Land Ho! Captain!
Thar be virtual treasure on this island.
Beware: the island itself is off limits to landlubbers between April 1 and August 31 each year for the nesting season. During this time ye will not want to land yer vessel thar anyway and logging requirements may be made from the safety of yer ship.
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In 1846 a contract was awarded to build a lighthouse on Mohawk Island. The following year John Brown began and completed construction of the lighthouse using limestone shipped from his quarry in Queenston, Ontario. With the late arrival of the lighting apparatus the beacon became operational in 1848.
The original light pattern of a revolving white light every 3 minutes was changed in 1889 to a group flashing white light that showed 3 bright flashes with intervals of 30 seconds between their points of greatest brilliancy, followed by an eclipse of 75 seconds. In May of 1918 the pattern was changed again to flash, 6 second eclipse, flash, 18 second eclipse.
"...summer light put out and winter light left burning."
In 1929 an Aga light was installed allowing the lighthouse to be left unattended during the winter months.
On December 15th, 1932 lighthouse keeper Richard Foster and his son James left the island for the season but never made it home. Their frozen bodies were found on December 31 on a beach near Point Abino.
Following the tragedy the lighthouse was converted to be battery powered so a caretaker only needed to visit periodically. This continued until another tragedy occurred to the lighthouse itself. In 1969 scallywags scaled the tower and destroyed the light. The Mohawk Island Lighthouse has remained inactive ever since.
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Now, Captain, is your chance to claim the real treasure of this lost light by making the memory of this beacon shine in the hearts and minds of all adventurers by inspiring them with your tale of glory...
To claim this virtual cache post a picture of the Mohawk Island Lighthouse from the posted coordinates with your thumb appearing at the base of the structure and one of your fingers at the top of the tower. Similar style pictures of you "holding" the lost light (an example has been added in the gallery) or the lighthouse balancing on your GPS will also be accepted. You do not need to be identifiable in any photos unless you wish to be. If you are unable to land on the island due to nesting season (April 1st to August 31), take a photo of the lighthouse exactly from the secondary waypoint, with a thumbs up or your GPS in the photo. Most of all, enjoy yer adventure!
Here be the tale of the last voyage to find a previous treasure hidden on the island...
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.
Nee.. Vg or n yvtug ubhfr! Gnxr n cvpgher