By SAIL2 / John Schwinghamer
SAIL2 was busy working on Brier Island’s lighthouses again from August 22 to 31. SAIL2 is the acronym for Save An Island Lighthouse, a non-profit group that is charged with maintaining the three lighthouses that surround Brier Island.
You may have read that in 2025 we completed Phase 1 on the Peters Island Lighthouse. This involved waterproofing and repairing the structure of the lighthouse. We had planned to start Phase 2 on Peters Island but ran into some challenges and delayed Phase 2 until 2027. Despite this delay, we had many volunteers that were itching to get to work, so we decided to focus our activities on Western Light (formally known as Brier Island Light and Alarm) and we also spent a day cleaning up Northern Light (formally known as Grand Passage lighthouse).
We started work on Western Light in 2024, when Mike McKinnel, Todd Pugh, Clarke Lent and Tim Appleby removed materials to reduce humidity and rot in the lighthouse.
In 2026 we continued this work by dismantling wooden structures within the lighthouse that were no longer needed within the concrete structure. We removed wood, insulation and redundant wiring, fixed railings, and painted the inner dome. Our objective was to remove all redundant parts and materials within the lighthouse so that eventually it would be more accessible for other functions. These could include guided tours, an information centre, a coffee shop or something else.
In addition to all the work by SAIL2 volunteers, we had many volunteers that helped with cooking, housing and working on the lighthouses. They were: Tim Appleby (Wakefield, QC), Wanda Atkinson (Cape Sable Island, NS), Peter Calderhead (Westport, NS), Lisa Clarke (Westport), Todd Denton (Dartmouth, NS), Sylvain Desjardins (Kamouraska, QC), Thaina MacLellan (Freeport), Mary-Jo Matthews (East Ferry, NS), Tom Millar (Mavilette, NS), Marjorie Neil (Cornwall, ON), Dan Wilken (Kincardine, ON), Doug Scholes & Laurie Lamoureux (Montreal, QC), John Schwinghamer (Westport, NS), Jane Zdansky (Montreal, QC).
Our plan for 2027 is to tackle Phase 2 of Peters Island Lighthouse and to repaint Western Lighthouse.
If you would like to volunteer for 2027, please e-mail John Schwinghamer at brierislandchurch@gmail.com or you can support our work by making a donation at www.SAIL2.ca.