July 17, 2017
Tibbitts Lighthouse, NY to Southwick Beach State Park, NY
Day 12
Weather: Cloudy / Sunny. Strong Winds.
We woke up to strong winds and my initial thought was these would be in our face all day. Leaving our hostel at 7:45 a.m. the wind was at our side until we reached Cape Vincent where we stocked up on lunch supplies as I thought grocery stores would be scarce today.
As we left Cape Vincent we passed the Cape Vincent Breakwater Lighthouse at the entrance to the town.
Cape Vincent Breakwater Lighthouse
A breakwater at Cape Vencent harbor was built in the early 1900’s and two temporary lights were mounted on poles at each end.
In 1904, the temporary lights were replaced with twin twenty-five-foot wooden towers. A life line cable was installed to help the keeper walk the breakwater to the outermost tower in bad weather.
In 1904, the temporary breakwater lights were replaced with twin, eleven-foot-square, wooden towers that stood twenty-five feet high. The towers were capped by octagonal wooden lantern rooms with copper roofs and displayed fixed red lights.
The breakwater was extended in 1915, and the eastern light moved another 250 feet to mark the newly completed end.
The two lights were electrified in June, 1939.
In 1951, the old wooden lighthouses were replaced with two skeletal towers.
The surviving lighthouse has been moved to the outskirts of Cape Vincent on Route 12E. The other lighthouse was sold to a local family who used the tower as playhouse but was unfortunately demolished.
I was pleasantly surprised as we left town that the wind was at our back. Riding on Hwy 12E, a shoulder appeared about 2 miles outside Cape Vincent.
Ten miles into our ride we came across Jack's Diner and as our dinner had been a bit light this was what we needed to get us through the day, a cooked breakfast and lots of coffee.
We carried on through Chaumont which had food as well (so much for my theory that there would be no food to buy today) and when we reached Limerick we turned right onto Hwy 180 which had a good shoulder to ride on.
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Just out of Dexter I noticed my back tire was a little soft. It was actually flat this morning before we left and when I aired it up it seemed to hold so hadn't worried to much about it. I stopped and pumped it up again but by the time we reached the turn off to Sacketts Harbor on Hwy 3, it was slowly deflating again. We stopped at a gas station and I spent about 30 minutes trying to find the leak in the tube and anything in the tire that was causing this. Finding nothing I replaced the tube and we carried on.
I had originally intended to visit Sacketts Harbor to view the Sacketts Harbor Lighthouse on Horse island. However the lighthouse is hidden behind tress so I decided the ride out wasn't worth it.
Sacketts Harbor Lighthouse
Built in 1831, the Sacketts Harbor Lighthouse was situated on Horse Island, just off the mainland.
The lighthouse was a one-and-a-half-story structure with an attached tower.
The original light was updated with a fifth-order Fresnel lens in 1857.
By 1869 the Lighthouse Board had determined the structure was no longer fit for purpose. After funds were allocated by congress, construction work was carried out in 1870 and the new lighthouse first exhibited in April 1871.
The old lighthouse was torn down.
The tower was extended in 1899 adding ten feet to the height. The tower now stood at fifty-five-and-a-half feet.
The fuel for the lamp was replaced with acetylene in 1926. At the same time the last keeper Mr. Ward left the lighthouse and the light was listed as unattended. A local man, Schuyler Simmons moved into the lighthouse and farmed the island and was paid a small salary to ensure the lights was not tampered with and was in working order.
In 1957, the Coast Guard declared the lighthouse excess and it was sold to the Martin family. A new metal tower was erected as it’s replacement.
The Martin family retained the property until 2017 and it is now owned by Campaign 1776. Plans are for the island to be added to the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site.
Due to trees that have grown up on the island, only the top of the lighthouse can be seen from Sackets Harbor.
We pushed on stopping at Wesscott Beach State Park for lunch.
After lunch we left Hwy 3 at Henderson Harbor on Harbor Road and rode along the shoreline, the first time we had really seen the lake all day. From Henderson Harbor we rode out on the peninsula past Robert Wehie State Park to see the Stony Point Lighthouse.
Stony Point Lighthouse
Lake Ontario narrows as it reaches the St Lawrence River and many shipping hazards exist. Stoney Point, Stoney Point Island and Galloo Island lie directly across from Canadian, Main Duck Island, the False Duck Islands and Prince Edward Point.
In 1837, funds were allocated for the lighthouse to be built at Stoney Point. A lighthouse had already been erected on Galloo Island in 1820.
The Stoney Pont light went into operation on March 3, 1837. The lighthouse was a two story structure with the tower attached.
In 1857 a revolving, fifth-order Fresnel lens was installed. A lighthouse report in 1868 considered the structure not worth the continued repairs and a new lighthouse was planned.
By the summer of 1869 construction had begun on the new lighthouse tower bult from local stone. The lighthouse went into operation later that year.
In 1901, the tower was raised another twenty feet to a height of fifty-eight feet
The light was connected to the electrical grid on August 17, 1938.
The last keeper left in 1946 and a steel tower was erected in 1959.
The lighthouse, now surplus to requirements was sold to private owners.
On the way back to Hwy 3 we took Stony Point Road to cross the Big Stony Creek but found the bridge out so had to detour back to the Henderson turn off.
Here we found the Trolley Ice Cream store so decided to stop and have an ice cream.
From here it was another 5 miles to Southwick Beach State Park and our camp for the night. Arriving at 4 p.m., the attendant gave us a choice of sites. After we rode down and picked our site I went back to pay while Cameron set up. On the way back to the site I detoured to the beach and decided tonight was a good night for a swim.
We quickly got changed and rode to the beach. The wind was up so the water had some decent size waves, almost like the ocean and we had a good time in the surf.
Afterwards it was the usual, dinner, laundry and showers. The sites here are grassy and flat. But for some reason on this trip I keep forgetting to take photos of the campgrounds so you have to take my word for it.
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 548 miles (882 km)
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