Chapter 51

And that's what they did. If it was fun ... they found it. If it was educational ... they did it.

Cedar Point, Sandusky's amusement park had a carousel, the Laff-in-the-Dark, Rocket Ships, and Loop-A-Plane, rides that were new in 1946 but a little old hat on 1963. They rode the Wild Mouse, a roller coaster and the monorail, dunked in bathhouse, and rode the new Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad so they didn't have to walk from the middle of the park to the back.

They walked the sandy white Erie shores, hiked stunning coastal trails, visited the mysterious Seneca Caverns and admired the waterfront architecture, and 'oohed and aahed' over Lake Erie's magnificent views. The maritime Museum was ok..."A good small museum," said Christine.

Sandusky Speedway was a half mile asphalt oval with good local fights and even some decent racing.

They played miniature golf ... Junior could putt ... and won.

They bowled three lines ... Sarah was a sleeper... 201, 223, 198..."Honest ... I never bowled before!" Junior did well but Andrea? Gutter balls, missed releases and dropped balls. Jeannie was right in the middle... 125 and all around it. The Twins? Best left unsaid.

The harbor was amazing ... how the Lake boats managed to get in and out without sinking each other they didn't understand. Coal, iron ore, wheat, feed corn ... salties (ocean goers) ... beautifully ornate wood yachts ... bustling tugs ... fishing boats ... rowboats ... all that and more. Smokehouse white fish and chubs ... grubby bars and old restaurants. If it was to be seen or done they did it or looked at it. Abandoned ships rusting in backwater creeks and half sunk old fish tugs ... Jeannie knew where everything was ... and they went.

They went to the foundry that cast the new keel ... SEVENTEEN THOUSANDS POUNDS of melted down and recast lead. A winged, dolphin shaped bulb of a lead keel that was no longer longitudinally than the original ... just a lot shorter. Thicker? Yes ... but no longer. Instead of being 11 feet of keel plus two feet of wetted hull the new keel was four feet of keel plus the wetted hull. Andrea's boat now drew six feet of water. There were more places on the water they could go.

The repairs meant that a large chunk of floor had to be removed and a pretty good sized piece of aluminum machined to fit where the old keel bolted through the hull. The contact with the bottom didn't break the bolts ... it pulled them out ... nuts, washers and a chunk of aluminum besides. If they had lost the whole keel the moment of arc of the mast would have turned the boat turtle. Fortunately the remaining bolts held long enough to get them to Sandusky.

Andrea scattered money like the soon to be falling leaves of Autumn. The bottomless purse was showing signs of bottom leather. She and David researched War of 1812 British paymaster gold shipments and found three months of military pay that disappeared while being shipped to the command in Toronto, Canada. They pulled the gold out of the sinking ship and left no one the wiser.

"Bill? I'm running out of green." said Andie.

Bill looked not at all worried ... he'd been paid before the work started, "So?" he asked.

"Do you know any coin collectors? Gold coins? Pre war gold."

"1940?"

"War of 1812."

"I do ... show me what you got."

Gold doesn't tarnish and this gold was mostly mint. (Sorry about the pun.) Andie had a numerical series..."I have more."

Bill's eyes got THIS BIG and the dickering was on. He knew collectors, being one himself. What they were doing was illegal in the United States, but there's laws and there's laws. When it came to gold mouths stayed zipped.

"We shouldn't tell the others ... let each collector make an individual offer."

Some of the trove soon became dollars and the bottom of the purse had a safe level of padding.

In the meantime, the girls rescued from the sinking boat and transferred to the hospital in Ann Arbor were released. Nobody seemed to know why they were there ... thank you Tim. Due to the actions of the MIB pen they were much calmer and less wild than they were before the incident. They were received with much trepidation and anxiety by their cautious parents but soon proved to be more than model citizens and students. They weren't as much fun but they became serious about getting the most they could out of life.

The boat was finished on September 23, 1963. The trials were very enlightening. The Knight picked up three knots ... she sailed a marked course at 16 knots and amazed everybody. She felt more responsive and more stable.

"This should be our little secret, Bill."

"I agree, David."

The secret surfaced in 1983. The 'first' winged keel was tested. Compared to the results the Knight got ... it was a failure.

Jeannie McManus, the Suburban and her college tuition left out of Sandusky headed for Kent State and the ivied halls of higher education. It wasn't too far from Sandusky ... well, too far for Daddy and not far enough for Jeannie. But Kent State is in a college TOWN and Cinci is in a city. Jeannie thought she might like a small town ... at least, well enough to give it a shot.

At ten knots they should still make Boston in time.

At the mouth of the Welland Ship canal, Andrea paid for all 14 locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Seaway Commission pasted a pass number on the bow and off they went ... it was just marginally cheaper to buy the pass ... two locks worth ... but the savings in time made it worth it. Three days past Niagara Falls and out in Lake Ontario it started to rain and blow ... Even under storm canvas they were surfing at sixteen knots It made for a fast ride. The best commercial radar available in 1963 was like black and white film compared to the Kodachrome of 1988 radar. They sped eastward in total ... well maybe not ... comfort ... but safety.

When the rain stopped and the fog blew away, Canada was in full fall foliage. Magnificent ... Spectacular ... Outstanding. The greens were REALLY green and showed off the brilliant yellows and oranges of the hickory, the ash, the maple, the yellow poplar, aspen, birch, black cherry, and alder.

When the days of autumn are bright and cool, and the nights are chilly but not freezing, the brightest colorations usually develop. The reds, the purples, and their blended combinations appear most vivid in the maples, oaks, sourwood, and cherry trees. The deeper orange, fiery reds, and bronzes are typical of many hardwood species.