Clearwater Lakeshore Motel praises Continental Tide employees

While our crew was supporting the US Coast Guard’s icebreaker “Mackinaw” up in Cheboygan, Michigan, the local Clearwater Lakeshore Motel had these kind words to say about our guys on their Facebook page:

This is going to be the lengthiest status update in Clearwater Lakeshore Motel history.

These guys know what they're about. I'm fortunate to know them. Since Kim and I bought the Clearwater in 2014, I've been lucky to have the guys from Continental Tide Defense Systems up here every June for a few weeks when they "groom" the U.S. Coast Guard's icebreaker "Mackinaw" in Cheboygan.

Our road sign shorted out 2 nights ago, which is a BIG problem for me as we're down here on the outskirts of town and my guests who have never been here before have a hard time finding us. I can barely find the driveway myself without the sign on.

I tried my best to troubleshoot the sign problem, but there's a point where a layman like me has to give up (i.e. taking the cover off a live electrical panel). I mentioned this to Chris, on the right. He told me he would come by after work. He has a multimeter that costs more than my first 3 cars. While Chris was going through the junction box on the sign, the rest of the Continental Tide guys pulled in and I saw Ed in the car. He got out to help.

Most people in my situation would have to call an electrician. Ed, on the left, is one of the smartest people I've ever met. He's an electrical engineer. Chris is a dynamic individual; he's just one of those guys who GETS THINGS DONE. He regularly works on military electrical applications where the voltage and amperage will kill you before you know something is wrong if you screw up.

Anyway, Ed and Chris were in my laundry room where the electrical panel is located, with Chris manning the multimeter and Ed giving a running commentary of his thought processes. I WISH I WOULD HAVE SHOT A VIDEO. Imagine one of the most brilliant, nerdiest people you've ever met, who is troubleshooting a problem WAY below his pay grade, giving a running commentary while his right hand man is saying "Just tell me what you need you my brother." I also wish I had shot a video of Chris climbing halfway up an access panel in my drywall to find the "bad acting" wire.

They couldn't understand why I was cracking up the whole time until I said "I have an electrical engineer with a high level security clearance fixing my sign!"

As you can see by the photo they isolated the "bad actor" and got our sign up and running in short order.

Some of you may have seen Ed, or Chris, or Steve, or Zack (who troubleshot a problem in building 6 where only guests with iPhones could not connect to Wi-Fi) or Val, riding around on one of our golf carts, or generally acting like they live here. That's because they're not guests; they live here. Only for a few weeks, but mi casa su casa.

My regular electrician, who knows what he's doing, would have charged me $75 an hour to fix the sign. I always take the Continental Tide guys out for dinner before they leave anyway. Look back through our Facebook posts and you'll see a photo of Chris eating a 36 ounce "Steak for Two" at Pier M33 in Cheboygan (you should go there if you have time). It's probably going to cost me $150 in prime beef to get my sign fixed.

It was totally worth it.

Gary