Offshore Lighthouse Cruise to Benefit the Plum Island Lighthouse

June 9, 2026

After a one week delay caused by a combination of rain, high winds and rough seas, the Long Island Chapter of the US Lighthouse Society's offshore lighthouse cruise to benefit the Plum Island lighthouse was a great success. The forecast leading up the the event was watched closely by myself, and probably everyone else who planned to be on the boat that day. When the morning of June 9 came, the weather was perfect. As I left home for Orient Point, an eighty minute drive, the sun was just coming up. The temperature was moderate, the sky clear, and the winds calm.

Chapter volunteers greeted attendees at the USDA parking lot, and directed them to the Cross Sound Ferry's North Star. We began boarding the boat a little after 8AM. The most popular topic of discussion was, of course the weather. The temperature was perfect for the event, the sky was clear (and would develop only some pretty, wispy clouds) and the winds and waters would remain calm throughout the day.

     We left the Cross Sound Ferry's dock at Orient Point just after 9AM and a continental breakfast was served. We headed out to go see the Orient Point and Plum Island lighthouses, Great Gull Island, the Little Gull Island and Race Rock lighthouses, Fisher's Island, and the lighthouses at North Dumpling and Latimer Reef. Along the north side of Fisher's Island, the lovely atmospheric conditions allowed everyone to get a peek at the Connecticut lighthouses at New London Ledge, New London Harbor (Pequot), and Morgan Point (Noank). After visiting the Latimer Reef lighthouse, we stopped for a catered lunch on the north side of Fisher's Island.

We were honored to have some special Long Island lighthouse folks aboard on this day. Cliff and Eunice Benfield, from the Horton Point lighthouse (Southold Historical Society), and Tom and Marilyn Roberts, founders of the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society, were along to enjoy the weather and our wonderful lighthouse heritage. Tom Roberts, currently the president of the Fire Island group, took the opportunity to tell the attendees of the goings-on at Fire Island as we were finishing up lunch and preparing to go see some more lighthouses.

After lunch we rounded the west end of Fisher's Island and crossed The Race. At this time, we had our big raffle, which was included in the ticket price. Many great prizes were won, including the grand prize of an overnight at the Race Point, Cape Cod lighthouse, donated by the New England Lighthouse Foundation. We headed past the north side of Gardiner's Island, where we saw the ruins of Fort Tyler and learned of the lighthouse that once occupied the site. As we paused by Gardiner's Point, an Air Force HH-60 helicopter (almost identical to the UH-60s on which I was a crewman and mechanic in "the old days") circled overhead to take a look, then headed off. A line of six Navy vessels was also visible off our starboard.

After all that excitement, it was off to see the Cedar Island lighthouse, Long Island's other endangered lighthouse. After hearing the proud history and sad present state of that lighthouse, we turned north and sailed along the east side of Shelter Island.

We then came to our last lighthouse, the Long Beach Bar lighthouse, better known to many as the Bug Light. As Dr. Wiggin was a major force in the rebuilding of this local icon, I let him do all the narration for this lighthouse (as if I had a choice). Then it was back to Orient Point after a long, lovely day on the water.

The Horton Point lighthouse was kept open late for us this day, courtesy of the Southold Historical Society, and several people took the opportunity to visit it, giving them all of Southold's eight lighthouses in one day.

This cruise also included the involvement of some former area keepers. Tony Tuliano, a keeper at Plum Island in the late 1970s, designed a Save The Plum Island hat that was debuted at the cruise. The hat proved popular, as did many of the items for sale. Nametags worn by Chapter volunteers were donated by Bill Bright, a keeper in the early 50's at North Dumpling. And the reproduction of the 1911 Instructions to Light Keepers we offered was created from an original used by keeper George Ehrhardt during his time in the area.

Throughout the day, I wandered the boat answering questions about lighthouses and asking questions about how people were enjoying their day. It certainly seemed as though everyone had a fantastic day. The only recommendations for improvement I received were the availability of children's sizes in the clothes we were selling, the addition of a map in the cruise booklet, and the difficulty of hearing the narration from the back of the boat when under power. All of these suggestions, and any others we receive, will be worked on for next year's cruise. The date for next year's cruise has already been set for June 1, and arrangements have already been made for a very special guest to be on board.

I have to admit that some might suspect my report of an event in which I was so involved - being the president of the organization that ran it and one of the narrators - might be biased, but I can assure you that the attendees had a very good time. I hope to see many of the same faces, and plenty of new ones, on next year's cruise. Is it too early to start watching the weather for June 2002?

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