By Anthony Rifilato
"What is that thing?" called a woman from her minivan, as she held up a few cars that were also rubbernecking the gigantic gold sphere on Tuomey's property.
Tuomey, a amiable, fast-talking guy who has lived here for
two years, offered an enthusiastic explanation.
"It's an old ship safe designed as a dive bell," he said.
"You mean like on the Titanic?" the woman asked.
"We're thinking a little earlier, like the late 1800's," Tuomey told her. Satisfied and pleasantly surprised, the woman drove off.
Toumey clearly enjoys the attention. "You hear people screech there brakes because they look," Tuomey said. "I don't want to cause accidents."
The cast iron safe would have been on a very old carrier ship. Tuomey said that he can't be exact about the date, but that the safe -- which has an aperture in front with six chambers inside that probably stored currency and documents -- would have had to
be on one of the biggest ships of the era because of its heavy weight.
But why would anyone want a 36,000-pound antique safe from an old ship on their front lawn?
"Some people go jogging, some people go to the movies, I enjoy anything nautical related," Tuomey said.
Originally from Hempstead, the 31-year-old Tuomey said he has scoured shipyards since he was seven. His father, grandfather and
uncles were all boaters and fisherman.
He has just begun to professionally search for antique treasures from the sea and hopes to build a lucrative business out of his
passion. He goes to auctions frequently and searches ship yards for old artifacts. His front porch is adorned with old anchors and ropes, and an old ship's porthole window. His property looks like the remnants of a nautical museum.
But there is no question that the huge dive bell is his prime artifact.
Tuomey has been approached not only by neighbors, but said that members of the Baldwin School District, sanitation representatives and officials from Freeport came by his house to inquire about the safe. He said he found the safe by being in the right place at the right time.
After a trip to a "no name" marina in Island Park five months ago, Tuomey said he came across the strange relic in a desolate and run-down area.
"I lit up like a Christmas tree," Tuomey said. "I knew it was a safe and it had the look of a dive bell. I was so in awe of this quality made that early on."
A dive bell was a submergible vehicle in its day. Although the safe isn't as large as a true dive bell, its look is testament to the daring designs made before the turn of the century. The safe is a bit corroded in the back, but aside from that and the fact that its inner rotating sphere is immovable the relic has not weathered and has survived the test of time.
Tuomey said that he couldn't contain his excitement for the safe.
"Everyone thought I was out of my mind," Tuomey said.
The Island Park marina had just been taken over by a new property owner, and Tuomey made some calls. With a fair amount of prodding, the property owner budged and agreed to sell the safe for $1,000 dollars.
But getting that enormous freight back to his house was not going to be easy. Tuomey initially miscalculated the safe's weight at eight tons, when in reality it was about 18.
He then hired a 100-ton crane to lift the mammoth safe and put it onto a semi-heavy duty tow truck. "It lifted its front wheels off the ground," Tuomey said.
When that didn't work, he had it put into a container truck --similar to an enormous steel dumpster -- and shuttled it to his home. "I needed 15 guys to get it on my lawn," Tuomey said.
Where the safe comes from is uncertain. Tuomey said he inquired all over about its origins, and even asked locals who lived near the Island Park marina. He said the older folks who live in the area said it arrived in the 1970's and was used as a decoration in the marina, which at that time was thriving. Tuomey said that he believes some partial restoration was done on the safe around this time.
"There was a water tight seal on it, but it has been removed," said Toumey, and explained that the seal would have covered the safe's bare aperture.
Could the removal of the seal be an attempt by treasure hunters or robbers to make off with some ancient loot? That remains to be seen, because getting into the vault-like safe would be a daunting experience to say the least. For one, expensive, specialized equipment would be needed, not to mention moving the inner sphere which may as well be frozen. Tuomey said there may be some old treasure inside, but he can't be sure.
"It horrifies me to think about it," Tuomey said. "It would take a
tremendous amount of effort to open it. It looks easier than it is."
And the safe won't be Tuomey's for long. He has sold it for an undisclosed amount to Paddy McGee's restaurant in Island Park.
"It will have a good home at Paddy McGee's," Tuomey said. "I'm going to miss it. But it will be replaced by something just as surprising."
