Thank you.

Entrance is a beautiful place to live, no question about it and some interesting things to see!

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know.

Glad you enjoyed it!

I never tried to fish at Entrance Island but I do fish at Boat Bluff, where I am stationed now. Can't fish from the shore as you loose lures too easy in the rocky shelf but if you go out in a boat, the fishing is very good.

This video here :kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qs98Z913mtewm30.html goes into detail about the Derrick on Boat Bluff and its operation and maintenience. Docks would be quite difficult to keep in place and many of the stations due to their exposure to rough waters and high winds. Most of the sites don't have a calm bay or a location where a dock would not get completely ruined every few months and so this system was put in place for the loading and unloading of cargo. Most of the really heavy stuff would no longer come in this way tho, it would be helicoptered in on a sling as it is much safer and faster this way. Technology is a wonderful thing. This video here :kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l9SCm9OYq9zUgpc.html goes into details about our water system and how it works including keeping our cisterns clean for consumption. The house I was staying in on Entrance was not mine but furnished and decorated by Mark and Maureen, both Assistant Keepers who were stationed elsewhere while I was taking care of their place. Maureen has an eye for very interesting things are artifacts and their house was full of very interesting stuff.

@@BCLighthouseKeeper Thank you. That was interesting how the small boat bumped up to the rocks and the concrete to off load and load that equipment. I bet those boats don't last all that long working them like that especially if they are fiberglass.

The workboats are metal, and are pretty durable. Not sure how long one will last but they have been using this style of work boat for many many years.

Keepers are required to do routine maintenance, such as painting and upkeep provided it does not run into dangerous situations. We do not paint roofs or any other dangerous areas and that is left for times when a proper crew can come in and do the work with full fall arrest equipment and other such safety features. But for keepers, if you can think of work that needs to be done and can be done by someone with moderate skills then we do it. Electrical, plumbing, landscaping, light construction, mechanical, and so on. It is where the jack of all trades but master of none comes in handy.

Thanks

Keepers themselves do not set up and maintain the solar power, other than ensuring the panels are clean and in working order. There is an entire electrician team within the Coast Guard who handles all the installations and extensive maintenance on the Solar and Wind power set ups. Most of the stations are completely off grid, meaning they do not draw power from any town or other source of power. Generators have been used for many years on stations and it is only within the last few years that the Coast Guard are adding Solar and Wind Power to stations in an effort to cut down on the use of generators and fossil fuels. I have heard that the estimated cost savings using Solar and Wind is paid for within 3 to 5 years depending on the station and its power requirements.

@@BCLighthouseKeeper Wow, that's really interesting. Thanks! This information gives me confidence knowing now that if I do it myself than I could save even bigger than I had previously thought by setting up solar.

There is a very big difference when talking about part time/full time when it comes to lighthouse keeping. You don't come and go off the station as you please and indeed are there for the duration of your term. Part time means you are given short terms of employment, 2 week, a month, maybe 2 months in a location. Full time means you are locked into a station and don't ever leave that station except for when you are on your holiday times. When you are working, be it for a few weeks or for longer, you don't leave the station. You work every day of the week for your scheduled shift (morning or afternoon) As far as I know, the US no longer has employed lightkeepers but I may be wrong. You would need to check the the US Coast Guard to see if they have any such programs.

@@BCLighthouseKeeper But you said that your a replacement lighthouse keeper. What does that mean exactly and also, when you work 24/7 like that because you are continuously on call and duty basically, it would seem to me that you get paid each hour of the day but at least get compensated for the extra your exposed to.

As a replacement, you are taking the place of whomever is in that position permanently. For example, I am now permanent at Boat Bluff. When I take my vacation time, someone has to come and replace me for when I am not on station. That person is referred to as a relief keeper. You really can't look at this job in hours, it really just doesn't work that way at all. You have to look at it more like a salary. With a salary you work as much or as little as you need to and get paid the same wage, no matter how much you are working. While you do have to do your weather reports each day, doing other jobs and tasks doesn't need to be done every day so some days are less busy than others meaning you have time to do your own things.