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Thoughts of Santa Claus on Bermuda’s sunny isles might conjure amusing images of the jolly old elf in shorts and knee socks, maybe riding a motor scooter instead of a reindeer-powered sleigh. But years ago a real life Kris Kringle visited this Atlantic territory of the U.K. by plane in the person of “Flying Santa” Edward Rowe Snow.
In his annual holiday role as goodwill ambassador to lighthouse keepers and their families, Snow brought gifts to the keepers at Bermuda’s two lighthouses on a couple of occasions including a 1970 trip with his family. This coming April 4-7 will see the return of the Flying Santa to Bermuda in a sense, as the Friends of Flying Santa organization is offering an exciting package tour that will include visits to the two lighthouses.
The Flying Santa flights date back to 1929 when they were
inaugurated by Maine pilot William H. Wincapaw. Historian and
storyteller Snow became involved in the 1930s and extended the
tradition through 1980. The operation was then taken over by the Hull Lifesaving Museum in Massachusetts, and subsequently by the nonprofit Friends of Flying Santa. The flights are continued today by helicopter as a gesture of gratitude to Coast Guard families at lighthouses and other stations in the northeastern U.S.
The helicopter flights and some of the toys are donated but there are plenty of operating expenses, and the group is also launching a scholarship program for children of Coast Guard families. A large
portion of the organization’s funds is raised through public lighthouse tours, which in the past have generally been within New England. The Bermuda trip this coming spring will be the first international tour offered to benefit the program.
Guests on the tour will stay at the Wyndham Bermuda Resort and Spa on Bermuda’s south shore. The spectacular 33-acre resort is being completely renovated and improved this winter and will be newly reopened just in time for the tour. Tour participants will have time to enjoy the resort’s private beaches, waterpark, three restaurants and spa. There will be free time to visit the bustling capital city of Hamilton, the historic town of St. George, the Royal Navy Dockyard including the Bermuda Maritime Museum, as well as many other attractions. And in Bermuda you’re never far from some of the world’s most beautiful golf courses.
For lighthouse lovers, Bermuda’s two historic beacons are incentive enough to make the trip. Gibbs Hill Light, a short distance from the Wyndham Resort, is renowned for a number of reasons. The 133-foot tower was among the world’s earliest cast iron lighthouses when it was prefabricated in England and then assembled in Bermuda in 1846. It’s believed to be the second oldest cast iron lighthouse in the world today, predated only by Jamaica’s Morant Point Light (1841).
For many years, Gibbs Hill Light’s 1904 first order Fresnel lens rotated on a bed of mercury. In September 2003 Hurrican Fabian caused a couple of gallons of the material to spill, and the Department of Marine and Ports Services decided a change was in order. Lens expert Jim Woodward (“The Lighthouse Consultant”) went to Bermuda to oversee the lens’ removal. The mercury was replaced by a new mechanical bearing and the lens was put back in place, but at this writing the lens remains inoperable because a more powerful motor is needed to turn it. For now auxiliary optics mounted on the lantern gallery provide the active navigational light, but it’s hoped the lens will soon be back in full operation. Rotating or not, it’s a spectacular work of functional art.
Gibbs Hill Light will be open for tourgoers, who will be invited to climb its 185 steps for a breathtaking view of the islands of Bermuda. The light is now automated, but the government still employs an official keeper. Heinz Sievers, who has been the keeper since 2000, says he hopes that the lens mechanism will be finished along with other repairs this winter.
A tearoom is operated in the former keeper’s quarters at Gibbs Hill Light by Heidi Cowen, whose grandfather Rudolph Cowen was keeper of the lighthouse from 1946 to 1968. Those on the Friends of Flying Santa tour will be treated to a traditional English tea in the teahouse, right next to the lighthouse.
The April tour will also include a stop at the 1879 St. David’s Lighthouse at Bermuda’s east end. This handsome 55-foot limestone tower will be open for climbing, and participants will sample some tasty food from the adjacent concession operated by Earlin and Almira Trott. One of the claims to fame of St. David’s Lighthouse is that it appeared in the 1977 movie The Deep; in fact, a replica of the lighthouse was destroyed in the movie.
Bermuda is a lively, colorful and fun place to visit – add two
attractive lighthouses and how can you go wrong? I’ll be along as a guide on this trip and I hope to see you in April.
See www.flyingsanta.org to learn more about the tour and the Friends of Flying Santa.
This story appeared in the
December 2004 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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