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My Personal Experiences

 

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Life on the Cuckold's was pretty much a routine of standing watches and cleaning and painting any non-moveable items on the island.

Because I measured the island with a tape measure I calculate it to be roughly 520 feet in circumference at the high water mark. The personnel stationed on the island got 2 days a month shore leave. Occasionally the women and even the men could leave the island to do things but the men always had to be there at night. The wives could leave as long as they wanted. The Coast Guard had very limited control over them but because they lived in government housing they were somewhat restricted as far as going ashore was concerned. We couldn't just call and have them send a boat out any time we wanted. There were often weeks at a time that the water around the island was so rough that we couldn't leave the island at all.

The island was located about a mile or so offshore and was exposed to the open ocean. The waves washed on the shore relentlessly and were never silent. The boat ramp in the picture was located on the most sheltered side of the island. Because of the wash of the ground swell it was moderately difficult to get a boat on and off the ramp as the tide washed across the slip and not up and down the ramp. This caused a cross-tide and whenever you landed a boat on the island it had to be calculated so that the boat was steered in a little to one side of the ramp so you would hit in the right area as the boat reached it's destination. Quite a few times when the seas were choppy a couple attempts had to be made because of a slight misjudgment. If the boat landed to the left then it landed on it's side, to the right was the rocks, usually the 2 foot gap in the rails was fairly easy to hit. Once there the boat was held with the small outboard motor while someone hooked up the cable and the antique electric winch hauled the boat up to the boathouse. Only if real high-run tides were predicted was the boat put into the boathouse.

The boat itself was a 15-foot long peapod. It was quite seaworthy and fit between the rails well. It had an outrigger on the stern for the outboard motor but went very slowly. Because it had a round bottom the tide pulled it around more than a flatter bottom and made things even harder when the seas were rough. Nothing was brought to the island that couldn't be transported in that small boat. Very often that small boat was very overloaded. One of the worst things brought ashore was a freezer. This almost capsized the boat and we had to wait several days for the seas to be calm enough to even get it ashore.

My wife and I went to the island in December. The couple on the island were getting close to getting off as the man there was due to get discharged. This was somewhat stressful but we had known he would be leaving soon when we volunteered to go to the island to live. I had known the man while growing up as he lived in a neighboring town. This had made the adjustment a little easier. We got along well and he showed me most of the things that I would need to know as I would be the person in charge of the station. He had been the assistant.

I guess lighthouses are romantic but I do know that this one had quite a reputation concerning the couples that stayed there and the divorce rate. I guess I would say it takes a sturdy relationship to endure that much togetherness. There is just no escape because you are within shouting and visual distances all of the time. When you go ashore you get groceries and things like that and there is just no time apart unless the wife goes ashore alone. I found that my friend's wife went ashore quite a bit to stay with family and I guess none of us really wanted to be there all that much as we were young and thought other places would be better. I hadn't been married that long and I had a choice of the station or Vietnam at the time. I also was quite happy there because I grew up in a town just a few miles to the east. The fact is that it was close enough so that my Dad, who was a lobsterman, brought over our Christmas things and a tree in his lobster boat. My parents visited quite frequently that way. It was much easier than trying to arrange a ride with the Coast Guard. Because of this I figure I had it better than most that had stayed on the island.

We had no problems getting to the island that December but it was cold and snowing the day we loaded a few things in the boat at the Coast Guard Station at Boothbay Harbor. Everything was put in the 40-foot steel search and rescue boat for our ride to the island. This was easy as there were people there and they always helped us load the stuff in the boat. It was actually quite a distance to lug the things we needed. I guess I should mention that because we seldom got off the island we always needed a month's or more supply of food and whatever else was needed on the island all of the time. We had been allowed to take this to the station a few days prior to our going out there and so we had a little bit less to haul down. This was quite a procedure as we had a VW Beetle and the groceries and things filled it pretty well. It was one of the times that a larger vehicle would have been nice. However, we got to the island and had enough groceries for a while and when it got close to Christmas, my parents came over in Dad's boat and brought things for Christmas and a small tree for us. I guess this is about the time we realized we were on an offshore lighthouse. There were no visitors, other than my parents when they brought gifts and the tree, and it was a pretty quiet Christmas. Fortunately we did have a telephone and could talk with our family over the holidays.

By the time we were due for our first two days off, needless to say we were ready for them. The first day we spent in with my wife's mother and the second day with my parents, actually the first and second night. The second day we went to the naval base in Brunswick and got groceries. Then we drove to the station in Boothbay Harbor and were taken to the island. When we arrived at the station the coxswain would blow the horn and the man on the island would come out in the small boat and pick the supplies and us up. He would bring the person from the station in Boothbay Harbor out that had replaced me on the second load. Someone was needed to hook up the winch and pull the boat out of the water when it landed on the island. Groceries and supplies were usually brought in on the second trip so the boat could go back to the station while we unloaded our small boat and carried everything into the house.