The construction of the twin Lighthouse in La Rochelle
An obstacle at the exit of the Minimes harbour
The harbour of the Minimes is the biggest marina in France.
At the exit of the marina, the tip of the Minimes consists of a shallow several hundred meters long, signaled for years by a white painted stake. This stake was hardly visible at night and every year several boats ran aground on the sand bar.
Involve the town of La Rochelle in this venture
The endeavor of the Lighthouse at the End of the World started in the brain of a citizen of La Rochelle. It would have been a pity not to associate the town of la Rochelle in this adventure, in a way more significant then just a grant.
André Bonner went to meet the major Michel Crépeau and sell him the idea to build a second lighthouse, identical to the one on Staten Island, so as to link his town to this last expedition of the century, binding the city with its past as a harbour where ships parted discovering the wold.
This proposition was accepted and the decision was made to position the Lighthouse at the exact location of the white stake at the entry of the marina.
Symbol of peace
The two lighthouses have the exact same structure, the same "flash".
The one on Staten Island is build on a rocky outcrop, 70m above sea level, the one in La Rochelle is build on pilings entrenched in the sandbank.
The Lighthouse in La Rochelle should have had First Light on January 1st 2000. . . . . but the "Storm of 1999" decided differently. The storm was raging a few days before the installation of the main structure on the pilings and all the celebrations of the inaugural event had to be canceled.
For the end of the millennium the French Postal Service had chosen the story of the Lighthouse at the End of the World and printed a special stamp with the two lighthouses interacting , linking the two hemispheres and the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The First Light ceremony could finally be held on Februry 23d 2000.
Two identical lights are shining today on both sides of the Atlantic.