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Colleen basks in early morning light before the race earlier this month.
Resolute makes a quick turn to assist with a tow.
Discovery Coast turns westbound into the KVK.
Resolute takes the stern of Thomas J. Brown.
Miriam Moran reports for yet another job.
The inimitable Herbert P. Brake leaves the east end of the Kill.
Laura K. Moran . . . speed turning.
Taurus heads for the mooring.
Treasure Coast crosses in the foreground after Taurus gets to the mooring.
Discovery Coast cruises back to home base.
It’s Choptank light about to cross the Upper Bay for Brooklyn, and
a whole bevvy of McAllisters, including Helen. in Mariner’s Harbor . . . also just before the tugboat race almost three weeks ago.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who does a short gallivant starting later tomorrow.
Before dawn the day of the race, daily port activities carried on: Atlantic Niyala awaited load shift in Red Hook.
Celebrity Summit arrived from sea for some port time here assisted by Kimberly Turecamo (?).
Scott Turecamo awaited some rehab
at Caddell’s.
As passengers debarked to starboard, equipment received attention to port. I’m not sure what all is happening over on the port side here.
Up at the Manhattan passenger terminal Veendam received Tuckahoe attention to port as well as passengers transferred from ship to island.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who heads for the Roundup tomorrow.
When I posted about the race last year, I recapped the five previous years posts too. See that here for part a and here for part b.
The day started early for me; here at 07:01, not knowing I’d see her later in the morning, I passed Weddell Sea in the notch.
By 07:47, I was in the McAllister yard, thanks to Harold Tartell and of course the McAllisters. Maurania III, also in last year’s race, will be the ride.
By 09:50, we were off Pier 84; W. O. Decker and Meagan Ann were already there.
Aound then, Debora, Susan, and Shawn Miller lined up for a family shot.
At 10:01, it’s Pegasus and . . .lo and behold . . . Weddell Sea has come out of the notch in the Upper Bay anchorage to join in the festivities.
I’ve never even seen this Little Toot. . . out of Highlands, NJ, and she’s not so little.
10:06 . . . Quantico Creek, Buchanan 1, Vulcan III, and Debora Miller begin to line up with us for the parade past Pier 84.
And when Weddell Sea and especially Lincoln Sea mingle with other boats, their size is apparent. … 8000 hp, Lincoln Sea, appeared in K-Sea colors in the 2006 race.
10:43 some of the boats have turned around and waiting for the race to begin . . . the tide is flooding, adverse.
10:45 . . . note the two dark green tugs Gage Paul Thornton and Thornton Bros. still needing to turn around, as does
Freddie K Miller.
If my camera clock is correct, the race started at 10:47, and
tomorrow I’ll get you the results.
It was great meeting/catching up with so many folks today, and again . . . thanks to Harold and McAllister towing for getting me on Maurania III.
Here was the first post by this title. I’ve been back for a few days, but it’s been hard to transition from my jaunt in Utah areas of wilderness back to the densely settled areas in and around the sixth boro of NYC. I didn’t take the foto below of Binghamton, but her time is clearly running out. If you notice human/mechanical demolition (as opposed to destruction by natural erosion . . . as in the desert) happening, please get in touch or send me fotos? This was taken Friday during the rain by Allan and Sally, whose sweet vessel you’ll see later. I did three posts early October 2011 about Binghamton, then ravaged by Hurricane Irene.
I caught this foto of Miller Boys yesterday when it seemed the winds were blowing more rain in.
Ellen McAllister was moving this “unmarked” McAllister tug (anyone recognize it?) around the yard. Info follows, thanks to Birk Thomas. That’s Cashman’s Lynx in the background.
Also in Mariner’s Harbor, it’s Mark McAllister, not typically a sixth boro boat.
And slightly west, lined up from left to right are Barents Sea, Yankee, NaHoku, and Taurus.
Potomac stands off with Lower Manhattan in the background after an assist.
Over in North Cove, expedition yacht Copasetic costs more than twice any of the tugs appearing in this post; that bow is inspired by much larger ships.
And finally, my host vessel for a jaunt and great conversation . . . the Lord Nelson Victory tug Sally W, operated by
Allan and Sally, who’ve kept this blog during their recent jaunt up to Ottawa. By the way, has anyone seen Chase, the long distance padleboarder?
Binghamton fotos by Sally. All others by Will Van Dorp.
In case you were not able (like me) to identify the tug alongside Ellen McAllister, it’s none other than Winslow C. Kelsey.
These fotos taken since last Wednesday show part of the range of weather we’ve had since Wednesday. And here’s a surprise: Crowley’s Courage in the Stapleton anchorage . . . as of this writing, she’s off Florida halfway between Jacksonville and Miami.
