{"id":1559,"date":"2019-08-13T11:47:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T15:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/?p=1559"},"modified":"2025-05-22T21:50:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T01:50:31","slug":"rescue-at-whaleback-lighthouse-between-keeper-and-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nelights.com\/blog\/rescue-at-whaleback-lighthouse-between-keeper-and-daughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescue at Whaleback Lighthouse Between Keeper and Daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Huge waves surround Whaleback Lighthouse in southern Maine after a New England winter snowstorm passes by, causing abnormal high tides.<\/p><\/div>\n

Father and Daughter Love Reigns Over All in Rescue at Whaleback Lighthouse<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stationed at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, guarding the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor in New Hampshire and Kittery Harbor in Maine, Whaleback Lighthouse<\/a><\/strong> was built in 1830 to protect the increasing shipping traffic from the menacing Whaleback ledge, which is usually underwater at high tide. It was rebuilt several times afterward due to poor construction, its relatively close location to the mean water, and the constant bashing of New England storms. It is the first lighthouse on the Maine border.<\/p>\n

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Vintage image Whaleback lighthouse built in 1847. Courtesy US Coast Guard.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Piscataqua River has a powerful, dangerous current, and large rogue waves are common. Also, astronomically high tides create huge rogue waves that can engulf or cover the lighthouse tower during storms. Keeper Jedediah Rand, of nearby Rye, New Hampshire, stayed at the lighthouse from 1849 to 1853 and learned first-hand the dangers of the river, the New England storms, and the effects of unique high tides.<\/p>\n

In September 1849, his 15-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Jane, came to spend three weeks at the lighthouse with her father. On the morning of September 25, Rand launched the station\u2019s relatively tiny boat to take his daughter to New Castle Island across the river when a giant rogue wave suddenly overturned the craft. The boat spilled both occupants into the waters as the keeper swam to his daughter to keep her near the boat. Large waves would overturn the craft as they tried to find safety in trying to right the craft. After a few attempts thwarted by the rough seas, Rand\u2019s exhausted daughter slipped into unconsciousness.<\/p>\n

Luckily, a schooner was passing by nearby and saw the incident. They heard Keeper Rand\u2019s cries for help and quickly dispatched a boat to rescue the keeper and his daughter to bring them to the beach at New Castle. The rescuers tried to revive the young girl and were successful just before they reached land. She spent only a short time in medical care on the island and decided to return to the lighthouse to be with her father that same afternoon.<\/p>\n

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