Adopt a Lighthouse? - Why not?

by Sail-World Cruising on 28 Jul 2007 Most experienced sailors carry paper charts as well as several GPS's to ensure that, even in the case of a lightning strike, or in the (hopefully unlikely) event that the satellites are suddenly turned off by their owners, the sailor will still be able to navigate. However, governments do not take these precautions in redundancy, and in many countries of the world lighthouses are being turned off in favour of relying totally on satellite and sonar navigation systems.

The Philippines Government, like many others, has discovered that maintaining the 21 surviving Philippine lighthouses located in the deserted extremes of the Philippine archipelago is an expensive business.

However, they have come up with an answer – Adopt a Lighthouse.

Corporate or private individuals who adopt lighthouses enter into an agreement with the Coast Guard who basically allow them use of the property in exchange for its maintenance.

It's not the first time this plan has been implemented round the world – in Hawaii, 25-member Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 23 has officially 'adopted' the Makapuu lighthouse in order to make it accessible to the general public, rather than being abandoned and locked away forever from view.

The lighthouses in the Philippines up for adoption were mostly built over a century ago. They originally provided basic, spartan accommodations for their keepers, and are now in poor condition, many abandoned., awaiting rescue by adoptive parents.

The Philippine lighthouses are Bagacay in Cebu; Bagato, Sorsogon; Batag, Northern Samar; Bugui Point, Masbate; Cabra, Mindoro Occidental; Calabasa, Iloilo; Canigao, Leyte; Cape Bojeador, Ilocos Norte; Cape Bolinao, Pangasinan; Corregidor, Manila; Cape Engaño, Cagayan; Melville, Palawan; Cape Santiago, Batangas; Capones, Zambales; Capul, Northern Samar; Donsol, Sorsogon; Jintotolo, Masbate; Malabrigo, Batangas; Pasig River, Manila; San Bernardino, Sorsogon; and Siete Pecados, Guimaras.

For information on Adopt a Lighthouse program, e-mail kikomnl@yahoo.com.