Kinda looks to be sitting low in the stern, we thought.
I remember the first time we saw the above vessel. She was on a mooring ball at Sunset Bay in Stuart, Fla. and appeared to be taking on water. We thought it prudent to bring her to the attention of the folks in charge of the mooring field so they could investigate, but we soon found out, that's how she floats.
Over our few years at Sunset bay we heard many stories about this boat and talked with Rose, who gave us a little background about the boat and their life aboard, but never with Steve, the Captain and owner. We saw him often as he was was frequently and tirelessly running back and forth in his skiff transporting parts and assorted mechanical oddities, but we never struck up a conversation and never got to know him. He was and probably still is a quiet fellow; and as we suspected, they're quite an interesting couple.
Mel found an article today and forwarded it to me.
Steve Cummings has been messing around boats his entire life. All kinds of boats. His current work-in-progress adventure is Silent Thunder, a 65-foot former Army T-Boat, where he and his wife Rose make their home.
Living on the west coast of Florida, the couple was ready for a lifestyle change – they wanted to spend time on the water again. They searched far and wide to find the perfect vessel.
“We wanted a big, roomy boat at a reasonable price,” said Steve. “I figured we would have to do a lot of work on anything we found which suited us.”the rest of the article here>>> Cummings Brings Army T-Boat Back to Life
Their search ended in November, 2008 in Hempstead, North Carolina where they found T-Boat 453, then named Cormorant.
Yup Stuart is where we too first saw this boat and along with you thought it was taking on water. Thanks for posting the article.
ReplyDeleteBob, I had the pleasure of spending a week with Steve while he helped me with a few boat projects during a stop in Stuart. The allure of his boat pales in comparison to his life story. I stumbled upon your blog while checking to see if his book has been released yet. The little he shared with me has placed it at the top of my must read list - a Clancyish tale that is 100% non-fiction.
ReplyDeleteSilent Thunder set sail(she is actually ketch rigged) for Malta in early June.
Sorry to report but a tragic accident (cause still unknown) in Bermuda has caused Silent Thunder to sink and Steve has perished.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for passing this along.
ReplyDeleteI have relayed the story to some of his friends in Stuart and wrote another post regarding the tragedy.
Very sad. So sorry for Rose.