Boon Island
A world unto itself is Boon Island. Here, a lighthouse, aged and lofty, surrenders not its watch amidst a restless sea designated long ago more foe than friend. For even on a day when the deep feigns serene, peril is known to lurk just beneath the blanket of sapphire girding Boon Island’s forlorn realm.
And shall we mention the litany of gales that have passed this way? Never have storms esteemed the rocky islet, nor did they show the bygone keepers of this isolated sentinel a trace of sympathy. When a savage sea rose high at Boon Island, anxiety and bafflement inundated all that clung to its ledge.
Wild waves upheaved and scattered boulders with ease during tempestuous acts of legend. Keepers knew to avoid standing outside in harm’s way, or live to tell they would not. Might hope be swept away? To the tower all souls would go – the only refuge offering a glimpse of tomorrow. If it stood!
Thunderous dins smothered any appeals for help. Even the mighty fog horn travailed to have its voice heard amid the onslaught of wind and waves. Beset by the mantle of chaos, wickies endeavored with a feverish purpose to batten down the hatches.
A lightkeeper’s resolve was tested time and again at this forsaken place. If not for the towering shaft of granite that held on high a guiding light, both hope and haven would have assuredly left the keepers wanting in every way.
On many occasions, Boon Island Light saved not only the laboring crews of storm-tossed and battered vessels, but those who tended the flame of this storied sentinel too. For whether afloat or ashore during a storm for the ages, the lighthouse at Boon Island was bound to make all the difference in the world.
