Traveling at an undetermined speed, a 42-foot cabin cruiser plowed into Apollo Beach Light Marker # 2 on Sept. 8, 2013.
The concrete piling on which the light stood broke in two, but fortunately the vessel and passengers survived.
That’s the beginning of the story, but certainly not the end of U.S. Coast Guard Light List 24610, designated as “R2, FL, 4S” on Tampa Bay nautical charts. For over five decades, this light had safely guided vessels entering and leaving Apollo Beach for Tampa Bay.
Long before its untimely demise, this PATON (Private Aid to Navigation) had affectionately come to be known as “Mick’s Light.” This is the story of what has since become a legend in Apollo Beach and which involved the Tampa Sailing Squadron, Hillsborough County and the Coast Guard and Auxiliary.
In 1964, the Tampa Bay Sailing Squadron (TSS) was established on Apollo Beach Boulevard on land donated by the Coor Family. Growing quickly, in 1967 TSS assisted the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard in installing a donated concrete post with a light provided by the USCG at the entrance to Apollo Beach.
However, following water-borne vandalism to various navigational aids in 1982, TSS came to an agreement with Hillsborough County officials that its club members would privately maintain R2 FL and other markers in the channel. Of course, this came as a relief to Hillsborough County officials and underscored the generosity of the TSS and its members.
In 1994, Bob Bettinger joined TSS. A bundle of energy, marine history and gregariousness, Bettinger had a resumé filled with on-the-water achievements. Most significantly, Bettinger was retired from the U.S. Coast Guard, where his duties had included working on the Great Lakes, maintaining navigational lights and markers. He was the ideal individual for TSS to assign to supervise maintenance of the channel markers. Bob and his young son Mickey took to the water and began charging batteries, changing bulbs and solar panels and other maintenance of the channel markers.
By 2002, Bob’s inspections revealed that after 40 years of service, R2 FL had four steel cables deteriorated to the point where it could no longer be repaired and needed to be replaced. Again, Bob and son Mickey responded to the task. Mickey, following in his father’s footsteps, had joined the Coast Guard after high school and by coincidence, in 2002 was then stationed in Saint Petersburg aboard the cutter Vise, which was a vessel assigned to repairing markers and lights in Florida. They removed the old light and, after several days of hard work in the shop, Mickey and Bob were able to repair another light Mickey found in a storage locker. While the light was still designated R2 FL on the navigation charts, TSS members began to call the light, “Mick’s Light.”
What the Bettingers didn’t know at the time was that this would be the final project on which they would work together. Mickey was transferred to Alaska to serve aboard a SAR (Search and Rescue) boat but, while serving in Alaska, Mickey died in a tragic accident only one year before his own retirement.
This brings us back to the start of the story in 2013. When R2 FL was knocked down, ironically it itself became a hazard to navigation and needed to be raised and replaced. Another coincidence: Fernando Lopez, who had served in the Coast Guard with Mickey, is now the Marine Safety Officer for Hillsborough County. Lopez coordinated the removal of the light. Several attempts to raise the light were prevented by four then-unknown steel cables attached to the bottom, bad weather and a large shark in the piling area (yes, they are out there!). After 10 days, the piling was finally raised and the Hillsborough County Safety Office promptly installed two new channel markers.
Lopez was then in possession of Mick’s Light. A shocked and tearful Bob Bettinger was presented with the restored Mick’s Light at TSS in August 2014. Today, the light is still in the possession of Bob and Ruth, his wife of 55 years. Where the legendary light will go next is a story for another day.
There are no easily distinguished highways across Tampa Bay, and heading out can be a bewildering experience. Florida leads the nation in boating accidents and deaths, most of which can be prevented by proper training. Call the Coast Guard Auxiliary at 813-600-3640 or go to www.flotilla75.org to register for a Boating Safely class. You’ll be pleased to learn that one of the instructors is Coast Guard Auxiliarist Bob Bettinger, who proudly continues to serve the residents of Tampa Bay for these many years.