Great Beds Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in Raritan Bay. It was built to mark Great Beds Shoal, a hazardous area of shallow water in Raritan Bay and is one of the principal aids to navigation for vessels passing between the Atlantic ocean and New Jersey ports in Raritan Bay. It sits on approximately 8.83 acres of submerged land located off the southern end of Staten Island, where Raritan River and Arthur Kill meet and feed into the Raritan Bay.
- Position: 40° 29′ 11.9″ N, 74° 15′ 10.9″ W
- US Coast Guard Light List Number: 36430
- Year First Lit: 1880
- Foundation Materials: Caisson
- Building Material: Cast iron and brick
- Tower Shape: Conical
- Color/Markings: White with black base
- Tower: 47 feet
- Relationship to Other Structure: Integral
- Total Hight: 61 feet
- LightVisualRange: 6 Nautical Miles
The cache is not located at the posted coordinates, although for many years, and even so today, those coordinate help those on water and on land determine where they are. To find the cache, you will need to reference the two objects detailed below. While you can surely to the math to determine the right angle intersection of the two points, simply substituting the provided North and West coordinates correctly will pinpoint your final location. There are 4 iterations of coordinates, but it should be obvious, as the final location is within 2 miles of the posted coordinates and in New Jersey, as well as south of the Raritan River.
LONE CHIMNEY NEAR SAYREVILLE
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1932 (RWW) THE LONE CHIMNEY, APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE SE OF THE RARITAN RIVER AND APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES W OF S AMBOY, NEAR SAYREVILLE. IT IS A STOCKY, SQUARE, RED-BRICK CHIMNEY. THE STATION IS THE CHIMNEY-TOP, APPROXIMATELY 65 FEET ABOVE GROUND.
PERTH AMBOY BANK BUILDING TANK
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1931 (RWW) STATION IS ON THE PERTH AMBOY BANK BUILDING, AT THE JUNCTURE OF SMITH STREET, STATE STREET, AND NEW BRUNSWICK AVENUE, THE TALLEST AND MOST PROMINENT BUILDING IN PERTH AMBOY. IT WAS COMPLETED DURING 1931. THE STATION IS THE CONICAL TOP, WOODEN TANK SURMOUNTING THE ELEVATOR TOWER, THE HIGHEST PART OF THE BUILDING. STATION IS THE FINIAL AT THE TANK APEX, APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET ABOVE GROUND. THIS WAS USED AS AN ECCENTRIC SIGNAL FOR A MONUMENTED STATION ON THE SAME ROOF.