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Contact: Susan Tamulevich
860-447-8700, cell: 203-444-2884
August 14, 2019
Explore Race Rock Lighthouse - Boat Trip & Tour
Explore
inside one of the region's most storied lighthouses.
New London, Connecticut -- For the only time in 2019, and just the 2nd time in history, you may land by boat at Race Rock Light Station and explore inside throughout the formidable and mysterious Race Rock Lighthouse. New London Maritime Society is offering two trips, with a maximum of six passenger
s, each. Sign up online 24/7 at
from 10 AM to 1:15 PM, and Sunday, August 25, from 11 AM to 2:15 PM. Guests will have about 40 minutes to explore Race Rock. Donation is $125, or $100 for New London Maritime Society members. Please make your reservation at least 24 hours in advance of your trip. Everyone must sign a waiver of liability before boarding.
Because the lighthouse is situated in the turbulent waters of the Race, trips are timed to run at slack tide and also are weather-dependent.
Landing at Race Rock demands some physical dexterity.
You don't have to be a Ninja, but you will have to balance on the edge of a boat and climb directly up a ladder to reach the platform.
The lighthouse is composed of a two and one-half story Gothic Revival style granite masonry keeper's dwelling with an integral three and one-half story tower. The 67 foot high tower has an octagonal cast iron lantern and gallery surrounded by wrought iron railing with six brick-lined rooms in the basement and dwelling.
Building Race Rock Light was a feat of engineering bravery directed over seven years by New London's own Captain T. A Scott. The lighthouse was first lit in 1878.
For 139 years Race Rock's red lantern light and fog horn have guided mariners
through the roiling currents at the Race
. In 2013 Race Rock Light Station was entrusted to the New London Maritime Society by the federal government through the National Lighthouse Preservation Act. The architecture firm Modern Ruins
currently
is preparing an architectural assessment and restoration plan for the light, to be completed this fall. This assessment was financed through a 2019 crowd-funding initiative by New London Maritime Society.
Our tours leave from downtown New London's Custom House Maritime Museum - just two blocks from the New London Amtrak station. We cruise six miles out past Harbor, Ledge, Avery Point and North Dumpling lighthouses to Race Rock Light at Long Island Sound's opening to the Atlantic, along the way passing a submarine factory, two forts, a USCG station, & Fishers Island.
Race Rock Light Station (1878), along with the New London Harbor Light (est. 1760, current tower 1801) and Ledge Light (1909) at the mouth of the Thames River, create a pathway of beacons leading from the Atlantic Ocean to the historic harbor of New London. All three lights are now owned by the New London Maritime Society. Monies raised by these tours support restoration of our local lighthouses.
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The Custom House Maritime Museum - your local, independent, community museum - telling the stories of New London's waterfront!
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