Can't make it this year, Bob, but, as a result of your post, I have ordered the book about Long Island lighthouses. One of my daughters lives in New York and I hope to get to Long Island in the next couple of years - and to go up the Hudson - and, and, and.

Wish I could go , but my daughter is graduating from High School May 25, date is too close to this event, and we have family traveling to CO for her special day.

We might do this this year, as part of "Teaching Greg to Drive." They're lights we havn't seen most of anyway, and I've always wanted to try the double/triple crown (it was double until last year).

Dive for cover from the careening grey Yukon XL.

Greg - that certainly would be some "Teaching Greg How to Drive" weekend. Driving out on LI can teach anyone new tricks no matter how long they've been driving especially on the LIE.

And thanks for the warning!

Hey Bob,

A couple of years ago, when Harbour Lights had a Regional Event on Long Island, Carol & I were able to visit all the lights on Long Island except for Coney Island .... couldn't get by the Gestapo (aka gated community guards). Could some strings be pulled to permit folks that are there for the Challenge to be permitted access to visit the Coney Island light??

Dan

Greg,

I must agree with Shirin.

I suppose that everyone who attends should make sure that their set belts are fastened, that their brakes are in excellent working order, and that all air bags have not previously been damaged.

I also might help to fill the vehicles with as many "peanuts" and bubble wrap as they can hold.

bobo

Dan,

I'd say very unlikely.The Lighthouse is located inside a gated Jewish community and they like their privacy.

I was told that there was very little likelihood of Coney Island ever being part of the LI challenge and not to expect easier access anytime in the near future.

The people organizing the LI challenge have tried to no avail to get any access to Coney Island.

Of course hope springs eternal and stranger things have happened.

Dennis

Dan,
Always better to go off-season winter-early spring. Never would a parade of people get in. Had some hope for small groups when the Keeper's son started a website but ...
You never know but very unlikely.
Bob

It's so upsetting that lighthouses which should be considered national treasures are tied up by individuals. Half of the time they don't even keep them up.

Next meeting will announce more extras in addition to the Cruises including the Raffle, new brochure, and Friday night dinner. Stay tuned in.

Tried last year to get in to see this one.
No luck, even went into the Police station who would not give permission.
Best way to see it is from the water.
HCS

Hi All,
I'll be selling LI Challenge Raffle tickets.
There are a couple of very unique prizes.
$5 each 6 for $25
I'll be taking Checks made out to LIChapter, USLHS, sent to me at Bob Scroope, 7 East Gate Drive, Mount Sinai, NY 11766.

Drawing will be held May 28, 2006. Prizes will be mailed to winners.
Prizes Include:
- Private Party for 20 at Huntington Harbor LH
- Private Sunrise or Sunset Tour for 10 at FireIsland LH
- 2 Tickets to LIChapter NYC Harbor Cruise July 15th
- One Nights Stay at a LI Bed&Breakfast in Wine Country
- Giftbaskets from the Gift Shops of Montauk, Fire Island, HortonPt, Huntington, EastEndSeaport and LighthouseTShirts.com
- Hat & Polo Shirt from Eaton's Neck
- Harbour Lights Limited Editions
- 5 Winners of LI Lighthouse Set of 15 Pewter Pins
- 10 Winners of Harbour Lights Little Lights
...And more

Please check the website for info 2006 LI Challenge
And thanks for your attendance and support .

Bob LIChapter USLHS

Alas we cannot do the challenge because of prior obligations for that Saturday, but have already made reservations to do the sunset cruise on Friday 19th. Looking forward to it, hope they reach the minimum so that it's not cancelled!
HCS

Less than two weeks before we start, who's going. Big WACKO turnout for last year's Inaugaral. If you missed it, it's quite a weekend. No registration fees or need to sign up, so just show up, and do some, all or one.

details of the LI Challenge

Bob
LI Chapter of USLHS

I would love to get into the area to see Coney Island. I don't think it would be a good idea to attach it to the LILC because the distance makes it very difficult. I think being that it is in Brooklyn it would not be considered a LI light.
To get to the area you have to go through some tough areas.

I believe this one is in a private gated community. Very hard to get past the gaurd and the police. Best seen from the water.
HCS

Coney Island is hard to get to by land because of restrictions but we are doing a by sea NY Cruise on July 15th.

Bob

Did the cruise last year with NJ - It was good and we did see Coney Island from the water. Close enough to get good photos.
HCS

We might be going. I've brought it up a few times, but not in a "committal" kind of way. I'd like to go, since I could do a challenge and see new, needed lights at once.

Will see...but if you see the Yukon XL going 50 in a 65 zone, that's me. I must be the only teenage driver that goes too SLOW. :rolleyes:

Greg how many lighthouses have you seen?

Greg,

I hope you get to do it. I'll be at Orient Point / Plum Island all day on Saturday and at Old Field Point in the morning on Sunday.

