We Meet The Man That Inspired Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt

Garage sales always remind me of "adult trick or treaters"

We got up early so we could be across the border by about 8:30. The second weekend in September means it is the annual garage sale at the Edison shores condominium complex across the river.

This year one of the locations featured an estate sale being run by a local auctioneer. The sale was advertised so this likely brought in quite a few people that otherwise would not have known about the unadvertised concurrent street sale.

There seemed to be quite a few more garages open this year (compared to last year) with good quality junk.  There was even a fine looking, like new Mercedes-Benz , a 2002 with only 42,000 miles for $11,750. 

Some of these condo homes have some amazing views. 

After we were sure we couldn't fit any more things into our car, we headed over to the antique boat show.

Running lights green Tanqueray and red Avocat Raspberry liquor bottles. Danger will build you one of these for $2500.

There was a good showing of boats from small runabouts to 54 footers. The weather cooperated for the most part with only a spit or two of rain.

We were interviewed and quoted in the Port Huron Times Herald (the reporter must have confused us with somebody else) and you can read our comments if you CLICK HERE. 

Here's the actual inspiring quote from the Gannet Press, Port Huron Times Herald:

"Wendy and Tim Carroll, of London, Ont., have a summer place in Point Edward and made the boat show, sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, part of a day in the States.

“We got up early and came over to the Edison Shores garage sale,” Tim Carroll said. “This was on, so we thought we’d come over and look at this.”

“They look like boats,” Wendy Carroll said.

“Oh, the work involved,” her husband said. “It was just an era of real workmanship.

“I admire anybody that can do this.”"

For lunch we went to the Quay Street Brewery.

Wendy ordered the pizza with a locally made root beer and I had my favorite muffletta sandwich and a couple of Coor's Lites.

After lunch we visited a most amazing place.

The "Widow's Watch" tower is above the elevator shaft. I would guess 1/3 of the house is below the street level.

A spectacular panoramic view from the upper deck (note web cam on the pole)

View from the river from my latest pictures

The home of Wayne and Donna Brusate is right on the St. Clair river. Wayne owns a very successful commercial dive company. The home, especially the huge, cavernous basement, contains hundreds of artifacts obtained through his fascinating business centered mainly on the great lakes.

After a tour of the main level by Donna, a dozen or so of us at a time travelled vertically up to the top floor aboard a full sized 2500 lb capacity elevator. The house has 4 floors each having at least 10 foot ceilings except for the basement where the overhead clearance was more like 16 to 20  feet. In fact there was a "rock climbing wall" on this level for the grandchildren. A large stainless steel slide for children and adults alike carried the brave-hearted from the third level down across the rear patio deck right into the river. Who would have thought Wendy and I would stumble into this unbelievably amazing home and be treated like old friends.

A waterfall shower is featured in the en suite master bath with mood coloured lights and music playing.

Wendy liked the beaded wainscotting.

Square pegged flooring suits the nautical theme. Notice... in a very Canadian-like tradition, every one is in their bare feet even though we are in USA.

Wayne's  corporate logo appears in a few places including the garage floor which is heated. Heated driveways and outdoor decks means no snow shovelling required.

A "rock climbing wall" for the grandchildren.

An emergency shelter.


This is Dirk Pitt, I mean Wayne Brusate explaining how a ship sunk across from "the spit" in Sarnia and spilled its cargo of millstones. This one weighs 950 lbs. Above it, he explained, are stone anchors made by the Indians over 4000 years ago. They were designed to hold their fishnets in place. Wayne says there are many of them still on the river bottom.

At the flip of a switch the propeller on the antique boat overhead begins to spin.

Divers use these "sleds" to cover greater areas as they are pulled by a boat. They are in constant communication with the crew above.

What look like giant water heaters are actually the boilers used to not only heat the house and provide hot water to the taps, but also to the heated floors in almost all the floor surfaces indoors and out.

These pipes go to the car garage and driveway as well as the patio decks at the rear of the house.

The basement is equipped with a SCUBA compressor and just about everything else you'd need to dive the river.

A big stainless steel slide leads from the upper deck to the river over a gas campfire on the lower deck.

Wayne explains that the crane on the lower deck was originally on a truck but was recommissioned to the lower deck. It has a full 40 foot reach and can launch and retrieve boats from the river, and actually grapple a boat from the upper car garage. The crane is bolted to a block of concrete the size of a small bedroom.

Wendy watches from the lower dive shop/boat house.

The guest room in the basement is called The Chris Craft Room and is paneled with mahogany and lapstrake and actual boat parts.

A rep from the contractor that built the place was on hand to answer questions. I'm sure this was a one-of-a-kind job.

 A diver intercom.

Over the past few years we watched the tear-down of an older river home and the construction of a modern mansion but we never thought we'd set foot inside.  Earlier this week I had noticed that an internet letter directed at the boat owning participants of the boat show included an invitation to tour this magnificent home.

As interlopers we showed up at 1:30 with the all the other intended boat owners and took a very personal tour with a couple dozen or so invited guests through every room of this most impressive home. I took as many pictures as good taste would allow, not wanting to bring attention to Wendy and I. Even so, I'm sure there were people scratching their heads and wondering "Who the hell are those people?" The place was like an incredible marine museum with artifacts found by the company divers, set off against the textured walls of barn-board from a "donor" barn in north Michigan.

