E. Carl Kiekhaefer, president of Kiekhaefer Marine (which would become Mercury Marine in 1971), took to the skies of central Florida in 1957 in a small, single-engine plane in search of a site away from prying eyes – and complaining neighbors – where he could secretly test his marine engines day and night. The result of his search, like so many other Kiekhaefer projects, would become the stuff of legends. From the air, the team spotted 1,400-acre Lake Conlin in a parcel of woods and swampland, inhabited by alligators, snakes and panthers. What better place for a secret test facility? And to throw would-be spies off the trail during purchase negotiations, Kiekhaefer’s team referred to the site only as “Lake X.
Perhaps the most legendary project at Lake X was the historic “Operation Atlas.” To counter criticism aimed at the longevity of his products, Kiekhaefer conceived a non-stop, “around the world” endurance run using two boats powered by Mercury Mark 75 outboards. After 34 days, 11 hours, 47 minutes and 5.4 seconds, the lead boat completed its 4,526th lap of Lake X for a total distance of 25,003 miles. It was followed only minutes later by the second boat, enshrining Operation Atlas as the most exotic of all endurance events in marine history.
Of course, Kiekhaefer made sure the effort was captured on film for newsreels of the era. Watch “Operation Atlas” unfold in this post of that movie created on site.
