
All About Knots
Lighthouse keeping inevitably involves seamanship skills, knot-tying among them. Knot-tying is an indispensable skill not only for sailors and lighthouse keepers but also for numerous other occupation ...

The View from the Long Bridge
The walk to the lighthouse offers glimpses of creatures at home in the freshwater tidal marsh. During this time of year the marsh is in transition with bursts of spring activity. Get the whole stor ...

Ominous Ice
Until the river freezes in earnest and the ice holds fast to the shore, it is apt to plow into things while floes continue to drift with the tidal currents. Likewise, during the break up in the spring ...

Blame it on the tides
The Saugerties Lighthouse keepers, like sailors and fishermen, live by the tides. The ups and downs of the tide are a daily reminder that we live on an estuary — an “arm of the sea.” Get the whole ...

Yuck Finn: repair or replace?
Last month, we confronted a dilemma. The wooden utility barge used for ferrying supplies to the Lighthouse was in critical condition. Do we repair it, or buy another boat to replace it? Get the who ...

Lighthouse Unplugged
The lighthouse occupants renewed their appreciation for print media last month after the dredging operation knocked out the underwater telephone line, cutting off phone and Internet for several weeks. ...

Saugerties Harbor: Past and Present
Serving as a small harbor, the mouth of the Esopus Creek forms a natural navigation channel sheltered by a sedimentary delta. These natural features of the waterfront shaped the development of Saugert ...

Harmonious architecture
The Saugerties Lighthouse is one of the few intact examples of a lighthouse design that was once common in the region, fashioned from the particulars of a locality. Read more at Saugerties Times.

Hudson River water temperature
In springtime, fisherman are concerned about water temperature in the Hudson River. When the the water temperature in the Tappan Zee reaches 50 degrees, migrating striped bass transition from brackish ...

Ice, ice, everywhere
An aerial view taken from the Coast Guard ice reconnaissance plane shows the Lighthouse surrounded by ice. The coves are locked in with solid ice sheets, and a narrow channel cut by the Coast Guard ic ...