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North Rock Beacon gets a facelift - and a change of shape! THe Irish Lights service vessel Granuile was moored off Cloughey Bay for 3 days over the '12th holidays'. many people commented that the ship appeared to be taking a break and few noticed what the crew was actually doing. Local man Brian Powell, noticed scaffolding on the beacon or red 'spike' that sits on the outer rock of the North Rocks. He contacted the Irish Lights commissioners by email and got this reply: Brian Always good to know that people are keeping a watchful eye on the coast. I don’t have a lot to add to your store of knowledge on the North Rock Beacon. The present work arises from our 2010 Aids to Navigation Review which identified that the beacon did not fully comply with international standards for a Lateral Port Hand Beacon as it presented a conical rather than a can shape. Our solution was to truncate the cone and place a can topmark above. I am attaching before and after photos which may be of interest. The furthest is from 3 nautical miles and shows the beacon to be a good navigational mark at that range. I can well understand how people miss the lightship. However, the change to a large buoy and indeed the work on the North Rock is part of the ongoing improvement of the Aids to Navigation service. While navigation is moving towards a new era of e-Navigation it is interesting that user consultation still suggests there will be a strong and possibly increasing role for inshore aids such a North Rocks. Regards Robert Mc Cabe Captain Robert Mc Cabe, Deputy Head of Marine, Commissioners of Irish Lights  The old 'spike' or 'witch's hat' covered in scaffolding being renovated by the team from the Irish Lights Commissioners (photo taken from the Granuille with Portavogie in background, July 2011).  The beacon with its new shape and colour as the work team from the Granuille prepare to return to their mother ship after taking down the scaffolding at low tide very early in the morning. (photo taken from Granuille with Portavogie in background). If you wish to add anything or comment on this story please email it to info@cloughey.org.uk |
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