Foggy, foggy morn
Photo courtesy of Catherine Bumpus
Fog
By Carl Sandburg

The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

The design of the original copper foghorn, circa 1903, at Nobska Light. Years later, in 2019, t he Coast Guard completed the installation of Mariner Radio Activated Sound Signal (MRASS) devices at 82 lighthouses across the Northeast which includes Nobska Light.


Original horn design shown alongside the signal building. The current modernized signal replaces the less reliable and less efficient VM-100 fog detectors with a Coast Guard-designed, radio-controlled system. The process also eliminated several 24/7 continuously sounding horns.


A temporary wooden horn used prior to installation of copper fohgorn. Today, mariners needing foghorn assistance can energize the sound signal by keying a standard VHF-FM radio five times consecutively on VHF channel 83A. The sound signal then sounds for 45-60 minutes following each activation.

Friends of Nobska Light | FriendsofNobska.org