Professor Terwilliger and Tim Neptune I
by
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Downtown Sarasota and the proud new bridge leading across to Bird Key and the barrier islands could clearly be seen to the south. As they passed over the bridge, Tim pointed out the downtown marina facility at Marina Jacks, and the yacht basin on Bird Key.
Ahead was the pass leading to the Gulf of Mexico between Siesta and Lido Key. They passed over a number of pleasure and fishing boats on their way seaward in the pass. The presence of the “flying yacht” was well known and they received friendly waves and calls on the radio as they passed by. To those looking up the “flying yacht” shimmered slightly with a silvery glow, a result of the anti-gravity drive, adding to the glamour and mystery of the scene.
Once over the Gulf, Tom went about six miles off-shore and picked up speed to fifty knots. Indeed, they could go much faster, but this was a day for sightseeing, not haste.
Shortly, Tim pointed out two
major landmarks he had picked out from studying his new nautical charts the
night before. They each had binoculars which were easy to use from the stable
platform provided by Neptune I.
“That’s the famous Venice Pier up ahead on the left, just a few miles beyond the Venice Inlet which you can see directly to our left. Sharkey’s Restaurant is there. When Marta and I come to Florida, it’s our favorite place to visit for food and an evening of entertainment. Sunsets there are spectacular!”
“And, if you look out to sea, you will see the famous, new Venice Casino Island. It was built and is operated by a consortium of Las Vegas interests and a company based in Sarasota. It uses the same technology as the off-shore oil rigs that have long been in use in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Look. There on the platform is the hotel and casino. If you look closely, you can see that some of the structure is underwater. They say you can look down through a glass floor in the dining room and watch the fish and other creatures on a coral reef as you dine.”
Soon they could see Boca Grande and the wide entrance to Charlotte Harbor extending to the northeast. “The third barrier island up ahead is Captiva,” Tim exclaimed. “That is where we all love to go. It is the site of the South Seas Resort.”
The Hales had spent several pleasant vacations at that world-famous resort.
It happened much as Carlos had said it would. Tom was at the helm and Marta was assisting by handling the communications console. They were about an hour west of Aruba when Marta picked up the radio distress call. Shortly after they spotted the drifting sailboat, its mast broken.
Tom put Neptune I down alongside. Hastily, they all gathered at the port rail to help bring aboard those adrift on the boat. Simultaneously they were boarded by the fierce mercenaries, the Hijos de Carlos. They were divers who had been in hiding. Six came up from the aft swim platform, and four more over the starboard rail. Automatic weapons had been brought along in waterproof bags.
Tim was below when they were boarded. It was obvious from the sounds he heard this was serious trouble. Quickly he released the trigger for the low frequency alarm system.
It had not yet been tested. They planned to do that at the Galapagos Islands. But this was an emergency. He would give it a try. Quickly he went from the engine room to the aft cabin. As he entered he faced the muzzle of a gun. The guard told him to wait there. Soon after, he had been joined by all the members of his party except for Tom. The five were locked into the aft cabin. Tom apparently had been held on the flybridge.
Very quickly the reason for that was apparent. Neptune I took to the air again. From the port windows they could tell they were heading south toward the mainland. The passage took about ten minutes. Then they heard considerable metallic noise and Tom was unceremoniously forced into the cabin with them.
“We are being loaded into a monstrous helicopter,” he reported. “And there is no question these guys are vicious. They have threatened to shoot us one at a time if we fail to cooperate.”
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About the Book
Imagine yourself on the bridge of a sleek, new, 70 foot ocean-going yacht. Your companions include two eminent scientists, Professor Howard Terwilliger and his brother Tom, who is at the helm. As you leave the marina at Longboat Landings and motor out into Florida’s Sarasota Bay, Tom engages the yacht’s anti-gravity engines. Neptune I shines with the distinct silver shimmer of an anti-gravity field as it rises and begins the voyage to Key West.
That is the experience of Tim
Hale in this second book of the Adventures of Professor Terwilliger and Tim.
Join him and his companions on
the demonstration voyage in one of the first very large anti-gravity vehicles.
Travel to Key West and Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Visit exotic places in
the Caribbean, South America and Panama. Traverse the canal and go on to the
Galapagos Islands in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Spend time at the ancient ruins
of Tulum in the Yucatan of Mexico. Finally, go aboard the just finished Freedom
Ship, the extraordinary floating city, nearly a mile long, 750 feet wide
and 25 stories high, which will be the permanent berth for Neptune I.
Share the adventure with Tim, his sister Marta and their parents, and the Terwilligers, as they endure being detained by the Cuban military, abduction by modern-day Caribbean pirates, and finally a visit from the shadowy group known as El Zabid.
This continues the story of creativity and adventure, of a future that might be, for teens and other young readers of all ages.
About the Author
Cal Patterson is a classic “snowbird;” summers in Michigan and winters in Florida. And, he now has time to turn to writing novels, a dream he has had for years.
Since his high school and college years, Cal has continued to write both professionally and for pleasure. In high school he won awards for excellence in writing and was editor of the school newspaper. While at the University of Michigan he worked on the Michigan Daily.
His career included three years in the Air Force, thirty in the telephone industry and ten as executive director of a private foundation. In the Air Force he was a pilot in an air refueling squadron of the Strategic Air Command. During his years in the telephone industry he worked for Northwestern Bell in Iowa and Michigan Bell in the Detroit area. He held a variety of management positions in operations and ultimately in public relations. He managed the employee and public information program at one time for Northwestern Bell in Iowa. And, one of the assignments in public relations with Michigan Bell was to manage the corporate contributions program. This led to the opportunity to retire from the telephone business and move to the McGregor Fund, a private foundation in Detroit.
He draws on his writing skills
and a lifetime of experiences, including those enjoyed during several cruises to destinations in the Caribbean and
the Gulf of Mexico, for the settings and circumstances that are included in the novel about Professor Terwilliger and Tim
aboard Neptune I