Way too many photos of a lighthouse.

(Crooked Island, Bahamas)

Okay, how many is too many when it comes to photos of an afternoon dinghy excursion to see a lighthouse?

431???

Because that’s how many I took. Yeah, I know. Crazytown.

BUT…it was our very first lighthouse visit so far on this sailing journey. So, I suppose that’s my excuse. ;)) And the good news is…I only grabbed 10 to edit for this post. You’re welcome.

A week or so ago, we pulled into Pittstown, Crooked Island…one of the southern most out islands of the Bahamas. Basically, just about as off the grid as you can get down here.

Not only did we NOT make it into town while anchored outside Pittstown, I’m fairly certain we didn’t even pass the seaweed line on shore. Pathetic. ;))

BUT…we DID enjoy a fun little dinghy excursion to see the awesome lighthouse just offshore.

The Bird Rock Lighthouse is located just off of Pittstown Point, the northwestern point of Crooked Island. It’s separated from the mainland by a narrow waterway.

From what I’ve read, the lighthouse was originally built to guard the Crooked Island Passage, but has long since simply become a popular nesting spot for Ospreys.

Don’t let the Explorer Charts fool you — they say the lighthouse has been refurbished and is working. Hah! That’s hilarious. Construction of the lighthouse started in 1866; it became operational in 1876, but has been totally out of commission since the early 2000’s. It is definitely NOT in working condition. Nonetheless, it is still super interesting to see.

I’m pretty certain our little lighthouse excursion should have been one helluva wet and wild 1-mile dinghy ride from the anchorage outside Pittstown. But luckily for us, there was a major “calm before the storm” type effect at the same moment we decided to get off our butts and go check out the lighthouse. Love when that happens!

We walked in and around the lighthouse and surrounding buildings. This must have been some fancy operation back when it was functioning. It was quite the maze of various rooms, all interconnected with several out buildings too. I swear, most of the worn down finishes on the walls and windows could’ve sold for big bucks at Pottery Barn. Lol.

Sadly, we did not try to climb the stairs all the way to the tippy top. We are losers who haven’t worn flip-flops (much less actual shoes) in over a week or two, and forgot to bring any foot protection with us when we dinghied over. The dark stairway to the top was littered with rusty nails and broken glass so we opted to keep it safe on the bottom floor where we could see what the heck we were stepping on.

If you’re ever in the area, it’s definitely worth checking out!

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