Overfalls Lightship

The Lightship Overfalls was one of the 179 ships that served as floating lighthouses on America's three coasts and the Great Lakes between 1820 and 1985. Lightships were used where it was not feasible to build a lighthouse, possibly because the water was too deep or the shoals were constantly shifting. Each ship carried a light for visibility at night and some mechanism for making noise in fog. Several of these ships served in and around Delaware Bay from 1823 to 1972, eventually being replaced by either lighthouses or buoys. Throughout this period the ships were constantly upgraded from sail to mechanical propulsion, from wood to steel construction, from oil lamps to electric lights, along with other improvements that added to human safety and comfort. Even so, lightship duty was hazardous for crews because the ships remained on station in severe storms when all other vessels were advised to seek shelter. In addition, the foghorns were deafening for those on board and often led to permanent hearing damage, and foghorns on LV 118 could be heard for up to five miles. Although LV 118 did not serve on the Overfalls station, she was similar to the last ship that did, and she was also an historic vessel in her own right, serving on three stations on the New England Coast from 1938 to 1972. In 1973, she was brought to Delaware and given the name Overfalls in honor of the lightship station closest to Lewes.

Lewes, Delaware · United States