Florence Letitia Dale Walker (mother of Natalie) joined her friend Mary Edwards, Captain Theodore Marceau and woodcut artist Fiske Boyd in Charleston, SC for the last few weeks of a trip that began in New York on October 31, 1931. Joining the crew for this adventure was Chuck, the seagoing parrot and ship's mascot.
Captain Marceau wrote a book about the journey but could not find a publisher so he self-printed, binding copies for his travel mates. It consists of 100 pages of carbon copies typed on onion skin paper.
How Florence came to be friends with Mary Edwards is unclear, but Florence and Arch met Fair Tide in Charleston on November 14 and from all accounts, Arch and Theodore had a grand time enjoying the official drink, "Fair Tide Special", which they followed with Old Crow and ginger ale, and then Arch Walker's corn liquor brought from Spartanburg. After two nights, Arch headed home and Fair Tide sailed out of Charleston Harbor with Florence as part of the crew.
The Fair Tide had an overall length of forty feet and a five person capacity. The description of the journey down the east coast of the United States is fascinating. Historically, I found one small tidbit that stuck with me and put the timing of the trip into perspective. As Fair Tide left its mooring in New York to begin the journey, Marceau writes "Passed under the gigantic George Washington Bridge twenty minutes later. It is the world's largest suspension bridge, spanning the Hudson River at 170th St., and was opened for traffic last week."
On Sunday, November 29, Fair Tide sailed into Biscayne Bay. Captain Marceau's last order to his crew - "A double ration of grog for all hands!!!".
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