PORT TOWNSEND — The United States Lighthouse Society will host an event Saturday to celebrate the restoration of Point Wilson’s historic 1879 Fresnel lens.
The light from the Fresnel lens is replacing the automated beacon used for many years at Point Wilson.
The free event, which will include tours of the lighthouse, live music, food and drink vendors and more, will be between noon and 4 p.m. at the Point Wilson Lighthouse, 101 Harbor Defense Way.
“You don’t need to know anything about Fresnel lenses to feel the power of this event,” said Mel Carter, lighthouse keeper. “We’re welcoming the public into a space where history lives and breathes. It’s a great day for families, history buffs and anyone who loves lighthouses.”
Docent Dave Ehnebuske worked on the restoration of the Fresnel lens with Chad Kaiser, who managed the project.
One project within the greater project was to wire a battery between the power source and the Fresnel lens’ bulb, Ehnebuske said.
That has allowed for a buffer between the sometimes inconsistent power at the lighthouse and the bulb, which prevents momentary interruptions to the light, he added.
It keeps the light powered immediately following an outage.
“We designed it to run it for 10 minutes, because most of the glitches that we have out here are transient,” Ehnebuske said.
The battery will power the light for 30 minutes, Ehnebuske said.
The system was tested last week when more than 17,000 utility customers, including the lighthouse, lost power, Ehnebuske said. The system worked exactly as it was designed, he said.
The light stayed on for 30 minutes before turning off. When the outage ended, everything came back on without a hitch, he said.
The Fresnel lens had been sitting for a long time without maintenance before the restoration, Ehnebuske said.
“It accumulated dirt and grime and the electrical and motors and gear trains and all the bearings and everything all were not maintained because it wasn’t in use,” Ehnebuske said. “Part of what we did was do a lot of maintenance and take it all apart and put it all back together, all nice and clean again. We replaced chains and changed out oil and repainted it all and did all the bearings and things.”
There’s still more work to do, and it will be an ongoing maintenance task, Ehnebuske said.
When maintenance occurs, every three months or so, it will be scheduled ahead of time with the U.S. Coast Guard, Ehnebuske said.
“It’s an active navigation, and that’s fairly serious,” Ehnebuske said. “So the Coast Guard wanted to be sure that we knew what we were doing.”
The Coast Guard provided a list of requirements that had to be met if reverting to the older technology was to take place.
“It took about three years of work,” Ehnebuske said. “We had to find a new source for light bulbs, for example, because the light bulbs that were used in it are no longer manufactured. We had to do all of many little tasks like that over quite a long period of time. When it was all refurbished and running, we had to demonstrate to the Coast Guard that it was actually working correctly.”
A Coast Guard representative came to the lighthouse to verify the timing of the flash pattern was correct, Ehnebuske said. When it worked as it was supposed to, it was returned to service, he added.
The docents and Kaiser will be present at Saturday’s event, and they can nerd out at length about the lighthouse and the lens, Carter said.
Cold Comfort, Marco Marco and Afterlife Gift Shop are all Port Townsend bands that will play Saturday, Carter said.
Cold Comfort, from Port Townsend but currently based in Seattle, recently released a music video filmed at Point Wilson. That video, for the song “Heart to Harbor,” can be viewed on YouTube.
Tara Velan, a Seattle-based painter, will paint lighthouse-themed art.
“(Tyler Zwirtz of Type Townsend) will be out here with his vintage typewriters doing typewriter poems about lighthouses for people,” Carter said.
Conduit Coffee will sell coffee, she added.
The Tipsy Gypsy will have lighthouse-themed cocktails for sale, Carter said.
NW Cold Treats, along with food vendors still being confirmed, will be there as well, Carter said.
The Raw Art Collective will have its camera obscura set up on the property too, Carter said.
“If you have a dark room, completely dark inside, sealed up against all the light outside, and you make a little hole in one wall, it projects an image of the outside world onto the wall opposite,” Ehnebuske said.
The Raw Art Collective’s camera obscura is built in a member’s trailer. It will be facing the lighthouse, which will create an image of the lighthouse on the opposite wall, Ehnebuske said.
Carter noted that visitors should park at Fort Worden’s campground parking. Rides will be available for those who need them, she added.
Saturday is a free Discover Pass day for parking at the park, she added.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
