Later, after Ed had carefully straightened and re- 

 stored the teapot, he turned it over to Mendel Peterson, 

 who identified it as a rare pewter teapot of the Queen 

 Anne period. He was delighted to add both it and the 

 bronze bell to the growing marine-archeology collection 

 at the Smithsonian. Ed and I like to think that the little 

 teapot may very well have served Governor Clinton and 

 his family while they were crossing the Atlantic on the 

 Looe, en route to the governor's new job in the Colonies. 



For nearly six weeks one nortlier followed another, 

 and we were able to spend only three days diving, two of 

 them at Looe key, where the water outside the reef seemed 

 to clear more quickly. Only once were we able to dive 

 on the wreck at Delta shoal, and then we found the sandy 

 bottom so changed from these constant disturbances that 

 we spent the whole day searching for the cannon which 

 marked the wreck. There was no time left for exploration. 



While Ed was busy equipping Eryholme and testing 

 the new gear, he was more or less indifferent to the 

 weather, but as day after day and week after week went 

 by, his patience began to wear thin. We could not even 

 spend our time cruising, for Eryholme, although a most 

 comfortable boat when tied up at the dock, was too long 

 and narrow to take to sea in rough weather. Not only did 

 she roll uncomfortably, but her great expanse of glassed-in 

 superstructure was dangerous in a big sea. 



One morning while we lay at the dock, a strong wind 

 beating at us from the southeast, two men appeared, ask- 

 ing for Ed, and disappeared into the wheelhouse with 

 him. He introduced them to me, as they were taking their 

 departure nearly two hours later, as Howard ("Webby") 

 Webb and Robby Robinson, professional salvagers from 

 Miami. 



As they were disappearing down the dock, Ed said 



36 Sea Diver 