Lincoln Sea, same day, off BAT, just before that wicked storm erupted . . . derupted/descended . . . Great pics at that link.
Buchanan 10 was making her way across the Upper Bay as
the wind started to kick up some splash. Did I get wet? Yup . . . but I always carry a dry bag for stuff that dislikes water. And I was afraid of getting zapped by the electricity in the sky as I walked home from the subway. Yup . . . tugster on the subway.. Hey . . . parts of the subway lines allow me to travel beneath the sixth boro without a submarine, as depicted by Duke Riley.
Here’s Siberian Sea, also on Wednesday.
Saturday morning light was quite different, after more than two days of rain. D . . . I hope that answers your question about shooting through glass. This was the huge 12,000 hp OSG Vision pushing OSG 350 westbound on the KVK yesterday morning. Given what ATBs work the Great Lakes, I’m wondering about the claim here that Vision, a year even, was the world’s largest ATB unit. On this foto, I’m also shooting into the morning sun.
Here Wicomico passes MSC Federica. Notice the white structure atop the containers (left of the turbine) on Federica.
Here’s a close-up. Anyone else notice it? . . . identify it?
Beaufort Sea passes Zim San Francisco.
By the way, what are those blue “seaco” units on San Fran‘s deck? Also notice the sailboat up there on the load!! Doubleclick enlarges.
Rounding out this post, my till-favorite large tug in the sixth boro . . . Atlantic Salvor, just a bit over half the hp of OSG Vision, not that hp tells the whole story.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
Unrelated to this post but related to the major focus of this blog: I’ve adding the comment by R. A. Pena because it may please you and some of you may be prompted to research it. His note follows: with a bit of editing by me”
| we owe our life to the captn and crew of tug boat CABO ROJO; they saved us from capsizing on 13 of may 1966 on rough weather crossing from cuba to florida; will never forget them; our boat was a 17 footer; l was 18 yrs old at the time. now at 66 l would like to have a photo of the ship or his crew. god bless them and god bless america. note at the time of our rescue tugboat CABO ROJO was pulling 3 barges behind it with molasses on a trip from puerto rico to new orleans. who was to tell that [our] faint far away light was seen in the distance. it was going to be our salvation. thanks a million captn god bless. tugboat CABO ROJO and his crew. r .a. pena vero beach fl. 7-22-2012. note our boat the ANITA was abandoned to the mercy of the sea due to certain circumstances; every time l remember seeing it fade away under the lights of the reflectors of tugboat CABO ROJO l can’t stop tears . thanks again for saving our life. gratefully yours r.a pena” |
Mr. Pena . . . thanks for writing the wonderful note. I hope we can find a foto of CABO ROJO operating between PR and Nola in 1966.
0r . . . from Creativity to a Barefoot Princess in the time some folks sleep in on Saturday mornings.
0826 . . . from my office near Snug Harbor, I see this parcel tanker pass inbound.
0828, from near to far . . . Morton S. Bouchard Jr. , Creativity, and UACC Falcon on intial prep for a local shift east ward.
0914 . . . Atlantic Salvor drags a scow of bottom carving while Brian Nicholas (?) hauls paper for recycling. That’s Marion Moran lower left taking Falcon‘s stern.
0928 . . . Brasil-bound Orange Star meets inbound OSG 350 pushed by OSG Vision . . .
0932 . . . Orange Star meets Zim Texas . . . with a cluster of tugs off her starboard side.
0938 . . . HOS Energy 11104 tails Orange Star. Siberian Sea appears to be Orange Star’s escort, although really she’s not.
0953 . . . Geese flee approaching Falcon and Gramma Lee T Moran.
1036 . . . looking along the flared bow of sea-bound NYK Joanna.
1037 Ellen McAllister trails Joanna outbound.
1055 . . . bulbous bow of Porto begs for paint, maybe the image of a ferocious eye would fend off all inattentive traffic.
1056 . . . Porto meets MSC Federica.
left to right . . . 1058 MSC Federica, Zim San Francisco, Porto.
1107 . . . under the flare of Zim San Francisco, last appeared on this blog here. And that’s Vane’s Wicomico out between Robbins Reef Light and Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower (1929) in the distance.
1113 . . . San Fran, Bruce A., and Elizabeth. San Fran last appeared in the blog inbound as seen from the Bayonne Bridge four months ago here.
1121 . . . Atlantic Concert heads inbound escorted by Ellen.
1144 . . . what’s this crabby thing?
It’s my princess . . .
called either Barefoot Princess or Welcome to Patchogue. Note . . . that “patchogue” is a two syllable word. Twelve years ago, while going to that town to see a man about a boat, I made the error of asking if I was in “pa CHO gee” rhymes with “patchouli,” sort of.
