We will be focusing our lesson upon the rive main lighthouses of the San Juan Islands, their influences in the past told through stories of the actual inhabitants of the lighthouses and also their present day significance. While on the subject of the islands' geographical layout we will explain to those curious and interested exactly why some of the islands belong to British Columbia.

For the night going sailor, the lighthouses were an object which they could rely and depend upon. It gave seamen the sense of deliverance when they saw their welcoming beams. Therefore, their existence was crucial. For example an event at Turn Point's lighthouse in which a ship came so dangerously close that the keeper and his assistant had to rush out into the frigid water to fend it away with pikepoles. They then discovered that the entire crew was intoxicated. One of the crew members went berserk and held the others at bay with a butcher knife. They managed to control him, divest him of the knife, and tie him up with chains in the lighthouse keeper's hen house. Heroic tales such as this help show how exciting and dangerous their jobs could be as lighthouse keepers. These islands form complex waterways, and many vessels flirted with the dangerous rips, swirls and rocks without navigational aid, until the year 1888 when the first lighthouse was installed.

Each lighthouse has its own historical tales that set each apart from the other. Some of their name sakes come from past explorers such as Patos Island. Meaning "ducks" in Spanish. This island bears a name left in 1792 by the Spanish explorer Galiano and Valdez. This island was immortalized through the book The Light on the Island, written by Helene Glidden. Her father, Edward Durgan, was the keeper of the light on Patos in 1905, after previous service at Turn Point. He his wife and their 13 children all lived on the island. Although sadly he lost three children due to the isolation and privation, and could not get prompt medical attention.

Such stories as these help us travel back in time to the lives of the lighthouse keepers, their families and the many vessels and crew saved from tragedy. After 1888 all sailors were helped by this navigational aid. To this day we can still receive benefit should our newer, more advanced navigational technologies fail. By studying the traditional, old fashioned navigational skins, one can acquire a strong sense of security knowing that he can fall back on these principles and maneuver his way to safety.

During the voyage we will hold random pop quizzes at meal times in order to prepare them for the end, when they can use their knowledge in a game involving the entire crew. We will also be handing out flash/reference cards of the geographical layout of the San Juan's because it will be crucial for the crew to know this in order to participate in the final game. In order to make our lesson fun for everyone we have made it both interesting to the athlete and the intellectual. By placing the "Light on the Island" they will use their knowledge of the islands geographical layout, and the location of the lighthouses covered in our discussions. By answering trivia questions about the San Juan lighthouses and the position of the islands compared to others around them they will then "win" a lighthouse stake that they will then run and place on the corresponding location on a map drawn in the sand.

Our lesson will leave the participant with a sturdy picture in their minds of the layout of the islands and the locations of the main lighthouses in which we win be focusing on.