With the advent of satellite positioning technology, many countries switched off their trusty old light houses. As one who used to sail the sea on small boats however, I was always grateful when out of the mist and dark and rain I would crest a swell and get the first glimpse of an identifiable bobbing light. South Africa still operates 45 such light houses
THE LOOM OF THE LIGHTHOUSEDon’t you love the loom of the lighthouse
As it flashes one, two or three?
It’s the kindliest friend on which to depend
When you’re sailing the sunless sea
Don’t you love the loom of the lighthouse
Red danger but clear when its white?
With its beacon height known and its bob distance shown
By the chart table’s little night light
Don’t you love the loom of the lighthouse?
When you’re sailing on heaving water
With its signature bright piercing the night
As you’re fighting dark swells on your quarter
Don’t you love the loom of the lighthouse?
As it bobs with the boat’s rise and fall
In a couple of ticks, with a hand bearing fix
You know there’s no problem at all
I love the loom of the lighthouse
When my lee gunwale’s running under
And she balks at the strain from the jib and the main
And smashes the seaway asunder
Then the heartwarming loom of the lighthouse
Tells me all in my world is well
And what seemed to me an ominous sea
Becomes more of a pleasant swell