"Good Morning!

My name is Ilhéu de Cima Lighthouse and I celebrate today, May 11, 2021, 120 years of activity. I think that this long time of activity gives me the right to tell you a little bit about me, right?

The “General Lighting and Beacon Plan” of 1883 contemplates my construction, which would be located at the tip of Ilhéu Branco, but, as in everything there is always a “but”, only in 1896 did this subject (construction) come up to be the object of further study. The then director of Public Works, João Hafe and the Captain of the Port of Funchal, José Vianna Bastos, after having gathered information on the Island of Porto Santo, together with some local authorities and other people with coast practice, about the usual directions of the vessels passing by and still on the place referred to in the Lighting Plan, they concluded that there was a mistake in the designation of the point indicated for the Lighthouse, since there was no island with that name. As I mentioned at the beginning, I went into regular operation on May 11, 1901, cleverly equipped with a provisional sixth-order device, catadioptric dioptric and an oil lamp with fixed, white light.

In 1923 the building was expanded in order to provide housing for five lighthouse keepers, an oil depot and spare parts. As you can imagine, my life has become, if I can call it that, much more active in many ways. It gave me pleasure to see and feel the lighthouse keepers walking up and down, often in a hustle and bustle, going through my entire interior, filling in the Lighthouse's diary, indicating wind direction, visibility, undulation and the quadrant of it, among many other things.

In 1925 I benefited from what we now call the “Upgrade”, the sixth order device was replaced by a second order device (700 mm focal length), of rotation, aeromaritime, the rotation of the optics was produced by a watchmaker. , do not even imagine how I felt "vain", pass the immodesty, however the illuminating source continued to be the oil lamp, you can imagine the work that the lighthouse keepers had, from winding up the watchmaking apparatus, cleaning the soot caused by the lamp oil and all other tasks imaginable to keep the Lighthouse in perfect condition.

In 1935 the oil lamp was removed from me and it started to be incandescent by oil vapor (for those who have no idea, I can say that it was a system identical to the operation of oil stoves that here on the Island are known as “cooks” , where the oil is vaporized). In 1956 I was electrified, two sets of generators were installed, making my light source a 3000W lamp. Here I reached my peak, I had a beautiful crystal lens, called a fresnel lens, and there the lighthouse keepers were even more proud of me, even protecting me during the day from the sun's rays so as not to burn the crystal. With all this, there was also regularly and mainly in the summer the visit of the families of the lighthouse keepers, which gave pleasure to see the games of the kids.

In 1982 I replaced the illuminating system again, removed the fresnel lenticular optics and in its place I received a more modern equipment (PRB-21) that incorporated all the alternative systems that guaranteed its start-up in case of failure, With all this, I am no longer equipped with lighthouse keepers, as a compensation you can see “in loco” my old lenticular fresnel optics in the Museum of the direction of lighthouses (Paço de Arcos) where it is exhibited. I started to have a more solitary life, only with visits to the times of the lighthouse keepers to see if everything was okay, with the presence of rabbits, shearwaters, black souls and the loud and aggressive seagulls.

January 19, 1992, I was turned off, I was scared, what happened? Four Moroccan citizens aged between 15 and 18 years old, so that I realized their presence in the Ilhéu, disconnected me. Later it became known that they had clandestinely embarked in Casablanca, on a Panamanian ship named “Laabibe”, and that he dropped them in the sea next to Ilhéu de Cima.

My life went on according to the seasons, until in September 2003 they decided to remove the PRB-21 system and in its place they installed the BGA 850-ODA 360 system. I started to work exclusively through the use of solar energy.

I continued to have the company of the rabbits, there was one in particular that someone called a “white collar” that among the aloe vera, at the time had not yet been plucked, when I saw people on my porch he would stand up, supported on his hind legs, as than to greet them.

In 2008 Ilhéu became part of the Natura 2000 chain and in 2009 of the Life Ilhéus Project in Porto Santo, I saw movement around me again, the creation of pedestrian trails, the placement of information boards, such as: orange heads; of endemic plants (rock carrot, rock gouge, marmulan and baits) of birds: cagarra, black soul, castro rock and common tern (escarpment facing south) and finally information board of the endemic snails of Ilhéu. During these years (2009 to roughly 2012/13 it was normal for scientists (marine biologists, geologists and ornithologists, among others, in the periods between spring and late summer to do scientific work on the island, to camp in tents right in front of me).

In the period from 2009 to March 2019) I was visited and admired in all my splendor and interior by about 20,000 people, people from all over the world, just to have an idea, from Japanese, Russians, Poles, English , Germans, Brazilians, Spanish. Italians and as I could not fail to be many Nationals since Madeirans, Azoreans and Continentals, I also participated in Television, National and International programs (RTP, RTPM, SIC, TVI ZDF and others that I do not remember now, for magazines, Evasões, Saturdays and Vision, I think I'm forgetting one or the other.

At this time (2012) without the company of the rabbits that were eliminated (Association of Hunters of Porto Santo, setting up snares and traps, carried out by Nature Watchers) on the recommendation of scientists, one of the reasons given was that the so-called “whose” devoured endemic plants.

To finish this little review of my life, I can only add that from March 2019, due to higher determination, except for “official” visits, access to my interior has been banned in the manner in which it was being carried out, I understand and understand the sadness of those who are so close to me not being able to access my interior, I know that there was always someone, who told my life story to the visitors of the Ilhéu, trying in this way to mitigate the impossibility of not visiting my interior, climbing the stairs snail and sometimes have a little “sauna” free of charge (too much heat inside caused by the sun falling on the windows)

I leave you all, not a hug, but my three white lightnings the size of the world. ”

Text kindly provided by Jorge Jacinto (military of the Portuguese Navy in the reform)

Municipality of Porto Santo, May 11, 2021

Lighthouse of Ilhéu de Cima (Porto Santo)

- Technical information
Location: Ilhéu de Cima PontaSE
Establishment: May 11, 1901
Latitude: 33º 03,06’ N - 33º 03,28’ N (WGS 84)
Longitude: 16º 16,51’W – 16º 16,75 W (WGS 84)
Tower Height: 15 M
Altitude: 124M
Reach: 21 milhas (38,9 Km)
Feature (signature): FI (3)W 15s (Lt0,2s;Ec 2,3s;Lt0,2s;Ec 2,3s;Lt 0,2s;Ec 9.8