an excerpt from Dredging Nome Man's Land, p. 247
Mom, Tom, and I knew that there was a lot of truth to Dad’s
notion of “not finding much gold our first dredging season.” We
had originally teased Dad of being a pessimist (although he is
adamant about being a realist, which came true with his Nome
Project prediction). The rest of us just thought, “If we were going
to go for it, why not believe all out in it?” Dad wanted to be
wrong but had a feeling he was right. Dad knew we had a lot to
get accomplished our first season before dredging a single day,
i.e. establish residence, move house to said residence and rebuild
a boat (a rather large one at that). All before day one of what we
went for. We all needed to have “hope” as it is a crucial aspect
of any American Dream. Without hope, dreams don’t seem to
ever get off the ground and come to life, much less blossom
into fruition.
We learned a lot this season. Obviously we have come to
realize that the weather can be quite unrelenting in Nome (just
about year round). No one could have forecast just how terrible
Mother could be on the Nome gold dredgers this past summer! It
was stifling to most dredging operations. The amount of quality
dredge time on the seafloor equates to the likelihood of finding
gold. Essentially, “time is money” in a very literal sense, except
that gold will likely soon be more valuable than currency. With
the mining operation that we currently have, inclement weather
will simply impede progress and will continue to require patience
to see through. Only the uncommonly large operations (like the
Pomrenke’s Christine Rose) can leave the confines of the harbor
on days of high waves and with zero to poor visibility, as they
operate from atop a barge and do not utilize divers.
Although American dreams start with hope, dreams don't magically come true without a great deal of concentrated effort and planning.
Our crew left for Nome in early May, driving from Kentucky to Anchorage (through Canada along the Alaskan Highway) with a 5,000 lb. box of supplies and such to be flown to Nome. The crew and the box are in Nome and plans are underway to begin dredging once the ice melts! "The Kentucky Boys" have anticipated the worst and plan for the best this summer 2013. We are converting Kentucky Goldenrod into a 12" suction dredge boat. She'll be a beauty. Dredging Nome Man's Land
