Grenada is an island nation at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles. Although it was colonized initially by the French, it was a British colony from 1762 until it achieved independence in 1974. After the historic Point Saline Light was demolished, in the early 1980s, the country had no active traditional lighthouses except for the very small Fort George beacon. This has changed recently with the building of a private lighthouse at Prickly Point. In addition, Grenada has several other sites of interest to lighthouse fans, including a Swedish lightship in retirement as a marina restaurant.
Navigational aids in Grenada are presumably maintained by the Grenada Ports Authority.
ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110.
- General Sources
- Online List of Lights - Grenada
- Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas.
- Leuchttürme Mittelamerikas und der Karabik auf historischen Postkarten
- Historic postcard views posted by Klaus Huelse.
Lightship- *** Swedish Lightship 23 Västra Banken
- 1901 (Bergsunds Mekaniska Verkstad, Stockholm). Decommissioned 1970. 28 m (89 ft) steel lightship. The original superstructure of the ship was removed and is on display at a museum in Öregrund, Sweden; the ship now carries a modern superstructure and the light tower taken from lightship 21 Trelleborgs Redd. The light tower is placed near the stern; the original was amidships. Hull painted red, superstructure white, lantern blue. Iris Klempau has a closeup photo of the ship in Germany, a photo taken at its new home in Grenada is available, Claude Mafart has a closeup, and Google has a satellite view. From 1923 to 1970 the lightship served on the Västra Banken station in the Baltic Sea off Gävle, Sweden, north of Stockholm. After deactivation, the lightship was sold as a restaurant. In 1999 it was sold again and moved to Stockholm as a houseboat. In November 2005 it was sold a third time, to developers of a marina and resort in Grenada. The ship was towed to Rostock, Germany, to be restored and re-equipped. It was then loaded on the MV Schippersgracht and carried to the West Indies, arriving at the new marina in December 2006. The ship was opened as a restaurant and conference center on June 1, 2007. Located at Le Phare Bleu Marina on the south coast of Grenada, 5.5 km (3.5 mi) southeast of St. George's. Site open; ship open daily. Owner/site manager: Le Phare Bleu Marina and Resort. Formerly ARLHS SWE-256.
St. George's Harbour Light, Fort George, November 2010
photo copyright Neal Doan; used by permission
