[Faline]

Before Kéréon Lighthouse was automated, its keepers changed shifts by crossing between the tower and a launch on a cable rig known as a va-et-vient. The footage shows men and stores suspended above rough water at the Men Tensel reef in the Fromveur passage off Brittany. One keeper in a red jacket is hauled toward the masonry tower while crew members tend the line from the launch and lighthouse platform.

The scenes come from Thierry Marchadier's documentary "Il était un phare," which followed Kéréon's keepers. French authorities said the weekly relief operation could not be brought into compliance with personnel-lifting rules and remained dangerous in rough seas. Kéréon was automated on January 29, 2004, making it the last manned offshore lighthouse in France to be automated. Built from 1907 to 1916, the 48-meter tower is also known for its oak-paneled interior and a parquet floor featuring a compass rose inlaid with mahogany and ebony.

[Sharon]

Like an extreme sport, intense stuff!

[kellyhound]

def not a boring job.

[zinchenko]

I wanna live there!

[Oswald2001]

Keeps the peddlers away.

[FunkPumpkin]

Does anybody know the name of this particular lighthouse? I thought it sounded like they were speaking French, but this lighthouse doesn't look like any of France's Brittany lighthouses. The closest match in terms of visual characteristics is the "Ar Men" lighthouse. It's also not the famous "Phare de la Jument", which was thrust into international notoriety by Jean Guichard's 1989 aerial photos of the lighthouse being engulfed by a tremendous storm wave.

I spent a half-hour or so today looking at lighthouse pictures, but I couldn't find a match. Thanks in advance.

[WindBag]

forget changing shifts, imagine being the people who had to build that.

[FunkPumpkin]

I found it! That lighthouse is named Phare de Kéréon and it can be found here: 48° 26'15'" N - 5° 01'32" W

(Courtesy of news.com.au)

"Is the shift change at lighthouse Kereon the worst shift change ever?

BEFORE you complain about your trip into work this morning spare a thought for a group of lighthouse keepers who must have dreaded shift changes.

The video is from a French documentary by Thierry Marchadier and shows the way that lighthouse keepers used to change shifts at the lighthouse Kereon in the Iroise Sea.

Luckily for these lighthouse employees, the lighthouse became remote controlled and totally automated in January 2004 when keepers Jean-Philippe Rock and Brian O’Rorke left Kereon via helicopter for the last time.

It was the last lighthouse isolated at sea to be entirely automated. It was built in 1914 despite continual rough seas, particularly in the winter months when large ocean swells made it an even harder manoeuvre.

A cable is flown between the boat and the lighthouse enables the exchange of everything from men to food, materials, water and fuel. All with the aid of a simple balloon.

The vomitus shift-change is only for the diehard seafarers with strong stomachs and sturdy sea-legs. It is not much different from the scene in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty where Walter (played by Ben Stiller) sets off on a search for the elusive photojournalist Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn), hitching a helicopter ride to a ship at sea.

Surely there are easier ways to make a living? We’ve found some other shift-changes which might make your day seem a little easier."

There's also a French-only page on Wikipedia, but Google Translate does a fair job translating it to English.

[Kelseecat65]

Wow, that is insane!!
Awesome post!!

[T2]

This is from the inside.