Synopsis
Back in the sixties, the Florida Keys was a frontier, compared to the rest of Florida. The book is about the efforts the author went through in order to start a marina. After searching South Florida waterfronts, the author happened onto the settlement known as Key Largo. The town consisted of groups of trailers, a couple of churches and 12 bars. A single road ran through town called U.S. 1, which was the only way to get on or off the Keys. The Book tells the escapades of the various customers and about the employees, who were all colorful Keysee characters such as Doc, who was always wondering around in his undershorts looking for the perfect Manhattan cocktail, and Jimmy who, while imbibing free beer, was paid to build a structural cinder block wall. He put in the sand and water but forgot the bag of cement. Then there was Jackson whose boat caught fire 10 miles off shore, made the U.S. Coast Guard believe there had been a mutiny and a murder on board, so that the Coast Guard had to dispatch a 110 foot Endurance Cutter out of Miami to assess the situation and make arrests. The author and his Deep 6 Marina fell afoul of the U.S. Government. The lawsuit was between the Corps of Engineers, who mandated he rip-rap his water front property to stop further bank erosion, on one hand, and the Environmental Protection Agency, who said if he did rip-rap it would kill sea grass and fish breeding areas and they would close down his operation.
About the Author
Captain George E. Brewer has over 50 years of boating experience, in areas as diverse as the New England coastline and the Mississippi River. For nearly eight years he was a hands-on marina operator. Brewer designed, built, and managed his own marina in the Florida Keys. Brewer was born in Massachusetts, where he spent summers at his grandfather's house in the small town of Marion on Buzzard's Bay. The house had been an old sail loft- for storing, mending and making sails. Attached was a large docking facility. George's grandfather and uncle owned several sailboats and rowboats. Inside the home were ship models from floor to ceiling. As well, the walls were covered with oils, prints, and photographs of ships. In this environment, George's interest in boating was born. At age ten, the author built his own 12-foot sailing dingy from plans he followed in a Popular Mechanics magazine. Boating soon became his passion. His summers were spent sailing or crewing on anyone's boat that needed an extra hand. Within a few years he was able to purchase a Herrishoff sailboat, which was the most popular racing class in the Cape Cod area. And while at Groton School, the author had the good fortune to take an elective course in weather analysis. Then, when the U.S. and Canadian governments co-sponsored an Arctic expedition to Greenland on the schooner Bowdoin, he was one of 15 crewmembers chosen. The purpose of the expedition was to make ocean charts in the mostly uncharted northern waters between Baffin Land and Greenland. The most secretive purpose was to locate uranium deposits known to exist along areas of the west coast of Greenland. After the Greenland trip, Brewer had accumulated enough sea time to study for, and take his U.S. Coast Guard captain's license, which he still holds. During the Korean War, the author was assigned to the 12th Weather Squadron. After he was discharged he worked as a factory representative for a building materials manufacturer, covering New England and then Missouri. This gave him a good income and the opportunity to boat every weekend on the east coast, then the Mississippi river system. His ultimate goal was someday to build his own marina. With George's extensive boating experience, he knew he could incorporate the best features and avoid the worst situations he had seen in other marinas. It is at this point that the story begins.
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