Faro Cabo Lucrecia

Torre del faro en Cabo Lucrecia, Holguin. Costruida por los españoles en los años 1800 con piedra de una cantera muy cercana al mismo emplazamiento del faro.

The lighthouse at Cabo Lucrecia is one of the most isolated places in Cuba. Access to the lighthouse is very dangerous by sea, as this coastline is ravaged by wind and usually heavy seas that batter the rocky outcrops at the water’s edge. Access during low tide is roughest, as the rock is formed of coral “diente de perro”, and is sure to damage any boat and to cut any skin. Access by land is via dirt/sandy/gravelly roads that borders the coast; either 6 km away to the west from Embarcadero de Rio Seco, or 8 km to the south from the Puerto Rico beach, parts of which are submerged at high tide. Both are themselves only accessible by dirt roads from Banes some 15 km away inland. The lighthouse once served as a meteorological center, broadcasting conditions at 9PM every night over short wave, it assisted the fishermen of northern Oriente Province during the 1940’s and 1950’s. During WWII, it also served as a lookout point for German submarines that patrolled the coast for convoys from the US to the Caribbean and South American coasts. During Hurricane Ike in September 2008, it was witness to 15-feet of storm surge and 25 to 30 ft high waves as the category 4 hurricane made landfall on Cuba. Ike’s 20-mile wide center passed over Lucrecia at 10 PM on Sept 7, 2008, registering 935 mbar and clocking sustained winds of 145 mph (230km/hr) and gusts of up to 200 mph (320 km/hr). No hurricane of this magnitude had ever come upon this lighthouse since its construction in 1868, and it lived to tell the tale.

I'm building a web page about Cuba's lighthouses (http://www.lighthousesrus.org/Gulf/Cuba.htm#CU25). I'd like to use your photo. Please send me an eMail via c@lighthousesRus.org and mention Cabo Lucreciain Cuba to let me know your thoughts.

excellent photo, I could never go there, my grandparents lived there in the 50s, but going is somewhat difficult as rodrod1950 account.

Mi tatarabuelo fue el ingeniero que realizó este Faro, me encantaría si alguien puede darme noticia de otras obras suyas en esa maravillosa isla.