Digest>Archives> July 1999

Hey, Who is flashing a light at the lighthouse?

By I.C.R. Prasad

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This interesting photograph, dating back to 1975, ...
Photo by: Photograph courtesy of I C R Prasad.

It was back in 1975 that Mr. K.N.V. Nair, Assistant Lighthouse Keeper resumed his duty on the midnight shift. He was to keep watch 'til dawn at India's Navinar Lighthouse.

The Gulf of Kutch was calm except the occasional strong waves which indicated the start of high tide.

Half and hour after resuming duty, Mr. Nair observed a flashing light at the end of the horizon. Through a slight mist, he squinted his eyes and confirmed it was a red flashing light. Was somebody in trouble? Was it a distress signal? Immediately he called the Head Keeper. Both observed that light and decided to send a message back via a flashlight.

From the top of the tower they started flashing a signal asking for the other's identity. No response from the other end, but the continuing red flashing light. After a while the light became more clear and they observed that the flash had a character.

Hey, just who is displaying that light to the lighthouse? They had to wait until dawn to get the answer.

It was Perigee, the floating light (LNB) which was stationed around 50KM away from Navinar. It seems it had broken loose from its anchor and drifted northwest to visit its cousin, the lighthouse.

This story appeared in the July 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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