Luxury Real Estate

“The mission of the Lightship was a life saving mission, to stand resolute regardless of peril and guide all to safe haven.”
—The Nantucket Lightship WLV-612: Brief History and Ship Specifications

The Luxury Real Estate Vacation Rental program is proud to introduce its newest member, Nantucket Lightship WLV-612. With the first Lightship placed on station in 1820, WLV-612 was created near the end of the Age of Lightships. It started out in San Francisco in 1950, three miles off of the Golden Gate Bridge (of course, back then the ship was known as the “San Francisco”). After serving other California locations over the years, the ship traded the Pacific Ocean for the Atlantic and was posted in Maine as the “Portland”. Lightships were slowly but surely being replaced with 40 foot unmanned buoys, so it wasn’t long before the 612 (at this point known as its current name, the “Nantucket”), had the distinction of being the last Lightship station in the United States, 45 miles southeast of Nantucket Island and it was decommissioned in 1985.

The WLV-612 is one of a proud line of Nantucket Lightships which were known as the Guardian Angels of the North Atlantic. Lightships serving this station were in international waters and were exposed to the dangers of fog bound collisions, enemy attacks and natural disaster from hurricanes to severe winter storms. From 1854 to 1983, it was the Nantucket Lightship and not the Statue of Liberty which first greeted mariners and immigrants to America.

In 2000, Bill and Kristen Golden bought the ship on Ebay, preserving and refurbishing it, offering the luxury yacht for charters, vacation rentals and events. As one of only a dozen lightships remaining, Bill and Kristen seek to showcase the Nantucket Lightship WLV-612 as a new model for historic marine preservation so that other ships may be saved for future generations.

This unique opportunity not only allows you to relax in a beautiful nautical setting—it can also be the perfect dockside venue for events requiring grandeur and glamour. Choose an itinerary that suits your tastes: Jazz Fest in Newport, Opera Cup in Nantucket, anchor in remote coves, explore the quaint seaside towns of Martha’s Vineyard or other coastal communities between Maine and New York.

Join the log of senators, CEOs, entrepreneurs, celebrities, film producers, entertainers, adventurers and romantics that have made the Lightship a “Grand Salon” over the last decade.