Did it happen

[Tony Walker]

I recollect hearing a tale about an American ships captain operating in UK waters who signalled for a vessel ahead to alter course.  The reply came, you alter course.  To which the Captain repeated his earlier signal, to which he received the same reply. Irritated he replied this is the USS ---, the largest ship in the US navy, you alter course.  To which he received a reply, this is the---- lighthouse, please alter course immediately, to which they did not receive a reply...

Can anyone point me to an accurate account of this incident, assuming it's true?

Cheers
Tony

[Alan Baker]

There is an entry on Wiki under "Lighthouse and naval vessel urban legend". Several US ships are named but needless to say, the US Navy has debunked the story, which apparently dates from pre-war

[Michael Dobbs]

I agree it is false - see the Snopes listing:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-obstinate-lighthouse/

Old maritime legend describes an aircraft carrier that unknowingly attempted to bully a lighthouse into moving out of its way.

A tale of the self-important aircraft carrier captain getting his well-earned comeuppance at the hands of a plain-speaking lighthouse has been making the rounds on the Internet since early 1996. Most write-ups purport to be transcripts of a 1995 conversation between a ship and a lighthouse as documented by Chief of Naval Operations.

It's not true. Not only does the Navy disclaim it, but the anecdote appears in a 1992 collection of jokes and tall tales. Worse, it appears in Stephen Covey's 1989 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and he got it from a 1987 issue of Proceedings, a publication of the U.S. Naval Institute.  It's far older than that, as it is shown in a 1939 book.

Even older, a one-panel 1931 cartoon that appeared in the Canadian newspaper The Drumheller Review (but listing The Humorist of London, England, as its source) displayed two men arguing through megaphones, one standing on the bridge of a ship, the other on the exterior walkway of a lighthouse.

See the Snopes report for the full dialogue.

Mike  :D

[Nick Colley]

Was the name of the ship's captain Donald, by any chance?