Hope is NOT a Strategy

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