Robbins Reef Trip Report

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Crew: Carmen Campo, Bill Fiducia, Luke Gayford, Gus Scott

Weather: A lowering sky with storms expected, 40s

Access: Left Miller’s at 12:45 PM and returned at 2:15 PM on the Nicholas Miller, captained by David Bowser.

Purpose of the trip: The purpose of the trip was to take down the platforms, bring back paint and equipment, and check the lighthouse.

Gus unrigging the platform, Photo by Luke Gayford

Tasks accomplished: After loading supplies, the Crew headed out on the Nicholas, unrigged the two 12’ platforms from the Watch Gallery, and stored them in the kitchen.

Luke made a thorough assessment of the caisson and promenade; they have deteriorated significantly since he was at the lighthouse this past spring, and he will give us a plan for addressing them.

Everyone loaded up paint, including 3 five-gallon buckets of the exterior paint, and 12 gallons of other paint. We will get the rest when we return next week. Thanks to Armorica, once again—we will keep it warm and safe. They also brought back the generator and the heavy grinder. Erin Urban will stow everything and return the tools.

The stairwell walls and staircase were wet because the circuit breaker on the ground fault interrupter had tripped. The pins on the timer had loosened and fallen out for unknown reasons, perhaps because of heavy moisture. The fourth floor porthole was not secure, and also could have loosened in the heavy wind and rain last week. When we left on October, it was tight. Gus and Carmen corrected the problems.

Next steps: We will replace the timer with one that addresses humidity as well as heat. There’s always lots of maintenance, and we will go out regularly to check on the lighthouse and work on interior jobs. Under Andrew Quisling’s supervision, we will finish the Watch Gallery door by painting the outside and varnishing the inside and adding a chain and hook so we can leave it open, and Andrew will replace the kitchen door threshold. We will work on the floors. On good days, when we can get a crew, we will work on the promenade and clean it up little by little.

We will bring back the paint! We need a 250-volt inverter to run equipment.