Besides the lighthouses which warn the sailor of danger and guide him
in his course amidst the darkness of night, there are along the British
coasts numerous floating-lights or light-vessels in situations where
the erection of a lighthouse is impossible, where there are banks or
shoals perilous to ships but affording no foundation for a building.
These vessels ride at anchor in places that have been selected for
them, and which are as exactly marked on the charts as the positions
of the lighthouses. Most of them are stationed off the east coast of
England from the mouth of the Humber southward; a few on other parts
of the English coast, and on that of Ireland; and two on the coast
of Scotland. They are generally vessels of about one hundred and
fifty tons, specially constructed with a view to their riding safely
at anchor in exposed situations and during the most severe storms,
without regard to sailing-powers, of which they have no need; and it
has been an extremely rare thing for any of them to be driven from
their moorings or to experience any disaster. The mariner counts upon
the guidance of their light in any weather, as confidently as he does
on that of a lighthouse built upon a rock.
The English floating-lights, like the English lighthouses, are under
the care and management of Trinity House. From the Appendix to the
Report of the Royal Commission on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, presented
to the Houses of Parliament in 1861, we obtain some interesting
information concerning them. They are each provided with a crew of
eleven men, who have no occupation but their professional duties;
and of whom there are at all times seven on board the vessel, and
four on shore, employed in the storehouses at the Trinity Buoy Wharf,
Blackwall. The men remain on shore for a month at a time. Each vessel
has a master and mate, but these are never on duty at the same time;
taking the command in turn, month about. No men are employed in this
service but such as are already good sailors; and the men rise by
seniority from the lowest rank to that of master, so that there is
a strong inducement for them to continue in the service. Misconduct
of any kind—as disobedience of the orders of the master or mate,
quarrelling, breach of regulations, neglect of duty, or intoxication
when on shore—is punished by censure, degradation to a lower rank, or
dismissal from the service, according to the gravity of the offence.
The lowest wage of the men is only two pounds fifteen shillings per
month—at least so it was in 1861, and we have heard of no change. The
master has five pounds per month and an allowance of ten pounds a year
for house-rent. All find their own provisions. They are allowed to use
beer on board the vessel, but no spirits. They are completely secluded
from the rest of the world, whilst on duty. No boats are allowed to go
alongside the light-vessels, and the men are strictly forbidden to go
on board any passing ship. A library is supplied to each vessel.
Life in a light-vessel one would think must be rather monotonous; but
many of those who enter the service remain long in it. Small pensions
are allowed to superannuated men or those disabled by disease or
accident. The lantern used to be hung from the yard-arm of the vessel,
but in 1807 Mr R. Stevenson introduced at the floating-light at the
Bell Rock the mode now used, in which the lantern surrounds the mast,
sliding up and down on it, and is elevated to the top of it when
lighted. Those light-vessels which occupy the most exposed stations
ride more easily, if the water is deep, than those which are tossed by
smaller but more frequent waves. The latter must sometimes be rather
unpleasant abodes. The master of the Owers light-vessel, in the English
Channel, between Beachy Head and the Isle of Wight, told the members
of the Royal Commission who visited his vessel in 1859, that in bad
weather he sometimes ‘could not lie on the floor of his cabin without
holding on to the legs of the table.’
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