Video statements of the lighthouse-keepers of the Balearic Islands
Palma
12/07/2016
The Balearic Islands' Port Authority (APB) is widening the video library containing the statements of the lighthouse-keepers of the Balearic Islands. Two new videos have been published, one of La Mola lighthouse in Formentera and another one of Cap Salines lighthouse in Majorca, and made available to all users on the specialised website www.farsdebalears.com
These interviews offer information about the operation of lighthouses and the mission of lighthouse-keepers but, above all, about this profession and its importance in the society of the time, before the 1992 Law of Ports and the Merchant Navy declared the extinction of the Mechanical Technicians of Navigational Aids.
The video entitled ‘The village lighthouse-keeper’ shows Vicens Mayans Mayans' statement. He is a lighthouse-keeper known as ‘Vicent des faro’ who worked for 13 years in La Mola lighthouse, in Formentera, which he entered on the 10th of May 1949. "I perfectly remember it was at 10 in the morning", he says.
Vicens Mayans witnessed the construction of La Mola road to the lighthouse, and he recalls how the neighbours of Pilar de la Mola walked up to the lighthouse on the village's festivity.
La Mola lighthouse "was a delicate lighthouse because it was a port of call" for ships of all flags and it was operational "during the day and at night, with good weather and rough seas". Hence, "any breakdown could have been fatal". Thus, in order not to lose sight of the lighthouse's viewpoint, Vicens installed a mirror in his room which reflected the lighthouse. His objective was to offer the maximum security.
As in the case of Vicens Mayans, Julià Vidal's life was a ‘life of commitment’ to Cap Salines lighthouse (Majorca), of which he took care for 23 years. He was accompanied throughout all this time by his wife, Sebastiana Maimó, who helped him with his maintenance works or to turn on the siren which warned of fog. "The worst thing that can happen is that there is a breakdown and the lighthouse stops operating. You feel responsible to the people who need navigational aids".
Cap Salines lighthouse has been uninhabited since 1993 but it remains operational. The IMEDEA has a weather station and research equipment in the building.
This lighthouse has a strategic location for guarding Cabrera channel, in an area where westerly and easterly winds cause heavy storms.
