Page 87: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1999)

Lifetime Achievement block away. The original shipyard still sits in the same location where the

Blount family planted its roots in 1951.

There have been many changes and expansions to Blount's company since that fateful day in 1949 when he met

Charles La Duca. Blount went on to construct a variety of vessels that included tugs, tankers and workboats.

More notably the fast ferry Autocisco II;

Queen of France, used by the Universi- ty of Rhode Island Marine Laboratories for study of the fishing industry and

Blount's own patented Hustad Control- lable Pitch Propeller which activated its blades to any pitch by moving the han- dle forward allowing for electric, hydraulic or pneumatic operation.

Blount received $50,000 for his inven- tion — money he would later use to start-up an eventual subsidiary, Ameri- can Canadian Caribbean Cruise Line (ACCL), which he formed in 1966.

While he enjoyed taking his ideas from paper to reality, Blount thought about dabbling on the other side of the table — the ship operating business. For years, he had been creating vessels for other people, so he thought why not run them as well. Blount responded with the purchase of Prudence Island Ferry Com- pany in 1960. Building two to three pas- senger ferries a year, Blount's company provided transport to and from the

Island. After 10 years, he sold off the company to concentrate his efforts on

ACCL. In conjunction with the line's developments, the "father of adventure cruising" implemented his patented bow ramp to each vessel. The invention pro- vided passengers to disembark directly onto the beach.

Known as the only ships of their kind to run excursions out of Chicago through the inland Great Lakes and along the Mighty Mississippi. The liners also offer overnight itineraries in the

Bahaman Islands and along the South and Central American coasts via the locks of the Panama Canal

And the Blount tradition continues on with three of Luther's five children,

Julie, Nancy and Joanne working for their father. Julie assists him as office manager of Blount Industries; Nancy is vice president of ACCL and Joanne and her husband Bob Dahmer operate

Blount's Bay Queen Ferry Route. His son, Willis, though not directly involved with Blount's companies, holds a place in the marine industry with a fishing trawler that he runs out of Nantucket

Island. Another daughter, Marcia, is an elementary school teacher.

Though actively involved within all of his holdings, Blount cannot get out to as many functions as would like to — a task that his children now fulfill for him.

And so enters the next generation of

Blounts, with Luther's children carrying on their namesake while their cousins still run Nelson Blount's company,

Blount Seafood. Still remaining where it has stood since 1951, (one block away from Blount Industries), Nelson's chil- dren took over the business after their father died in a plane crash in 1967.

With obvious sadness in his voice,

Blount remembered how his brother was an instrumental force in the estab- lishment of Blount Industries. Nelson provided Blount with the financial back- ing that he needed to start off — a favor that he will always remember and con- tributed to his becoming a success in the marine industry. "I started my business with next to nothing," he reflected. "That's some- thing that can rarely be done today."

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Circle 136 on Reader Service Card

Dropping your anchor in the wrong spot can cause you a lot of problems getting underway. It can also cause costly damage to our submarine cables. AT&T wants you to have free cable charts showing where they are located. Because hauling anchor in the wrong spot could cut a lot of people off.

Please consider my AT&T chart request.

Name

Company

Address

City

Zip

Phone (

Vessel Name

Type of Business

MR n 12200 Cape May to Cape Hatteras • 12300 Approaches to New York • 12318 Little Egg Inlet to Hereford Inlet n 12323 Sea Girt to Little Egg Inlet

O 12353 Shinnecock Light to Fire Island Light

O 13205 Block Island Sound and Approaches • 13218 Martha's Vineyard to Block Island

D 18007 San Francisco to Cape Flattery

O 18020 San Diego to Cape Mendocino d 18480 Approaches to Straits of Juan de Fuca • 18580 Cape Blanco to Yaquina Head

D 18620 Point Arena to Trinidad Head

O 18640 San Francisco to Point Arena d 18700 Point Conception to Point Sur

D 26320 Florida and the Bahama Islands

O 11460 Cape Canaveral to Key West

Mail coupon to: AT&T Submarine Cable Protection 340 Mt. Kemble Ave., Room S200 Morristown, NJ 07960, USA

Or call us toll-free: , 1-800-235-CHARTS

Chart requests subject to availability and are considered on a case-by-case basis.

AT&T

June, 1999 "The Yearbook" 89