All fotos taken from my KVK offices this morning.
Afterthought: Do you suppose Patchogue is unilaterally annexing NYC’s sixth boro?
What happens in the time it takes to read the morning paper? Well . . .
0635 . . . Maersk Montana passes the salt pile,
0639 . . . Catherine Turecamo sets up to nudge Nord Sea outbound,
0642 . . . Greenland Sea passes Con Hook while a cruise ship prepares to dock in Bayonne,
0644 . . . Catherine follows Nord Sea til the pilot debarks,
0649 . . . Viking approaches with DBL 102,
0659 . . . Davis Sea passes with DBL 32,
0701 . . . Magothy heads . . . for the yard maybe,
0722 HS Livingstone (currently in Norfolk) passes an avian escort as it heads for sea with
a respectable GRADALL with an articulated-neck jackhammer that caused much
consternation among these geese.
0704 . . . an hour and nine minutes have passed. Siberian Sea and Davis Sea meet, and for me time for another cup of tea.
All fotos taken Sunday morning by Will Van Dorp. More Sunday fotos to follow.
Click on the image below and you’ll see how I posted it just over five years ago. So what do the big blue tug Powhatan below, Ellen McAllister, USCG Katherine Walker, ATB Brandywine, ATB Dublin Sea. and the Staten Island Ferry Spirit of America (as well as ferries Molinari and Marchi) all have in common?
For starters, the Menominee River in Wisconsin. And from that, given corporate acquisitions, an “in-law” relationship exists with Fincantieri vessels including Costa Concordia as well as the caissons that’ll try to re-float her.
But closer to home, the list above was built at the same Wisconsin shipyard as seven fleet ocean tugs, four of which are active in Military Sealift Command today. Click here for the 2012 MSC vessels poster, one fifth of which is reproduced below. MSC operates over 100 vessels today using 5500 civilian mariners. Civil servant mariners!!
The DonJon Marine Powhatan above has since 2008 become Inebolu A-590 of the Turkish Navy.
The Powhatan-class T-ATFs hare huge, by New York tugboat stands: 226′ loa x 42′ x 15.’
And they do long, large tows. Here about a year ago, Apache begins to tow a decommissioned USS Nassau to join the reserve fleet in Texas. Click here for more context on the foto, taken from USNS Grapple, another MSC vessel that may appear on this blog soon.
Thanks to Birk Thomas, I have a few more fotos of Apache in New London. Note the towline . . . attached to a sub in this 2010 foto, and . . .
light in 2011. Here’s a question I do NOT know the answer to: Apache visited NYC before 2001, but I don’t know when. Does anyone recall this? Have a foto of this?
In the next post, we look inside Apache. Next question . . . does this marlinespike seamanship have a name? Would this have been original to this 1981 vessel? By the way, Apache’s 31st b’day (technically d’day . . . D for delivery) is late July.
Only the first and last fotos are by Will Van Dorp. The second and third from last are thanks to Birk Thomas. All the others come from Military Sealift Command. Many thanks to Susan Melow, MSC Public Affairs Officer, for setting up a visit and to Apache Second Officer Michael R. Rankin for guiding the tour.
Click here to see Apache towing USS Forrestal. Here she is in St. Petersburg. Finally, here she deals with Atlantic Ocean pirates.
Finally, once again, does anyone remember when Apache visited NYC? Is there an archive online for vessels visiting during Fleet Weeks going back to 1982?
On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote this to his wife Abigail: ”The day will be most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade…bonfires and illuminations (fireworks) from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”
I wonder if Abigail believed him.
Last night around 1900 hr, Brendan Turecamo (above) and Catherine Turecamo pushed their Macy’s loads upriver. I think two other Macy’s barges were pushed by Kimberly Turecamo and Jennifer Turecamo.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think that the Macy’s 34th Street megastore had embarked on short sea shipping of goods. Do you know that as a teenager, R. H. Macy worked on a Nantucket whaling ship, Emily Morgan, during which time he got a tattoo, which is the star that still today in the company logo.
A motley crew of spectators ventured into the river for the show,
a very motley crew indeed.
Other tugs took some time off as well . . . Maurania III here, and Quantico Creek and the other Pegasus over on the other side of the river. Maybe others too.
The two Harley tugs–HMS Liberty and St Andrews–hung out with 1907-built Pegasus at the sanitation pier.
It appears here that a contingent of the NYC Air Force is escorting in Hornblower Infinity. As it said, it APPEARS that way. Anyone I know working there?
343 summons the safety spirits.
Lots of spectators wait on a contingent of NYC’s passenger/dinnerboat fleet.
Darkness falls. Tension builds as thunderstorms do their own illumination to the north and the south.
