[2010, Dunlap]
[2010, Dunlap]
Updated on 17 January 2013 | If Long Point Light is the surest visible sign that one is coming home from the sea, bell buoy Green 3 on Long Point Shoal offers the welcome sound that means the harbor is about to unfold in its considerable majesty. Even though it is anchored only about 450 yards off the point (to be more exact: 42 degrees, 2 minutes north; 70 degrees, 9 minutes, 42 seconds west), the buoy floats over a depth of more than 100 feet, dramatically illustrating how steeply the topography changes off the Cape. In the second photo, you can see the clappers suspended around the bell itself, which remains fixed while it is struck from the outside. The sound is so pleasing that the sculptor William Boogar went out of his way in the early 1950s to emulate it in a household bell in the form of bronze scallop shells, with a seahorse-shaped clapper. “You have only to close your eyes, touch the seahorse and the gentle plaintive tone will transport you to Provincetown at once,” the Advocate said.