Pillar Point Beacon

Replacing a U.S. Coast Guard Aid to Navigation That’s Surrounded by Water

The U.S. Coast Guard calls it an ATON – Aid to Navigation – but for the rest of us landlubbers, it’s a foghorn. And the one in Pillar Point Harbor at Half Moon Bay was corroded and deteriorating after 35 years of guiding boaters at sea.

The project was a short one – about three days from start to finish – but a tricky one. The foghorn sits on a rock pedestal surrounded by water, requiring all work to be done by a crane barge and ropes: lifting out the old foghorn, then gently lowering the 50-foot, candy-striped new model into place. Precision waited for months for the swell to subside enough for us to do the work.