If you do the Challenge take the time to go out to Huntington Harbor - it's a great trip. It's definitely worth the time.

Dennis

Eric - 157? 156? 15something. The challenge'd boost it to around 165, since all but two (Orient/Plum) would be new lights.

Dennis - I'm trying to put it in my timing plan to do the cruise out. It looks like it's not that long, and well worth it. If we go, I'll, of course, say hi!

Dennis ~ looks like I'll be with you on Saturday at Orient Point (at least until 3pm -- when I have to run over to Greenport for the cruise).

The cruise out in and of itself isn't that long but the wait time can get long when it's busy since only so many can be there at one time and the are limited on boats as well.

I still say it's well worth the wait even if you don't get to all the others.

The cruise out to the lights you can't see by land is a great one as well- Bob & Diane run that very well. You get very close to the Lights as well.


Diane it will be my pleasure to work with you at Orient Point.

Dennis

I booked the Sunset Cruise for Friday 19th May.
I know 40 minimum is required, but how can I find out if they met the reqired number and the cruise is still on?
HCS

From the webpage above HSC.

INFORMATION ABOUT CHALLENGE MERCHANDISE AND CRUISES IS AVAILABLE AT WWW.LIGHTHOUSETSHIRTS.COM OR CONTACT NANCY BAHNSEN AT nbahnsen@lighthousetshirts.com

Thanks Bob.
I did check web site but could not find info I was looking for.
I will e-mail Nancy.
HCS

I'd probably not need to take the cruise from what it sounds like, since I've already seen those lights up close and personal on my 2004 Sailing trip. But it sounds like a fun cruise nonetheless!

Dennis, you've definitely enticed me. I'm definitely going to make sure that the Huntington cruise is in the plan, if we go on the Challenge. Sounds like it's totally worth it. Maybe plan that as a first stop or something.

The plan would probably be to try to get it done in two days (well, duh, but I mean leave the house Sat. morning, get home Sun. night). I planned it out in S&T a few months ago, and it showed it as needing a little over one day to see everything. Of course, that's the S&T estimate, so you add a little bit (though I always try to counter-balance the traffic/dillydally time by adding a few minutes to the end of every stop, and that usually works well). If we skipped one of them, it'd probably be Montauk, since we're planning on visiting it otherwise before this year's sailing trip. But of course, seeing all of them would be better.

BTW, does anyone else keep getting the connection on the lighthousetshirts page to time out? I can't get anywhere on it.

Greg,

I promise you won't be disapointed in the trip to Huntington.

I can understand about the cruise- I agree thoug it's a great time even if you've seen the lights already. I'd do it again this year if I wasn't volunteering both days and going to a Poco concert Sunday night.

Hope to see you there.

Dennis

Greg~ Bob Muller and Chatt Chapman did a "test run" last year before the Challenge, and it took them 12 hours to drive to each stop. That doesn't include signing in, picking up the souvenir, the walk from the parking lot to the Fire Island Lighthouse, and the boat trip to Huntington.

That being said...one person last year attempted to do the Challenge in a single day. He said he went to each stop, but he didn't make it to some of them until after 6pm.

I'm working the cruises on Friday and Saturday. As far as I know, Friday night is still a go. The Sunday night cruise was cancelled.

I think Bob had an inaccurate link (looks like he has a comma in there). Try this one:

Lighthouse T-Shirts

Eric, plan on waiting for a while. When I did the challange we were told it was over an hour and half wait for a boat. The same time wait to climb. I didn't wait as I had more lights to see plus the fact that my daughter and grand daughter had been out to the light on a previous trip so I can't say if it is worth the wait or not. I just figure I'll get out there one day -- sooner or later.

With Huntington, it depends on what time you get there. I know they got slammed on Sunday last year because a lot of participants made it their final stop. They've got a great bunch of folks out there, I'm sure they have discussed a way to handle the traffic flow a bit better.

And it is definitely worth the trip!

Tom,
I think we are going on June 2nd as part of the sunset cruise.
HCS

Alright...going to bring it up again on Sat/Sun. It'd be really fun. He seemed interested before, but too early. Need to be serious now.

I'm looking, and I'm going to plan it with Huntington as the first stop. That way, I have it much easier getting a cruise. move along the LISound coast, cross Shelter Island/go around, and zip the last two lights.

Have to decide fast to get a tin in time! Like the postcard idea...

I think Eaton's Neck is first if you are planning to go north up the west side of Long Island, then Huntington.
HCS

[ [/qb][/QUOTE]I think Eaton's Neck is first if you are planning to go north up the west side of Long Island, then Huntington.
HCS [/QB][/QUOTE]

Greg,

Eaton's Neck is the second one of the Challenge starting on the North Fork from the west.

Huntington Harbor is the first- although the two Lighthouses are not far apart from each other.
I think getting to Huntington Harbor first thing in the morning is a good idea.

