Lightship Portsmouth
Lightship Portsmouth (LV-101) was laid down in 1915 and served as a floating lighthouse along the coast of numerous northeastern states under different names until she was decommissioned in 1964. A preserved vessel like this is such an awesome time capsule in the first place, and then to consider the simple yet incredibly important role lightships once played is pretty humbling. Today we have an endless array of satellite navigation aids and automated routing systems, but 120 years ago if they needed to warn ship of danger, they had to slap a light on a pole, bolt it to a ship, crew it with men, sail out to sea, and anchor it by the obstacle! Crew would stay onboard for weeks or months at a time, with the only task being to keep the light and fog horns operational. It's one of those things that feels like a real reminder of how far things have come.
I previously visited Lightship Columbia (WLV-604) in Oregon and thought it was just so cool, so when I learnt there's another here in Portsmouth, VA I of course had to go check it out. Definitely did not disappoint. LV-101 is significantly older and smaller than WLV-604, so it's interesting getting to observe the differences.
