BY BRIAN COE, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

FROM TOP :  Originally built in 1873, the East Brother Light Station expanded its functions to include an inn over 30 years ago.  Looking northeast up San Pablo Bay from the top of the lighthouse, with the San Francisco Bay behind us.  The cormorant-rich West Brother Island with Mount Tamalpais in the background.  Looking south at the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge and the city of San Francisco in the distance.  Guests can occupy up to five bedrooms on the island Ñ four in the actual light station and < fifth one secluded in the fog signal building. Brian Coe

March 23, 2012 12:18 PM
IF YOU GO
EAST BROTHER LIGHT STATION
What: A restored California Victorian Lighthouse Dinner, Bed and Breakfast Inn
Where: East Brother Island, 30 minutes from downtown San Francisco (see website for specific directions)
When: Open year-round to the public by reservation
Cost: See website for room rates
Information: ebls.org
From skydiving to scuba diving and everything in between, Santa Barbara County is home to just about every type of activity and attraction that the adventurer could fathom. Believe it or not, though, there are actually some things that cannot be done in our dynamic county.
While we have three active lighthouses and four islands in Santa Barbara County, we do not, for example, have a lighthouse on an island that doubles as a bed and breakfast. We can't necessarily say that we went looking for this obscure chance to spend a night in a lighthouse, but after having the opportunity shine directly upon us, we can say that we'd gladly do it again.
A Piece of the Limelight
The San Francisco Bay is one of the most spectacular destinations in California. People from all over the world are familiar with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and other iconic landmarks, but there's a little island called East Brother where the San Francisco and San Pablo bays meet that even a surprising amount of Bay Area locals don't know about. What's more, the little island off the coast of Point San Pablo is also home to the East Brother Light Station, a floating gem that was saved from destruction — and still preserved to this day — by individuals who recognize its beauty and historical significance.
Welcome to the Rock
East Brother Island has been home to an active lighthouse for more than 133 years, but if it weren't for a rancher who didn't want a light station built on his mainland property just 500 yards to the east, the island might be nothing more than a mass of rock like its neighboring companion, West Brother.
We drove through the old ranch where officials had originally hoped to build the lighthouse and parked our car at the Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor, an eclectic collection of colorful boats and floating homes. Peter Berkhout met us at the dock and welcomed the first half of our group of ten on board the boat that would be transporting us out to the island. A pair of 10-minute trips later, all four generations of our family (ranging in ages from one to 93) had safely arrived at the chosen site of a 60th birthday celebration.
Stylin' Island
Peter introduced us to his wife, Dina, and the vibrant young couple gave us a brief tour of East Brother to get oriented with the island and show us our rooms. The light station itself is a beautifully restored, two-story Victorian home with four bedrooms, a parlor, a dining room and a kitchen from which Dina and Peter would soon begin procuring masterpieces.
We lucked out by arriving on such a gorgeous afternoon, so we sat down at an outdoor table to soak up our surroundings. Mount Tamalpais towered above Marin to the west; to the south the San Rafael-Richmond Bridge, the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco city skyline extended across the bay.
Naturally, we were all curious to find out how this little island had come to be not just an active light station, but also a comfortable inn. Right on cue, Dina showed up with champagne and hors d'oeuvres as Peter began explaining the island's fascinating history.
If You Build It...
Construction on the East Brother Light Station (EBLS) began in 1873 as an effort to aid mariners while navigating between the San Francisco and San Pablo bays. The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers have carved a deep channel through the center of San Pablo Bay, but both sides of the channel can be extremely shallow, creating hazardous conditions for passing ships.
"It's the only place I've ever seen ocean depths actually charted at half of a foot," says Peter. "During really low tides, a little mud flat even gets exposed near where we embarked."
A fog signal facility was added to the island to supplement the actual lighthouse. Both of these operations required constant human attention, however — not to mention boatload after boatload of (now) antiquated supplies.
For the first 40 years of the light station's use, its keepers (and their families) relied on monthly deliveries of lard bricks as fuel for the original oil lanterns. The wicks required frequent trimming, and huge amounts of coal were also shipped to EBLS to heat the steam-powered foghorns.
It's Electric!
Electricity was brought to the island in the 1930s and the oil lanterns were thus replaced with electric bulbs. During the '50s and '60s, the U.S. Coast Guard was in the process of automating the nation's lighthouses. As such, the plan for EBLS involved moving (and then knocking down) the main house and replacing it with a light on a pole that would not require constant human maintenance. Fortunately, a group of locals were passionate enough about preserving EBLS as an historic place to save it from destruction.
The light station existed without much human involvement until 1978, when some of the same individuals who first saved the Victorian home decided to form a non-profit called East Brother Light Station and raised $68,000 to restore the property that had gone 100 years without any major improvements.
The non-profit began using EBLS as an inn more than 30 years ago, and continues hiring innkeepers like Peter and Dina to host guests at the unique "Lighthouse Dinner, Bed and Breakfast Inn."
Food for Thought
We watched the sun set to the west and headed inside for a gourmet dinner that Dina cooked for us almost entirely from scratch. Getting groceries to the island certainly isn't easy, but Peter and Dina make fresh local produce a priority for their meals. Four courses and many stories later, we were all about ready to turn in for the night. After admiring the lights of San Francisco from the highest point of the light station, we flipped the switch (in our own rooms that is) and went to bed.
Another beautiful day greeted us early the next morning as the sounds of sea birds and lapping waves eased us from sleep. Dina had prepared yet another spectacular meal for us, making it that much harder to face the fact that our stay at East Brother was drawing to a close.
We thanked our gracious hosts and wished them luck with the remainder of their run as innkeepers. While it was sad to leave such a serene place, we couldn't help but admire Peter and Dina for having the courage and patience to live at EBLS.
"Dina keeps telling me, 'If we had a regular restaurant, the produce truck would come, the bread truck would come and then they'd just leave all our food right outside the door,'" jokes Peter. "We've been trying to find that produce boat and that bread boat for quite some time now, but very few companies these days will deliver food to a little island."