On my trip I helped Richard install battery power, motion-activated lights in the halls and in the bathroom.
FRYING PAN TOWER N.C. COAST GENERATOR
At night, the small generator is enough to keep the lights on. During the day, the medium-sized generator provides for lights and power outlets. Running the winch, oven, and hot water heater requires the large generator, and it is only run as needed. Depending on the time of day and power needs, Richard will switch between the different generators. There are actually three different generators on the tower.
Since the generators are turned off when no one is on the tower, the refrigerator takes a while to cool down, but Richard has recently upgraded to a new fridge so it should cool faster. There is a large kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, and refrigerator. The west side of the living level is divided into about six bedrooms all with ocean views. There are walkways around the outside on the living level and also the helicopter landing level above. The tower itself is basically a big metal box on very tall legs. Unloading the boat took perhaps an hour on my trip, but with the faster lift it should go much more quickly in the future. Sometime following my trip to the tower, the old winch has been replaced with a much faster winch and the trip now takes about one minute. I think that the motion sickness pills I had been taking for 2 days prior to the boat ride kept me from getting sick on the five-minute ride up to the deck. On my trip, my ride up was via a bosun’s chair attached to a steel cable. After Richard climbs up the leg of the light station and unlocks the tower, he turns on the generators and starts lifting people one at a time along with heavy duty canvas “lift bags” filled with the supplies for the weekend. The extra benefit (or drawback) to boat travel is the eighty feet between the water and the tower. Since you can’t really skimp on the fuel, it becomes a choice of people or luggage. As it was explained to me, a helicopter can only carry a set amount of weight and it must carry people, fuel and luggage. If you go by helicopter, there are mandatory weight limits for people and supplies. At a minimum, you should double-bag in large garbage bags whatever you take. I advise that you take motion sickness pills starting 24 hours before you leave. It is quite bumpy, and you and everything on board get a little wet. The ride to the light station reminds me of a ride on the “Log Flume” at Six Flags. Guests regularly take diving and fishing gear for the unique weekend. When riding out on the boat you do not really have a limit on what you can take out. On my trip in July, I was given the unique opportunity to ride out on a boat and fly home on the helicopter, so I got a taste of both. Weather and sea conditions influence a trip by boat. Weight restrictions create a limit on what you can carry by helicopter. It is a swift ten-minute helicopter ride or a bumpy two and one-half-hour boat ride from Southport, NC. This normally wouldn’t be a dramatic undertaking except that the steel tower is perched eighty feet over the ocean and 23 miles from the coast of Bald Head Island, near Wilmington, NC. Richard Neal bought the lighthouse in a government auction in 2010 and has slowly been working on converting the former lighthouse into a bed and breakfast. XIX 2013 by Jason JennetteĪ weekend spent on the Frying Pan Tower is an adventure not to be taken lightly or on a whim. first published in Lighthouse News Vol. Overnight Stay: Frying Pan Shoals Light Station
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