Five Fathom Bank light station was a station forlightvessels inNew Jersey,United States. It was located off the south end of Five Fathom Bank, 14.7 miles and 100 degrees from theCape May Lighthouse. The station was in service from 1837 to 1972 before ultimately being replaced by a hornbuoy.[1]
Records for lightvessels are incomplete.
On or about April 30, 1891,LV-40 was removed from its post on Five Fathom Bank and replaced by a schoonerDrift, which temporarily would show a fixed white light on each masthead. Additionally, a buoy was used as an additional marker for the position while LV-40 was repaired.[2]
In 1893, theUSS New York (ACR-2) was performing sea trials and used the Five Fathom Bank light station and theNorth East End light station as markers to which it became the fastest armored vessel in the world.[3] In 1894, theUSS Minneapolis (C-13) again used the Five Fathom Bank light as a marker for its trial which it became the fastest armored vessel in the world.[4]
On February 2, 1913, the SteamshipPrinz Oskar and the schoonerCity of Georgetown collided and blamed the lightship for the accident. TheCity of Georgetown was heading towns the Cape Hatteras lightship in the southeast while thePrinz Oskar was heading in a circle to the northeast "in a great circle toward the transatlantic steamship route" with the Five Banks Light shone between the two vessels.[5] Unable to see each other until it was too late, thePrinz Oskar collided with the ship and resulted in a large stove in its port bow, but theCity of Georgetown was doomed and sank within 8 minutes. Captain A. J. Slocum and his crew of seven managed to get into their lifeboat and was taken aboard thePrinz Oskar and returned toPhiladelphia for repair, listing to the starboard.[5] TheCity of Georgetown was a 170 feet (52 m) long schooner with a 40 feet (12 m) beam that was launched in 1902 fromBath, Maine. The ship sank with its cargo of salt, of unlisted weight, but the ship's capacity was 1900 tons.[5]
| Name | Year | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown ship | 1837-1839 | [1] |
| LV-18 | 1839-1869 | [1] |
| LV-37 | 1869-1876 | [1] |
| LV-40 | 1877-1904 | [1] |
| LV-79 / WAL-506 | 1904-1924 | [1] |
| LV-108 / WAL-530 | 1924-1942 | [1] |
| Buoy | 1942-1945 | [1] |
| LV-108 / WAL-530 | 1945-1970 | [1] |
| LV-110 / WAL-532 | 1970-1971 | [1] |
| WLV-189 | 1971-1972 | [1] |
38°50′07″N75°00′43″W / 38.8354°N 75.0119°W /38.8354; -75.0119
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