford Whaling Museum. From 1958 to 1969, it was stationed at Pollock Rip, Massachusetts, taking the name that would be boldly printed on it's sides. There it marked the territory south of the Monomoy Islands just off the coast of Cape Cod, warning ships of the Shoals. After a change of station to Portland, Maine, it was Decommissioned on November 5, 1971 after 41 years of service. It was kept by the Coast Guard as a floating museum, slowly falling into disrepair in the 90's. It has been relocated to New Bedford and sports the name of the town (although it never served in New Bedford). The ship is now being restored and can, by appointment, be boarded for tours |
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| Pollock Rip (New Bedford) Lightship 1958- 1969. Although the ship bears the name New Bedford, it never served on that station.
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| The family in New Bedford- Bobby, Carol, Darien and Belma. |
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"This background photo is rather unusual, as both Nantucket and New Bedford are tied up ay Fisherman's Warf in New Bedford" The Lightship Memorial is located at Waterfront Park in New Bedford and stands as a tribute to all those who lost their lives in Lightship service. The bronze bell is that if the Vineyard Sound Lightship (LV-73) that was lost with all hands during a hurricane on September 15, 1944. The bell was recovered by divers in 1963. The granite base of the monument also carries the names of those who lost their lives on the Cross Rip Lightship (LV-6) in 1918, as well as the sailors aboard the Nantucket Lightship (LV-117) that was struck by the S.S. Olympic in 1934. Oddly enough, the Olympic was the sister ship of the Titanic, which sunk when it struck an iceberg in 1912, and the Brittannic that was sunk by a German torpedo during World War 1! |
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The music you are listening to is called 'My heart will follow' from the movie 'Titanic'
