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The Five Finger Islands Light shines over the waters of an
enduring American frontier in Alaska.
The light that guided
prospectors into southeast Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush
welcomes mariners, tourists and scientists today.
The U.S.
Coast Guard and its predecessor services have played an instrumental
role in the Arctic region since 1867 when the Revenue Cutter Lincoln
first visited Alaska.
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September 3, 2012 - The 68-foot-tall Five Finger Islands Light,
built in 1902, towers over a group of five rocky islands that appear
during low tide and look like a hand reaching into Alaska's
Frederick Sound. (Photo provided through Wikipedia)
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The U.S. Lighthouse Service, which became part of the
U.S. Coast Guard in 1939, built the original Five Finger
Islands Light in 1902. It was one of the first two light
stations built in Alaska and was rebuilt in 1935 with an art
deco design common among Alaska lighthouses.
The
Five Finger Islands Light is one of nine lighthouses with an
elevator named after it in the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
in Washington, D.C. Automated in 1984, the 68-foot-tall
lighthouse towers over a group of five rocky islands that
appear during low tide and look like a hand reaching into
the Frederick Sound.
In 2004, it was designated as a
National Historic Landmark and the light station property
was transferred to the non-profit Juneau Lighthouse
Association. The light is maintained by the Coast Guard Aids
to Navigation team (ANT) in Sitka, Alaska.
In
addition to hosting the lighthouse, the Five Finger Islands
serves as a weather outpost for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's National Data Buoy Center and a
marine safety sight for the Alaska Marine Exchange.
The light shines over the waters of southeast Alaska's
Inside Passage, an area covered by the 17th Coast Guard
District. The Juneau, Alaska-based Coast Guard command
ensures the safety, security and stewardship of the
waterways around Alaska.
“Located in the
spectacularly scenic confluence waters of Frederick Sound
and Stephens Passage, Five Finger Lighthouse was one of the
two original lighthouses built in State of Alaska,” said
Paul Sharpe, the Juneau Lighthouse Association Keeper. “It
was the last lighthouse in Alaska to be manned full time by
the United States Coast Guard.”
Sharpe first visited
the lighthouse in the 1980s as a part of a crew shooting an
ABC Sports television documentary about humpback whales. He
lives in the lighthouse from late May through early
September.
Whale researchers also use the unique
location to conduct acoustic and behavior studies on
humpback whales.
“This lighthouse is centered in an
area of extreme biological productivity, supporting one of
the largest summer feeding aggregations of humpback whales
in the Northern Hemisphere,” said Sharpe. “Nearly 400 whales
were actively feeding in western Frederick Sound last summer
on a single day in mid-July.”
On a calm day when the
humpback whales start breaching, it can sound like cannon
fire in the distance.
A native of Cashmere,
Washington, Sharpe said the lighthouse is a popular
destination for cruise ships and recreational boaters.
Approximately 325 tourists visited the island last summer.
Sharpe said the weather often changes rapidly in the
turbulent waters around the Five Finger Islands.
“Being in a lighthouse offers one the opportunity to see
weather approaching as it creates the beautiful and
sometimes ominous tapestry of black clouds and churning
waters,” said Sharpe. “The most severe storms come during
the winter months when the lighthouse is uninhabited. We are
only aware of their force when we see the damage they have
wrought when we return to the island in the spring.”
Petty 1st Class Matthew J. Dill, the operations petty
officer for the Aids to Navigation (ATON) team that
maintains the light, said the team is airlifted to the
island quarterly to check the solar panels, batteries, lamp
changers, emergency lights and daylight controls. The team
occasionally spends the night at the remote lighthouse while
the batteries are charging.
Dill said the lighthouse
guides commercial and recreational vessels through the
waters around southeast Alaska.
“In our area of
operations, the fishing industry is vital for many people's
way of life and they depend on these aids to navigate
safely,” said Dill. “The Alaska Marine Highway ferry system
operates right through the middle of the area as well, as we
have seen them passing by the lighthouses many times.”
The light is among the 48,000 Federal Aids to Navigation
maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, including buoys,
beacons, sound signals, ranges and electronic aids that
enable mariners to determine their position, chart a safe
course and steer clear of hazards.
Aids to
Navigation, like the Five Finger Islands Light, safely guide
mariners around the 49th state. In addition to the light,
Dill said the Sitka ANT maintains 107 other navigational
aids from Skagway, Alaska, to the Canadian border, including
buoys, shore aids, ranges and other lighthouses.
Dill
said he enjoys serving in the Coast Guard ATON team and
helping to safely guide mariners through Alaska's
unpredictable waters.
“The best thing about working
at the ATON team is that you get to do something different
every day,” said Dill. “Sometimes you are out in the boat
and sometimes you are getting to fly in a helicopter over
the mountains and waterways of southeast Alaska.”
By Walter Ham, U.S. Coast Guard HQ
Provided
through
Coast
Guard
Copyright 2016
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