Around 2130 h . . . opening salvo.
These fotos do not capture that percussive blasts and echoes off the sanitation pier . . . so use your imagination.
Too bad John and Abigail and all the other signers weren’t here.
Well, maybe they were.
I did hear some creaking and squeaking on the pier.
Happy
Independence
all the time.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
AND Pegasus and you have something else to celebrate. Remember the Partners in Preservation voting lots of you all did back in May? Pegasus and Lehigh Valley 79 ended in 14th place, and I thought that meant they got no money. Au contraire, they DID get a hefty sum . .. $140,000 to split! . . .to be used for preservation, and on a 1907-built vessel, there’s a lot of preservation to be done. So thanks much for voting. If you want to see Pegasus close-up, come down to Pier 25 west side of Manhattan . . .
Actually that title captures 98% of this blog’s +1800 posts. And just as elsewhere in Gotham or anywhere else, so on the sixth boro what work you see depends entirely on your station. And my station this particular day was Tchefuncte River’s Equitable Equipment‘s hull # 1428, delivered in August 1966 as Red Star Towing‘s New Haven. Now she’s Freddie K. Miller; I took the foto below just over five years ago when she was Stapleton Service. I use this foto here because a downside of being on the tow is my inability to get a foto OF the tow.
At 0520 hrs, dawn was sweetest and coolest, from this point a mile south of Miller’s Launch. When I reported at 0530, the Miller’s yard was already busy.
The crew of Freddie K Miller’s had a job: pick up Weeks Crane Barge 552 and its crew and proceed to the East River ConEd. By 0615, crew was making the tow.
0645 we were crossing west to east across the Upper Bay. Buchanan 1 was towing a scow and
Douglas B. Gurion headed west for passengers. The ferry is named for a victim of September 11.
0715 . .. near Red Hook container port, we passed this ex-MSC vessel Transatlantic. I will post more MSC soon.
0730 . . . we had passed under the Brooklyn Bridge and now could feast on this potpourri of Manhattan skyline. Side by side on the right are Gehry’s flowing-facade 8 Spruce (2011) and Gilbert’s spiky-tower (1913).
0745 . . . we pass GMD Shipyard, where morning shift has already started its work on Massachusetts Maritime’s TS Kennedy (1967).
0815 . . . the crew have tied to the ConEd dock and Weeks’ crew has begun setting the spuds, for stability as the load is transferred. My very general understanding of this load is that ConEd purchased equipment from Manufacturer M. Company A trucked it to the Weeks yard because installation by land (by Company B) was less feasible than installation from water. Miller’s job was to move equipment on crane barge to ConEd so that Weeks–with collaboration from Company B–could set equipment exactly where it will be used.
0915 . . . first equipment is lifted and rotated over the East River counterclockwise to avoid obstacles on land, and at
0920 . . . crew guides unit into exact location. If half an inch off, then lift and get it right.
1010 . . . next piece of equipment is moved. While the tug stands by with the crane barge, Miller crew does fine carpentry work in wheelhouse.
Since my self-appointed job is to record details, check out Carolina IV, sailing westbound on the East river . . . hailing from Stockholm, Yes, sailing! and . . . yes . . . that Stockholm while
eastbound are Gage Paul Thornton and a floatplane.
1115 . . . heavy-duty pipe elbow gets lifted into place. Tower protruding from the building just right of MetLife is Chrysler Building.
1215 . . . the spuds are up, the crane boom lowered and secured, Freddie K Miller has spun off the dock and now heads back westbound for the Weeks yard. If the grayish vessel in the foreground is locally known as a “honey boat,” then this has to be one of the sweetest scenes possible in these parts.
1300 . . . as we approach the Weeks yard we cross Buchanan 12 towing three stone scows, possibly headed for a quarry up the Hudson.
1330 . . . Freddy K Miller is now “light,” having left the barge at the Weeks yard. Ever Decent is outbound for sea, and by this writing is southbound off Cape Hatteras.
Meanwhile, close to Manhattan, Asphalt Star takes on bunker fuel from a Vane barge. That black hose . . . that’s like the hose at the pump where you fill your car tank.
By 1400, I’ve said my thanks to the crew of Freddy K Miller —who await their next job on this or another vessel–and the dispatcher, and take a break to examine a familiar sight: Alice, she who inspired my first ever blogpost!!
Back on the bank and before heading home, I get another shot; she’s loaded deep with her Canadian aggregates.
Imagine my delight, then, later that day getting a foto from Mike C. of Alice Oldendorff north of the Navy Yard self-unloading her cargo of crushed stone.
Many thanks to all the folks at Miller’s Launch. Also, thank you Mike for sending along this last foto. All other fotos by Will Van Dorp.
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