Safety is always our number one priority...we watch the weather reports, keep a tight eye on the radar and tune in to the Coast Guard weather updates...but even with all of these measures sometimes mother nature still rules. After we returned to the dock with the 9am passengers we could see that there was a storm front to the North. After much debate and review it seemed that we could still get in the 12 o'clock trip and not let down the 12 passengers who were waiting anxiously in the barge house.
We had a great run out to the light, passengers disembarked and we anchored off the shoal to wait for the completion of their tour. Within 10 minutes it became apparent that the storm was not going to hang North as we had hoped.
The lightning was absolutely incredible...a bit daunting but spectacular.
We secured the boat to emergency standards and just rode it out. The storm moved by quickly and the worst had passed by the time that the tour was finished.We were most concerned about the folks in the lighthouse and the possibi
lity that they might have been very uncomfortable or nervous during the storm.
lity that they might have been very uncomfortable or nervous during the storm. When we docked at the light to pick everyone up we were met with cheers and a very jubilant group. They were all so excited to have been in the lighthouse for such a show. Jokes flew back and forth about having been the one and only group to have such an exciting experience. Someone commented that they were the 'first people to ride out a storm since the last lighthouse tenders had manned the light!'.
While this is not something that we would intentionally repeat we were certainly thankful to have such an enthusiastic group of passengers who were so willing to roll with the situation and come away with such a great attitude.
For these folks the once in a life time visit to the interior of Thomas Point Shoal Light really WAS once in a lifetime.
Capt. Mike
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