Last summer I wrote about our time visiting Chatham on Cape Cod, and I included this photo of Chatham Light:

And a few weeks ago I heard from John, the keeper of this lighthouse. He’s looking to raise funds to buy defibrillators for their patrol boats, and asked permission to use the above image on postcards to sell this summer in support of that cause. He offered to show me around the lantern room the next time I was in town. That happened to be Easter weekend, and John very kindly gave my parents and I the grand tour. (I kept it a surprise from my parents until we got to the parking lot, knowing they would be tickled to visit this place — they love lighthouses.)

A sister ship from the Pendleton Rescue was moved here last summer. It’s got a Hollywood connection: this rescue was portrayed in Disney’s film The Finest Hours, which was just released this past February — it stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, and Ben Foster. The movie details the U.S. Coast Guard’s most daring rescue off the coast of Chatham in 1952, and if you look closely at the trailer, you’ll recognize the Coast Guard station at Chatham Light.

This is John, the lighthouse keeper:

Group tours are offered one day per week in the summer (Wednesdays from 1-3:30pm), and then once every other week during the shoulder season. But today we get a personalized tour!

The staircase is easy to climb, but the real test comes at the very top when we pass through a narrow opening in the floor to enter the lantern room.

John explains the mechanics of the lanterns: the strong beams bounce off reflective mirrors, making its signal visible from quite a distance. And there’s a greenhouse effect going on, as these floor-to-ceiling windows trap heat in the room even though it’s fairly cold outside. It gets pretty warm in here during the summer.

Strong binoculars allow for close-ups quite a ways out in the ocean:

John, thank you for showing us the beauty of Chatham Light first-hand!