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And The Twain Shall Meet
Jason Hill
Copyright © 2018 Jason Hill
All rights reserved
First Edition
NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING
320 Broad Street
Red Bank, NJ 07701
First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2018
ISBN 978-1-64096-329-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-64096-330-6 (Digital)
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
To the brave men and women who dare to
challenge the turbulent waters of the Great Lakes
day after day, and always come back for more.
Acknowledgments
One person does not a book write. In the interest of accuracy, there is always a need for extensive research. While this story is mostly fiction, there are many realities within it. A myriad of individuals were consulted for bits of information large and small.
Fitzwilliam Island is a place that has fascinated me for years, but it is not largely documented through normal sources primarily because of its remote location. Tom Gardner, the current owner of the small landmass, was kind enough to supply a great deal of knowledge about it including verbal descriptions and depth charts of the surrounding waters. Additional data was received from Dave Ham, an air taxi pilot who operates from Matitowaning Island near Fitzwilliam.
The ship, which I call the William R. Jammison, is based entirely on a real ship, American Victory owned by the American Steamship Company in Cleveland. The specifications and history of that vessel came from Mark Lathrop, an executive of that corporation. Facts about the Sulzer 6RND76 power plant were generously related to me by Tomaz Wagner at the Sulzer plant in Winterthur, Switzerland. I also spoke with Captain Ray Davis, the headman on the tugboat Dawnlight about the weather conditions on the Great Lakes.
When it came time to write about repair facilities available on the Lake Huron side of the Soo Locks, there was no one better than Jack Purvis of Purvis Marine at Sault Ste. Marie.
To answer my questions about the possible contamination of the Sulzer engine and its adjacent systems, I went to a microbiologist at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, a lady named Elizabeth.
The tales of many of the Great Lakes shipwrecks are from the encyclopedic memory of Cris Kohl, a renowned diver who has seen many of them up close and has written extensively about them.
Stories and folklore of the cities on the Bruce Peninsula were told to me by Kelly McDonald in Kincardine, Stan McLellan in Tobormory, Suzette in Port Huron and several others, not the least of which was Darla Kelly at my local library in Wauconda, Illinois. She decided to help without any coercion from me.
The Thornbury Chamber of Commerce and Kelly O’Neil at the Blue Mountains Resort filled me in with some details about their area of Ontario.
It is hard to recall all of the names of those who answered my geographical inquiries, but there were many. I questioned several in Cleveland and Terre Haute, including folks at all of the restaurants mentioned in my book.
A special hats off goes to Eric Hirsimaki at the Cleveland Port Authority for his assistance on legal matters.
While I have had extensive experience in the air, it was a long time ago. Therefore, I consulted two of my local acquaintances, Bruce Killups, a former United Airlines Captain, and Janet Caproon, an air traffic controller, to get the facts straight on the procedures for instrument landings.
Needless to say, many people are responsible for the completion of this manuscript. Most of all my gratitude goes out to Michaela Nelson, my longtime publishing assistant, computer guru, and good friend.
Prologue
Fate
By definition, is that which is inevitably predetermined or which unavoidably befalls one. But who or what is the determiner of those events in which we must partake?
Faith
Is our ability to have confidence in the decisions we make that may affect the outcome of our lives for better or for worse.
Foresight
Is what we all have and can use to create the necessary conditions so that we can justify the conclusions we arrive at, and, thus, use them to our best advantage.
Frenzy
Is a brief period that follows in due course. It is that moment when we are not entirely certain that our choices for a given situation are the appropriate solutions for that particular dilemma.
Fruitful
Is what following our choices can and should be if we have thoughtfully undergone the necessary steps of the process.
And finally!
We can resolve all of the questions we have faced and go on with our lives, unconcerned about fate, because we have dominated the enigma that sought to muddle our future.
This, then, is a tale that takes into consideration all of these factors and attempts to overcome each as it arises. It is about character. It is about strength. It is about doubt. It is also about vindictiveness and callous misadventure. Mostly, it is about human nature and the frailties that lie within each and every one of us, although we may not always comprehend all of their ramifications.
What is the underlying word that best describes it all?
Perhaps—
Fear!
Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till earth and sky stand presently at God’s great judgment seat;
But there is neither