Frying Pan (lightship) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Frying Pan (LV-115) is a lightvessel

Lightvessel

A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...

moored at Pier 66

Pier 66

North River Pier 66 is a public boat house in Manhattan, New York, USA, located at 26th Street on the Hudson River.New York River Sports, located at Pier 66, comprises Hudson River Community Sailing, NY Kayak Polo, Manhattan Kayak Company and New York Outrigger who all share the facility.- External...

a in the Chelsea

Chelsea, Manhattan

Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...

neighborhood of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. It served at Frying Pan Shoals

Frying Pan Shoals

The Frying Pan Shoals are a long, shifting area of shoals off the coast of Cape Fear in North Carolina, United States. The shoals have been a hazard to ships in the area since the beginning of European exploration of the area; the area is littered with shipwrecks. The southern edge of the shoals...

, off Cape Fear in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, for over 30 years.

Frying Pan Shoals Station

In 1854, because of complaints from mariners that the height of the existing Bald Head Lighthouse

Bald Head lighthouse

Bald Head Lighthouse, known as Old Baldy, is the oldest lighthouse still standing in North Carolina. It is the second of three lighthouses that have been built on Bald Head Island since the 18th century to help guide ships past the dangerous shoals at the mouth of the Cape Fear river.-History:A...

was inadequate, and the light of its Third-order Fresnel lens wasn't bright enough to warn mariners of the shallow waters of the treacherous Frying Pan Shoals

Frying Pan Shoals

off the coast of Cape Fear in North Carolina

North Carolina

, United States, the first lightship was stationed on the shoals, in lieu of a proposal to improve Bald Point Lighthouse. Lightships remained on station for 110 years.

On July 29, 1944, Lieutenant (jg) Clarence Samuels

Clarence Samuels

Lieutenant Junior Grade Clarence Samuels , was the first Hispanic American of African descent photographer in the United States Coast Guard, to command a cutter, as well as the first one to be a commanding officer of a Coast Guard vessel during wartime.-Early years:Samuels was born and raised in...

became the first Hispanic-American of African descent to command a lightship when he assumed command of the Frying Pan.
The Bald Point lighthouse, and others, were turned off during the Civil War to avoid aiding the Northern ships.

The ship was replaced by a lighttower in 1964. Naval Records The lighttower, a Texas tower

Texas Tower (lighthouse)

A Texas Tower lighthouse is a structure, similar to an off-shore oil platform, used as a platform for a lighthouse.-Examples:The first example in the United States was the Buzzards Bay Light, located in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, and commissioned on November 1, 1961...

, was manned until 1979, is a great diving spot and still stands.

This ship, LV-115, was the last of nine ships that served in succession, with some alternation, at the Frying Pan Shoals station during and since the American Civil War.

Construction and features

LV-115 was built in 1929-1930 by Charleston Drydock and Machine Co. for a contract price of $274,434.

Service

Frying Pan served at Frying Pan Shoals from 1930 to 1942, and again from 1945 to 1964. During World War II the ship was used as an examination vessel

Examination vessel

An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime.An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port...

, as part of training.

Frying Pan was retired from duty at Frying Pan Shoals in 1964. It served briefly as a relief ship at Cape May

Cape May

Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...

, New Jersey, and then was decommissioned in 1965. The ship sank in 1986. It was raised in 1987, then resold and eventually restoration began in 1988. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1999.

Frying Pan is one of about 13 surviving American lightships, out of about 100 built. Two other lightships, Ambrose at South Street Seaport

South Street Seaport

The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...

and Nantucket at Oyster Bay, Long Island, became National Historic Landmarks and are open to the public as museum ship

Museum ship

A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

Party ship

"Unlike the staid Ambrose lightship at the South Street Seaport Museum, the Frying Pan lightship is now used basically as a bar." - Blog of Brian. Frying Pan can be rented for events and functions. It became known as a party site in New York.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.