On the wall there was a even framed letter addressed to Wayne signed by famous author Clive Cussler. There it was right on the wall! A letter Mr. Cussler wrote to Wayne telling him that he was actually the inspiration for the novellist's fictional character Dirk Pitt. What do you think of that?

Here's an email Wendy sent to her "Circle of Friends" ladies about our escapades:

"Tim and I had a great  day yesterday  garage sailing at a ritzy condo complex in Port Huron.  Really fun.  Bought 2 new chairs, 2 for $50. a screen for $10.00 for my  condo fireplace, an electric hand beater for Erin, 4 clay pots for a buck and a bread maker for $2.  All stuff I really need!!!.  Chairs will probably end up at Erin's. 

We couldn't fit another thing in the truck. We then went to a Antique Boat Show, mostly wealthy Chris Craft Owners then to  lunch at the Quay Street Brewery, and lastly we wormed ourselves into a tour of a fabulous house on the St. Clair which was meant only for the dozen or so antique boat owners.  Thank the Lord they didn't offer us lunch.  We were interviewed by the Port Huron Herald as well.  The Question of who the hell were those people might be answered when they see us in the paper today.  The home was amazing.  It was a combination of a home and a Commercial Dive business right on the river .  Amazing!!!   The owner was the inspiration for one of the main characters in the Clive Cussler novels.  Clive said so himself.  Right there framed on the wall!  Check out Tim's blog.  He hasn't had time to do it yet so give it a day or so.  Coming home the Canadian customs officer congratulated us on our bargains, wished us well and was glad we had a great day."

Some of many bottles of Whyte and Mackay Scotch recovered from the wreck of the Regina. Some went to museums, while most were sold at auction for up to $8000 per bottle. 1986 photo courtesy Wayne Brusate. For text of People magazine article on the expedition to the Regina CLICK HERE

Read about Clive Cussler... CLICK HERE

Another recent article about Wayne Brusate...  CLICK HERE.

Check back... "You never know what you'll see here!"
Tim
.
.
.

Where Am I Going With This? "Artsy" Pic In Progress.

Click the picture to enlarge.

For centuries; ever since man started making machines, gauges and instruments have conveyed information about his engines as well as his environment. They are often the only insight into the workings of a mechanical source of power remote from the operator's location. They are the interface between man and machine. They are prominent on the dashboards of automobiles, the flight decks of airplanes and the pilot houses of boats. Since these instruments are, by their very nature, often the "most seen, up close" part of a yacht or ship, manufacturers still go to great lengths to make them attractive and elegant as well as precise and easy to read. From the lowliest motor powered runabout to the most lavish and expensive yacht, the instrument panel was always given great attention by the sales marketers and thus by the designers. They are often an indicator of quality and their appearance plays no small part in the purchasing decision.

With this in mind, I took a fine, varnished, mahogany panel from the pre-fiberglass era and started to "install" some gauges at random on the rich, red wood. The brass bezels accentuate the dial faces and transition them into the background with a smooth contrast. I want to experiment and determine if I can arrange these objects into a pleasing piece of wall art. As the title of this blog entry states, I really don't know where this exercise will lead but I'll post the final work if and when I get a good read on the instruments. As you can see I haven't signed it yet. Maybe I just need a nice brass compass to point me in the right direction.
.
.
.

And I Thought It Was A Senior's Moment. Whew!

Thanks to my condo neighbours Carol and Roger for this one:

"Ever walk into a room with some purpose in mind, only to completely forget what that purpose was?  Turns out, doors themselves are to blame for these strange memory lapses. Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that passing through a doorway triggers what's known as an event boundary in the mind, separating one set of thoughts and memories from the next. Your brain files away the thoughts you had in the previous room and prepares a blank slate for the new locale. It's not aging, it's the damn door! Thank goodness for studies like this." 

You can read an article about the actual 2011 study if you CLICK HERE.

I wonder if this similar to what happens when we go from our home in London to our condo in Point Edward? Wendy and I have noticed it's always easier to remember what we should have brought once we get to the condo. By then of course it's too late, so we then try to think what we need in London and on and on we go. In this case are the houses themselves setting the ‘event boundaries’? 

I guess this is why a list is important and not just for seniors. Now, where did I put that list? Hmmm.
.
.
.

Pat's Birthday at the River Crab

Earlier this week Wendy and Tricia were talking on the phone about doing something this long weekend. It was decided that we'd reserve a table at the all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch at the River Crab Restaurant just north of St Clair MI overlooking the St. Clair River and since it was our friend Pat's birthday on Friday that we could invite her too. The place gets great reviews and has a great view of the passing boats. See reviews CLICK HERE.
 

Back Row: Tim, Tom and Greg. Front row: Wendy, Pat and Tricia.

 Also in a  somewhat spur-of-the-moment thing we called our friend Tom from Glencoe and he agreed to meet us at the condo in Point Edward and we'd all drive down to the restaurant, then later continue on to the ferry at Marine City and return to Canada at Sombra Ontario.

We had so much fun we vowed to do this again for Pat's next birthday.
.
.
.