MSC Ocean Cay Lighthouse

Doughty earns its (lighthouse) stripes in the Bahamas

Doughty engineering has supplied a range of custom kit for the prestigious MSC Ocean Cay Lighthouse project in the Bahamas. When White Light was approached to supply kit, crew and project management for the lighting aspects of project, Simon Needle, WL Special Projects Director, realised that a bespoke solution would be required for mounting the moving lights to the handrail of the lighthouse.

He explained: “We were approached by John Coman of Woodroofe Bassett Design(WBD),who we have previously worked with on several projects (including Secret Cinema, Rolling stones’ EXHIBITIONISM, Dinosaurs in the Wild, to name a few, to work on the MSC Ocean Cay Lighthouse. Our remit was to supply kit (in particular the moving light), project management, crew and associated levels of support in respect of lighting the lighthouse, including ‘local’ console hire for programming with our friends at Christie Lites. This included lighting kit as specified by WBD, mains distribution for all departments (lighting and AV), custom combined mains and data cabling crew and custom bracketry–which is where Doughty comes in.”

Overcoming challenges

Simon reached out to Dan Phillips at Doughty, a long term contact when bespoke pieces of kit are required. “Dan as usual worked his magic and created a suitable solution. We were a little nervous as we did not have the physical light to check, so everything was dependent on the CAD accuracy,” said Simon. “The moving lights were coming direct to the Bahamas from China, but we knew we had to find a solution to mount them to the handrail of the lighthouse. The benefit of working with Doughty on this project was that they are a trusted partner with invaluable knowledge in manufacturing and design solutions. There were a lot of logistical challenges along the way, but Doughty certainly played its part in making this a successful project. We have a very happy customer and value being able to work with the Doughty team who are always able to provide the bespoke solutions we need, are a reliable and trustworthy partner with a great track record.”

An interesting opportunity

Dan went on to say, “Working with Simon and the gang at White Light is always a pleasure. They are an experienced and professional bunch, who are involved in a diverse range of projects presenting us with interesting opportunities like this. The design brief was a new one for us, having to consider a Saltwater environment and the possible effects of high winds in Tropical storms, but we arrived at simple heavy duty design which should last at least as long as the lighthouse. Our only regret is we didn’t have to conduct a site visit…”

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