Brent in Durham noticed the Towboat page was down. We started guessing e-mail addresses and got in touch with the Page owner, Ray. Here's what he said. I d his e-mail address:

Ray Fagan wrote:

Good guessing. I'm here. The sites generated so much interest (85,000
visits in just over two days) that they have been removed. However, not
until the second site (Rapidsite) allowed an overage charge of $3,000.00+ to
build up. They have a legal claim to the overcharge, if not a moral one.
Looks like I'm going to have to pay a considerable fee no matter what. Not
an easy thing for someone on disability.

There is another site owner who actually WANTS that kind of impact. I'll be
sending him an updated version of the site along with the story behind both
the pictures and my dilema.

Look for this mess to get national news coverage as soon as all of the facts
can be gathered.

Ray

BTW: I've kept most of the 1300+ emails on the subject. If these things do
get put back on a site, I'll let you know.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandresky, Chip"
To: "'Lesley and Brent Curtis'"
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2002 4:59 PM
Subject: RE: TowBoat

> Sorry Brent, I can't help with that one. My guess is: as everyone on the
> Internet emailed that link to everyone else on the Internet, the Web
server
> started getting a little busy until 1) it died or 2) the Administrator
> yanked it. It was pretty fun while it lasted. Erez posted the original,
> you might ask him. Or you can start guessing email addresses from the
> url... it looks like the guy's ISP is
> and his user name may be so you could try
> or
> and ask for info about that directory. I'll
> cc him on this e-mail... hey Ray are you out there?
>
> Durham is cool, I'm originally from Winston-Salem. Good to hear from you.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lesley and Brent Curtis [mailto:lbcurtis@nc.rr.com]
> Sent: Friday, February 15, 2002 7:45 PM
> To: Sandresky, Chip
> Subject: Re: Who Knew?
>
>
> I was wanting to show this web site to my uncle (Commander, USN Retired).
I
> clicked on the URL earlier today and it said the address had changed. I
did
> not save it at that time because I had to run. Later I went back and
after
> clicking on the URL you supplied I got the notice that the page was no
> longer valid. Do you have any idea of where the new site is? That was
such
> an incredible sequence and I really want him to see it. Let me know if
you
> can help. Thanks.
>
> Brent in Durham
>
>