It's great to complete the Challenge but since you are not sure you're going to do that I say concentrate on the ones you haven't been to that you can actually get into- Huntington Harbor,Horton Point, Fire Island and Montauk.

Unfortunately many are not open for climbing for one reason or another - like Eaton's Neck, Orient Point, Plum Island, Cedar Island and Long Beach Bar.

Hilary,

Here's the list of Lighthouses that you should see on the Cruise on Saturday-

Long Beach Bar Lighthouse (The Bug Light), Orient Point Lighthouse (The Coffee Pot), Plum Island Lighthouse, Little Gull Light, Race Rock Lighthouse, and the site of a former lighthouse and fort at Gardiner's Island.

I'm sure you'll enjoy it. The Captain gets the boat up close and the narration by Bob is great. Diane and Nancy will make the rest of the trip great as well. They do a super job.

They have a lot of practice with it since they've done the cruise a number of times. They even managed to arrange for a birthday cake for Fran and my wife Esther last year.

Dennis

Thanks Dennis.
HCS

I think Eaton's Neck is first if you are planning to go north up the west side of Long Island, then Huntington.
HCS [/QB][/QUOTE]

Greg,

Eaton's Neck is the second one of the Challenge starting on the North Fork from the west.

Huntington Harbor is the first- although the two Lighthouses are not far apart from each other.
I think getting to Huntington Harbor first thing in the morning is a good idea.

It's great to complete the Challenge but since you are not sure you're going to do that I say concentrate on the ones you haven't been to that you can actually get into- Huntington Harbor,Horton Point, Fire Island and Montauk.

Unfortunately many are not open for climbing for one reason or another - like Eaton's Neck, Orient Point, Plum Island, Cedar Island and Long Beach Bar. [/QB][/QUOTE]


Oops - sorry - guess I got the directions wrong!
Thanks for setting me straight Dennis.
HCS

Hilary,

It's easy to get confused on Long Island. I used to have a Long Island Curse- it seemed that 2 out of 3 trips planned to LI got cancelled for one reason or another- starting with 911.

It seems now that the curse has been transferred to any NELL trip I plan ahead for. I think it's a conspiracy- or just a plain run of bad luck or trying to plan too many things too far ahead.

Dennis

I just want to make a correction to Dennis' post. The cruises next weekend see Long Beach Bar (Bug Light), Orient Point, Plum Island, and Cedar Island. We are not going out as far as Race Rock or Little Gull. This cruise will only sail past those lighthouses that are part of the Challenge.

There is a similiar cruise in late September that we do (Beacons of the Night) that goes out as far as Race Rock.

I just got back from the last meeting before the Challenge and everything is set! I was finally able to see the souvenirs (designed by Nancy Bahnsen) and they look awesome! Dennis, I have your official Challenge nametag and a set of the souvenirs for you. Remind me on Saturday and I'll give them to you.

Now, just keep your fingers crossed for nice weather!

Diane,

Sorry to add to the confusion. I took a shortcut and copied the Lighthouses from the website description of the Beacons of the Night Cruise.

See you on Saturday- bright and early.

Dennis

Alright...here's the dealey-o. Friday and Saturday, we're installing new windows in part of the house, and we have to do it those days, because those are the only days the guy who's going to help us is available.

If we get them done on Saturday, we might be able to do at least most of the challenge on Sunday. To fit it in in a day, we'd have to skip Montauk. BUT, we were planning on visiting Montauk in June, anyway, before we go sailing to Newport. So it'd really only be postponing it a month. Cedar Island might get skipped, too, if time demands, since we'd have to cross the Shelter Island ferries, which is a $22 cost for both, and time consuming.

But I think we could do the others in a day. Even my S&T plan with generous timing says so.

So, the plan, if we do it, is this:

Leave NJ around 6:30 and drive out to Huntington Harbor. I planned a generous 2 hours here, to try and give a nice cushion. If we get out there fast, GREAT! After the cruise over, etc. etc., zip over to Eaton's Neck, with a 40 minute buffer. Over to Old Field (40m), take the bus over. Next up is Horton, 35 minutes (if we have time left over from the other buffers, they'll go into here). On to the North Fork, with 10 minutes each at the Long Beach and Orient/Plum VPs. Over to the Seaport Museum, which we will or will not tour, depending on time (can always come back). Finally, down to Fire Island, to see the light, and find some NPS stamp to make the May stamp for my "NPS-stamp-a-month" plan.

S&T estimate: 326.8 miles, 12h34m. Back home in NJ by 7 for dinner and photo posting.

So, hopefully, everything'll come together, and we'll be seeing some of you on LI Sunday!

Greg,

Sounds like a plan- a long day- but still a plan.

I'll be at Old Field on sunday at least until noon- maybe later since I don't have to pick up Esther at the train station.

You can easily get your NPS Stamp at Fire Island- just go into the Gift shop and it is right there for you.

Hope to see you again on Sunday.

Dennis