Day 128
This being our last week on the east side of PEI, we felt it’s was a must to visit the East Point Lighthouse. Located on the eastern tip of PEI, the East Point Lighthouse overlooks the sea where the Atlantic joins with the the Northumberland Straight and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Built in 1867 and was the last lighthouse erected before the island joined confederation. When built, the location of the lighthouse was not correctly indicated on navigational charts, leading to the shipwreck of the British warship, HMS Phoenix in 1882. After the sinking, a dramatic drawing of the wreck appeared in the October 21, 1882 edition of the “The Graphic” newspaper in London, England. The lighthouse is visible along the coast in the drawing.
In the aftermath of the Phoenix, the alignment of the lighthouse to the navigational charts was critical. In 1885 a local carpenter of the area was tasked on moving the lighthouse to the correct area, using horses and greased timbers. In 1908 the lighthouse was moved back from the shore to allow for the installation of a fog horn.
As I was planning our route to the East Point Lighthouse, I came across a few comments about the singing sand beaches at the Basin Head Park. I was curious about this, and dug a little deeper. The sand on the beach will apparently squeaks or “sing” when you disturb or drag your feet through it. The sound in the sand is caused by the high content of silica and quartz in the sand that rub together creating the sound.
As I continued to read into this, I found the location of a beach that the locals used, compared to the busy Basin Head Beach. Being outside the park, it would allow us to take the pups for a walk along the beach, before heading to the East Point Lighthouse.
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