Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare". The Cape appeared on early sixteenth century maps as Cape Raso and its name may derive from a cape of the same name at the mouth of the Tagus River in Portugal.
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Dense fogs, rocky coasts, and its proximity to trans-Atlantic shipping routes have resulted in many shipwrecks near Cape Race over the years. One of the most famous was the SS Arctic. Cape Race is a flat barren point of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, its cliffs rising nearly vertically to 30.5 m (100 ft) above sea level. On average it is shrouded in fog on 158 days of the year. Located next to Trepassey.
| Cape Race | |
|---|---|
 The second Cape Race Lighthouse from 1907 |
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| Location: | Southeastern Newfoundland |
| Coordinates | 46°39′31.43″N 53°04′22.27″W / 46.6587306°N 53.0728528°WCoordinates: 46°39′31.43″N 53°04′22.27″W / 46.6587306°N 53.0728528°W |
| Year first constructed: | 1907 |
| Construction: | Concrete |
| Tower shape: | Cylindrical |
| Markings/Pattern: | White with red lantern |
| Height: | 29 metres (95 ft) |
| Focal Height: | 52 metres (171 ft) |
| Original lens: | Hyperradiant Fresnel by Chance Brothers |
| Range: | 24 nautical miles |
| Characteristic: | Fl. 7.5s |
| Fog signal: | Horn (2) 60s |
| Admiralty number: | H0444 |
| NGA number: | 1904 |
| ARLHS number: | CAN-118 |
In 1856, the first lighthouse was installed by the British Government's Trinity House. It was a cast iron tower with a coal oil lamp turned by clockwork. It was replaced in 1907 by a 29 metres tall concrete tower and a light with a massive hyperradiant Fresnel lens made by Chance Brothers in England. The original lighthouse was then moved to Cape North; it now stands in front of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. The light's characteristic is a single white flash every 7.5 seconds, additionally a foghorn may sound a signal of two blasts every 60 seconds. There is also a high-power LORAN-C transmitter at Cape Race, whose mast was until the completion of CN Tower the tallest structure of Canada.
From 1859 to 1866, the New York City Associated Press kept a newsboat at Cape Race to meet ocean liners passing by on their way from Europe so that news could be telegraphed to New York. These news items carried the byline "via Cape Race".
In 1904, the first wireless station in Newfoundland was built at Cape Race. This was one of the major land-based locations that received the distress call from the RMS Titanic, the other being, at least according to legend, the Marconi telegraph station on top of the Wanamaker's department store in New York City. On the night the Titanic sank, wireless operator Jack Phillips was sending telegraphs to Cape Race for relay to New York City. When Cyril Evans, wireless operator of the SS Californian, sent an iceberg warning to the Titanic, only a few miles away, Phillips was annoyed with the loud signal (due to the proximity) and responded “Shut up, Shut up, I’m working Cape Race.” This would become a famous incident, as the bored Evans soon went to sleep, and Titanic hit an iceberg only fifteen minutes later. After Titanic's distress call, Cape Race played a major role in relaying news of the sinking to other ships and land locations.
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula, on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare". The Cape appeared on early sixteenth century maps as Cape Raso, and may derive from a cape of the same name at the mouth of the Tagus River in Portugal.
   | Wireless log at sinking of Titanic - Titanic Artifacts ~ Wireless Log |
| | Cape Race Lighthouse on Titanic-Titanic.com - TT Article - James Parson's Visit To Cape Race Lighthouse |
| | The Lighthouse Directory - Lighthouses of Southeastern Newfoundland |
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