Cape Point (New) Light

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Chance Brothers Lighthouse Chance Brothers Lighthouse
  • Date of lens manufacture

    1914

  • Date of lighthouse construction

    1919

  • Country

    South Africa

  • Commissioning body
    ---
  • Order of lens

    1st order

  • Fixed or revolving lens

    Revolving

  • Active/Inactive

    Active

  • Describe the character of light

    [FL(2+1)30S32M&FR15M]

  • Describe the lighthouses daymarks

    9 m (30 ft) square cylindrical stone tower with lantern and gallery. Tower is unpainted stone; lantern painted white with a red dome.

  • Which aspects of the lighthouse (other than the lens) were manufactured by Chance brothers

    none

  • Describe the history of the lighthouse

    The original lighthouse was built too high on the cliffs, so its light could not be seen through low clouds or fog. Construction of the new tower took 5 years under very difficult conditions. Located atop a steep pinnacle above Cape Point. It is difficult to reach the lighthouse. Site and tower closed.

    The new lighthouse is at a lower elevation (87 meters; 285.5 feet above sea level), for two reasons: the old lighthouse, located at 34°21′12″S 18°29′25.2″E (262 meters; 859.6 feet above sea level), could be seen 'too early' by ships rounding the point towards the east, causing them to approach too closely. Secondly, foggy conditions often prevail at the higher levels, making the older lighthouse invisible to shipping. On 18 April 1911, the Portuguese liner Lusitania was wrecked just south of Cape Point at 34°23′22″S 18°29′23″E on Bellows Rock for precisely this reason, prompting the relocation of the lighthouse.

    The new lighthouse, located at 34°21′26″S 18°29′49″E, cannot be seen from the West until ships are at a safe distance to the South. The light of the new Cape Point lighthouse is the most powerful on the South African coast, with a range of 63 kilometres (39 mi; 34 nmi) and an intensity of 10 megacandelas in each flash.

  • Current management body/ ports authority
    ---
  • Historical preservation societies/manager/operator

    South African National Parks (Table Mountain National Park)

  • Is the site vulnerable to coastal erosion?
    no
  • Have you experienced any affects of climate change on the lighthouse?
    ---
  • Observations on the condition of the lighthouse?
    ---
  • Is the site open/closed to the public

    Closed

  • Is the tower open/closed to the public

    Closed

  • Latitude and Longitude
    ---
  • On-site bookable accommodation available
    ---
  • Associated web addresses
  • Other details

    Source: South African lighthouses . Chance Brothers and the rest. Copyright © Toby Chance 2008  Name: Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, Western Cape Date when a Chance apparatus was installed: 1919 The original light was first lit in 1860 using a first-order French lens which only produced 2,000 candlepower. Situated too high and often shrouded in fog, it was dismantled and a new light equipped with a Chance Brothers first-order lens was installed lower down the cliff in 1919 – the most powerful lens in South Africa to this day. A 400-Watt metal halide lamp is presently in use producing an intensity of approximately 10 million candela.

    See also Cape Point (Old) Light https://new.opengreenmap.org/browse/sites/62b0c2fe640b470100158c95?map=6241b7a8d63fa5010056589b

  • Which resources did you use to research this lighthouses?

    Chance Lighthouses (1856-1917) (61 years)


In the 1800s, Chance Brothers & Co glassworks in Smethwick began making the hi-tech lenses that lighthouses use to warn ships of dangerous locations. By 1951, over 2,500 lighthouses around the world were fitted with a Chance lens.

Where?


[16, 6, 1, 6]
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