Lighthouse and beacon service

Created in 1806 by Napoleon, it is attached to the National School of Bridges and Roads (École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées). Its first director was Augustin Fresnel, inventor of the lighthouse optical system. In 1869, a lighthouse was installed in Paris, on the Chaillot hill, which would be destroyed in 1992.

A very notable arrival

During the 18th century, Vieux-Fort was a fishing village. On January 13, 1854, Monseigneur Théodore Augustin Forcade arrived there aboard the corvette La Fortune, weighing 800 tons. He was received with great ceremony by the deputy mayor, "as the population rushed in, the bells rang out, artillery fire was launched, and the church façade was decorated with inscriptions."

A tragic shipwreck

On January 16, 1947, a sailboat from Dominica, Le Rochannia, sailing from Montserrat to Dominica, wrecked at Pointe du Vieux-Fort. Following this tragedy, the project to “install a low-range light at Vieux-Fort for coastal navigation” was launched.

Construction of the land-based lighthouse

In 1953, construction began on a lighthouse atop a rocky spur at Pointe du Vieux-Fort, completed in 1954. The building is bordered to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by the Caribbean Sea.

Accessible on foot via a concrete slope, it faces the Îles des Saintes, lighting the passage through the channel. It also marks the entrance to the Basse-Terre harbor and offers views of Dominica. It was inaugurated in August 1955.

The lighthouse stands near an old battery, where three cannons rest. Rising twenty meters high, the masonry lighthouse has a truncated cone shape to withstand the pressure of waves and wind. It has a range of 9.4 nautical miles (1 nautical mile equals 1,852 meters). Painted white, its four openings face the ocean. The technical room in the lower section contains an interior staircase that leads to the single lantern, which protects the lamp and optics from bad weather. A metal guardrail surrounds them. The structure, powered by propane, was automated in the 1990s.

From Hell to Paradise…

In the language of lighthouse keepers, their careers began in "Hell" and ended in "Paradise."

The "Hells" were lighthouses built out at sea, completely isolated, erected on rocks or distant islets. The rotation of keepers and supply runs were dangerous — sometimes even impossible during certain times of the year.

The "Purgatories" were lighthouses constructed on islands.

The "Paradises" — lighthouses built on the mainland — allowed the keepers and their families to live there.

Cab-est-terre (land exposed to winds coming from the East) is a nautical term dating back to the 17th century.