prepare the equipment which must be ready to commence 

 operations in the spring. We even planned to place Wil- 

 liam and Clayton in school at Fort Lauderdale so that the 

 family would not be so widely separated. They would be 

 able to join us weekends and at Easter vacation. 



During the June days that we had spent diving from 

 the teakwood decks of Blue Heron, rigging block and 

 tackle from her mast, and worrying over the damage that 

 was inevitably done to her white sides and mahogany 

 rails, Ed's ever-active mind had mulled over the problem 

 of how to remedy these diflBculties before our return the 

 following winter. He was finally convinced that he would 

 have to secure a boat more adequate for the job than 

 Blue Heron had proved to be. A heavier and sturdier 

 craft was needed. 



An answer was not long in coming. One evening in New 

 York, soon after we returned north, he was talking enthusi- 

 astically to a friend, Lee Warrender, about the results of 

 his first diving venture. Before the evening was over, Lee 

 had volunteered to supply his boat, Eryholme, a seventy- 

 five-foot twin-diesel cruiser, for the task. We were also to 

 have the services of her captain, Ray Budd, who was thor- 

 oughly familiar with the boat. The arrangement seemed 

 ideal, and straightaway the two men started making plans 

 for the necessary conversion. 



A crane was erected on the forward deck for raising 

 heavy objects, and the deck was reinforced. Davits were 

 installed on the starboard side, where Ed planned to carry 

 a glass-bottomed skiff he was designing. In the years to 

 come, that small boat would prove to be one of our most 

 useful possessions. It had two plates of Plexiglas in the 

 bow just where it curved upward, so that a person could 

 lie on the bottom and watch the ocean floor spread away 

 on either side. Then, just in front of the aft seat by the out- 

 board motor, another large panel was inserted, so that the 



The Florida Keys 29 



