Abandoned Light

The Coast Guard vernacular can be scary, gut churning psychic pain betwixt the shoulder blades scary.

Then again maybe I'm sensitive in a weird way.

Standing in the upper left corner, looking like a Trojan Horse or an oil rig is the Diamond Shoals abandoned light tower off Cape Hatteras.  The famous Cape Hatteras Light stands some miles to the left, hidden in the fog.

There was also a time I did electrical work on a boat and the owner told me to disconnect a particular wire and abandon it.  I found that rather odd terminology.  Odd terminology and that combined with hearing that the owner had the Governor of a particular state at his beck and call.  I was told the owner would say something like, "Governor I need you over here." and sure enough. 

I recently sailed around Cape Hatteras for the first time, a personal goal I've had for many years.  Cape Hatteras the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" it is called by many, and me carrying around Eldridge the prudent mariner I attempt to be had me reading Eldridges' schpiel on Vineyard Sound (basically be aware of the evil subtle side currents as the ebb and flood don't flow in a straight line opposite each other) which I think he called "The Graveyard" and it gets worse when he says something like "A Captains Ruined Reputation".
I'd say a Captains Ruined Reputation is a fate worse than death, or maybe Eldridge was hustling up pilot work?  I remember reading that article in the Eldridge Tide Book (indispensable for its tide and current diagrams) and there's Eldridges' face staring from an old blurry Victorian era black and white photo, Eldridge the creepy ghost.  I then heard (not in the book) that he sailed in a Catboat and for some reason that seemed to lighten up the whole matter.  I guess I see Catboats as innocent and harmless.

And then there's the Abandoned Light, a term the Coast Guard writes on its charts denoting where once once a light shined brightly but now only a dead dark tower stands.

And then there's the long dark night at sea, no stars no moon, just a compass light.  The first glint of morning light is manna from heaven.

The long dark night, the abandoned light, the not getting a like from a facebook post, the girl you thought was the one never returns, etc.

Another girl smiles at you, a surprise facebook like from someone you'd never suspect would like your post, a determined group of individuals desires to put an effort into redeeming an Abandoned Light by making it a privately maintained light.  I however doubt that'll happen to the abandoned light tower off Cape Hatteras.

Yes, a great successful effort was made to save Cape Hatteras Light by moving it a considerable distance inland but I don't think that'll happen to the abandoned light tower that stands many miles out to sea.  I'd guess the Coast Guard would rather encourage mariners to navigate the good ole ICW  between Norfolk and Beaufort.  

Fair Winds
Captain Bill