The Ruins Virtual Cache
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You need a boat & camera to log this cache!
And PLEASE be wary of weather conditions!
It can get nasty in this area at times! Plum Gut especially!
(a rowboat with a 5 hp engine is definately NOT reccommended!)
The weather can change dramaticaly, and very quickly!
PLEASE BE CAREFUL!
Located at the north end of Gardiners Island... you will need a BOAT & CAMERA to log this cache. It is the ruins of an old lighthouse which fell into the water after a storm on March 4, 1894 and later an artillery battery called Fort Tyler. Fort Tyler was named after President John Tyler. Tyler's second wife, whom he married while in office on June 26, 1844, was Julia Gardiner. They had seven children. The children were, in order of birth, David Gardiner, John Alexander, Julia Gardiner, Lachlan, Lyon Gardiner, Robert Fitzwalter, and Pearl.
Julia was a descendant of Lyon Gardiner, the first European owner of Gardiner's Island and an important part of Long Island history (Lyon Gardiner bought the island from the Montauk Indians around 1639. Mrs. Tyler, was born on May 4, 1820. Her birthplace was Gardiners Island. Julia grew up in East Hampton, Long Island. Her family was wealthy and held a prominent place in New York society. Julia was high-spirited and fun-loving. She was considered a beauty and was popular with men. In 1839, she caused her family concern by appearing in an advertisement endorsing the merchandise of a clothing and dry goods business. Her appearance in the ad caused a minor scandal. Women from wealthy families of the period were not supposed to lend their names to advertisements. As first lady, Julia Tyler became known for the elaborate balls and other social functions she held in the White House. She had waltzes and polkas played there. A composer wrote the "Julia Waltzes" in her honor. Mrs. Tyler started the custom of having musicians play the song "Hail to the Chief" when the president appears at events.
The Gardiner's were active in Long Island's maritime history.
The "Old Fort" or "Ruins" area, which came to be considered a navigational hazard, was used during World War II by the US military for torpedo and bomb practice. The area may still contain undetonated explosives, so please, do not get out of your boat and venture onto the site itslf!
I made this a 1/5 because there is no way you can get a picture of this cache from anyplace you can get to by car, you will need a boat...
To log this cache we require, in most cases, a close up picture (100-300 yards) of the RUINS (you might want to include your GPS in the picture, but not required). Any logs without a picture will be removed.
You might want to try your hand at fishing in Plum Gut while visiting this cache! Excellent Stripers, Bluefish, etc., etc.
For more information on LI Ligfhthouses please visit (and thanks for some of the information contained here):
www.longislandlighthouses.com by Bob Muller
and
www.eastendlighthouses.org by Merlon E. Wiggin, President East End Lighthouses
01/2/2008... revised the requirements to log this cache...
A picture is now absolutely required... "within 100-300 yards"...
Pictures from the ferry are just way too far away...
it is maent to be 5 terrain...
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vg'f boivbhf... naq TCF pbbeqvangrf ner rknpg, nppbeqvat gb Zncgrpu'f Bssfuber Anivtngbe Fbsgjner.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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