I met Ted in 1982 when I was looking to have a small longline boat for Sword/Tuna/Tilefish in the canyon off of the NJ coast. At the time, Ted had a shop in the sleepy little town of Chrisfield, MD. Being new to the area, I asked a gas station attendant if he knew where the TL boat factory was, and he told me NO, but if I followed him on his moped, he would bring me to Ted Lang's home. Having driven 6 hour to get there, I decided to take a shot. Pulling up to an old historic waterfront home, which I later was told was lived in by the original governor of MD, I was asked to come inside for a chat with a very "interesting" man. After discussing my needs, Ted asked if I was interested to see if I was interested in viewing his latest government project...This is where the Twilight Zone Music started playing.
Ted brought me to another room where on an old dining room table sat two black boxes that resembled the old fashioned arch topped mailboxes. As he lifted the covers, he told me that this was top secret, and that I should never tell anyone what I was about to see and hear. He then told me about the Navy's plan to have Boats carrying intercontinental missiles roaming the seas, ready to launch an attack at the President's command. He also said that the molds were already built, disassembled, and buried at an undesignated location ! Needless to say, I was gabberflasted...
After a bit more conversation, I bid farewell to my new friend for the 6 hour ride back home, all the way thinking about what had just been laid before me. Was Ted a KOOK, or an unconventional genius ?
Returning home, and after considerable analysis, I decided to have my boat built by Jack Henriques, of Henriques Boatworks here in NJ...
I understand that Ted has passed away in 2019, so I guess it was ok to tell my story about my meeting wit Ted Lang, the Unconventional Genius !