Diamond Head Finish Line for the TransPac Yacht Race
TransPac 2003
| TransPac 2001
| TransPac 1999 | TransPac 1997
When Captain James Cook
sailed the Hawaiian Archipelago
in 1778 he saw no man-made aids to navigation. In today's
Hawai`i however, hundreds of modern aids such as
lighthouses
, buoys
and radio beacons are in operation to assist the sea traveler.
One of the more senior of these
Hawai`i aids to navigation
is the
automated Diamond Head Lighthouse, located on a steep cliff on the
south side of O`ahu. One of the best-known beacon lights in the Pacific,
it stands as a sentinel to Honolulu, flashing a welcome to mariners
from the east and west.
Built on the side of the extinct Diamond Head Volcano, the original
lighthouse structure was erected in 1899, and is surpassed in longevity
in Hawai`i by only the Aloha Tower Light, built in 1870.
The
original ironwork of the
watch room and lantern
at Diamond Head are
still in use. The present tower, built in 1917, was constructed of reinforced concrete and stands 55 feet high. The original lighting equipment
consisted of a 3rd order Fresnel lens and a special multiple-wick
kerosene oil lamp, imported from France in 1899. These pieces of equipment
were standard throughout the world for
lights of this size
and
importance.
The first step in modernization at Diamond Head Lighthouse was
to replace the fixed or steady light with the present day flashing light.
Diamond Head Lighthouse has been progressively improved until today it stands as a modern automated USCG aid to navigation.
The commercially-powered light is backed up by a battery-powered
light equipped to switch on in case of power outage. An electronic
sensing device also monitors the main light and activates the backup
light in case of any type of failure. The clocks automatically turn on
the equipment at sunset and turn it off at sunrise. A photoelectric cell
alarm control system was formerly installed, which caused a bell to ring
in the base of the tower and also in the nearby dwelling when the light
failed. The system was removed during the war years.
Built 147 feet above sea level, Diamond Head Light can be seen as
far away as 18 miles and has an intensity of 60,000 candlepower. The
light shows a red sector to warn vessels away from the reefs off
Waikiki Beach
. The large dwelling at Diamond Head Light was occupied by
the superintendent of the
19th Lighthouse District
prior to the merger
of the Lighthouse Service with the Coast Guard in 1939. Operating
under the U.S. Department of Commerce, the 19th District included
the Hawaiian Islands, Midway Island, Guam and American Samoa.
From 1939 to 1945, this dwelling, together with a small dwelling constructed
during this time, served as the 14th Coast Guard District Radio Station.
In 1946, the radio station was moved to its present site in
Wahiawa, Hawai`i. The large building at the light station was renovated
and has been the residence of the 14th Coast Guard District
commander since that time. (more on USCG Dist 14)
Diamond Head Lighthouse was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1980.
Lighthouses are often thought of as towers of mystique and romantic
charm, isolated at the foot of storm-tossed waves beating upon
the rocky shore. Though the days of the
traditional lighthouse keepers
are gone, the duty of the lighthouse continues. And like the hundreds
of sentinels of the shore, Diamond Head Light stands its watch guiding
the weary mariner safely passed its rocky shore.
Visit Inside Diamond Head Lighthouse
~ Photos © HoloHolo Hawai`i Marine News ~
| |