Restored Peapod Boat to be Launched & Rowed to Rockland Breakwater Light
Not since the days when keepers staffed Rockland
Breakwater Lighthouse has a trip to the site in a peapod boat been more
historic than the row set for August 15, 2010.
History will be made when a restored late 1800s wooden
peapod boat departs the shoreline of Rockland for the lighthouse where
the artifact will be placed on permanent exhibit inside the light
station’s boathouse.
Photo by Bob Trapani,
Jr.
(L to R) Kevin
Carney & Brian McClellan of
The Apprenticeshop,
and Brian Trask,
vice-chair
of the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, take the restored
late 1800s peapod
out for a brief row in Rockland Harbor on August 2, 2010
The event is being sponsored by the Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse who has worked closely with The Apprenticeshop in Rockland over
the last eight months to restore the vigor, shine and glory of the peapod
boat, which traces its roots back to Maine’s Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse.
On Sunday, August 15th, following a brief shore-side ceremony at
10:00 am along the public landing at Rockland’s Harbor Park, the peapod will
be launched at 10:15 am and rowed out to Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
where it will be greeted by volunteers and visitors.
Upon the peapod’s arrival at the light, the Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse (FRBL), a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, will
commemorate the occasion with some remarks before the artifact is placed
inside the boathouse on public exhibit
In 2009, John MacDonald of Windham, Maine, donated the peapod to the
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, which has been meticulously restored by The
Apprenticeshop, with help from FRBL volunteers and Hamilton Marine.
The public will have an advance opportunity to view the boat while it is on
display at the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show in Rockland on August 13th
and 14th.
In addition to viewing the peapod boat at the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors
Show, the public can participate in fun raffles that include opportunities
to be one of two individuals selected to ride in the peapod on its maiden
voyage to the lighthouse, as well as venturing a guess as to how long it
will take the peapod to row from shore to Rockland Breakwater Light.
Raffle tickets will be available at the show, as well as at Rockland
Breakwater Lighthouse and the American Lighthouse Foundation’s Gift Store &
Interpretive Center, located at 464 Main Street in downtown Rockland.
To learn more about this exciting event on August 15, 2010 and the raffles
associated with it, visit
and
www.lighthousefoundation.org or call the Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Lighthouse at (207) 542-7574.
