Sailing Cargo

Is it a vestige of a past whose

artifacts are mostly

disappearing?  Or

is it an enterprise of

what is

to come?

Read how the Danes and Dutch already do it.  These Dutch from Tres Hombres wanted to sail into the sixth boro last year but were stymied by red tape.   Then there’s the Vermont working sailcraft project discussed here.  Andrew Wilner has more examples in his blog here.   Here’s a veritable bibliography of hybrid sail ideas.

Working Harbor Committee presents a panel discussion of this topic tonight from 6 pm — 9 pm in Manhattan.    Click here for details.

All fotos here by Will Van Dorp.  The disintegrating sailboat fotos were taken near Bear Mountain last weekend, and the Black Seal three-masted schooner fotos date from when it delivered 20 tons of cocoa beans to Red Hook in June 2011.   Here and here are related blog posts I did back then.

 

NYC Tugboat Race 2012 d

It is a race, and that means there’s a winner, but the race committee decided to have both the first place (left, Lincoln Sea . . . 8000 hp) and second place (right, Meagan Ann . . . 2200 hp)) finishers raise the cup this year because of Meagan Ann‘s lightning speed that allowed her to beat at least four boats of equal or great horsepower.  Is her hull coated with slippery paint?

Someone remarked that the Kirby livery makes this originally blue vessel seem larger than previous paint jobs.

This blue vessel built originally for Alaska is

speedy.  She left us in the dust . . .  er . . .  froth!

Final shot of Lincoln Sea (for now) and

us as we appeared from her upper wheelhouse.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp, except the last one by Dave Boone.  Thanks, Dave.  You caught me waving . . . green deck forward of the wheelhouse.

Related:  last week I got this email from D. J. Lake, who gave me permission to reprint it:

“I am contacting you with regard to the pictures of the first tug boat race in the New York harbor in the early ’50′s that you posted recently. My uncle, Vincent Lake, a long-time employee of the M & J Tracy Towing Line, was a captain on the William J. Tracy on the day of the race.     As you probably know, the William J. Tracy was one of four new tugs acquired at that time by Tracy Towing, including her sisters, Kathleen Tracy, Thomas Tracy and Helen Tracy (all named for members of the Tracy family).  These tugs were replacements for older units in the fleet.     My Uncle Vincent always talked about this race and what an honor it was to be involved in it.  I am glad the races have been given a new beginning. The races give the public an opportunity to see tugs in action in the harbor.  Thank you. D.J. Lake”

D. J. . . . thanks for sharing that bit of history with us.

For a short video on this coming weekend’s Waterford Tug Roundup, see “now published author” Rick Old Salt’s blog here.

NYC Tugboat Race 2012 c

Here’s to the photographers of the event!  We do love it.  And here’s to the companies, crews, spectators, and organizers.  The sprint is only the start of the event, though.

After that, greetings and foto-ops happen, as

do carefully calibrated/matched push-offs contests like Vulcan III v.  Lincoln Sea or

Maurania III v.  Quantico Creek

or Pegasus v.  Thornton Bros. or

Weddell Sea v.  Lincoln Sea or

Thornton Bros. v.  Pegasus (again!@#@!!)  or

Vulcan III  v.  Gage Paul Thornton or

Quantico Creek v. Buchanan 12 and so many more.  Sorry if I missed your best brawl.

Meagan Ann won the line-toss, with second place going to Buchanan 12.

Yes there were kayakers but they stayed in the wash-machine between the piers.

Other results if I copied them correctly:

Class A (3000 hp and up)  Lincoln Sea,   Class B (1500-2999 hp) Meagan Ann, Class C (500-1499 hp) (not so) Little Toot, and Class D . . . Growler

Other awards:  ”little toot”  to The Bronx (180 hp), “best vintage and “best mascot” to Pegasus and Duke, who can be seen steering two years ago in the fifth foto here. )

“best looking” to Maurania III, “best-dressed crew” to Growler, “best tattoo” to a crewman on Lincoln Sea, and “best company support”  to Miller’s Launch . . . who participated with four boats.

And (if my notes accurately reflect what was said) some maritime-related statistics from the EDC:  The sector provides 170,000 direct jobs in NY/NJ, 280,000 total jobs.  Tugboats in the greater sixth boro area account for 33,000 jobs and $2 billion in personal income.

And if you want more like this, steal away 130 miles to the north this coming weekend for the Waterford Tugboat Roundup.  See you there.

And finally (for now) see Bonnie Frogma’s race coverage here.

NYC Tugboat Race 2012 b

The prizes await the results;  that’s executive director of WHC John Doswell on the far left.

Here’s the official table.  We’ll come back to the trophies and raffle items in part c or d of this series of posts.

The next eight fotos come compliments of William Hyman, who positioned himself at the 70th Street Pier (I think) to get great line-up/race-start  shots.  Thanks, William.  From L to R, it’s Buchanan 1, Meagan Ann, Maurania III (my riverhorse), and Quantico Creek.

The field fills in.  I hope to see Mai’s fotos from the little green/white crew boat soon.

Thornton Bros. and Gage Paul Thornton almost don’t arrive in time.  Between these two working vessels is 123 years of towing!   Happy Labor Day!

And looking west across the river, enjoy the burst of adrenaline and diesel fuel as . . .

hulls begin to defy inertia and an adverse tide.

This is the back of the front.

and the farther back.  There are four different classes by horsepower, so all are contenders . . .

even The Bronx.

The rest are my fotos . . .  here the surface Hudson is channelled between a combined 7000 hp.

But somehow Meagan Ann has surged ahead . . .  they must have speed wheels or boosters under that hull.

Here’s the field to the L to R:  Catherine Miller, Little Toot, Susan Miller, Gage Paul Thornton (barely visible), Buchanan 12, Buchanan 1, Thornton Bros., Vulcan III, Pegasus.   Any errors are mine.

Freddie K Miller runs the east side and

Lincoln Sea dominates the west.  I wonder how the spectator boat lurched as Lincoln passed.

Again . . . to the west.

and the east as we’re way past the halfway point.

Some goofy supervisor assigned this crewman an unfortunate time to touchup the paint.

Here’s a 180 years of towing labor out to play.

Here’s a 46-year-old.

Note W. O. Decker in the distance as Quantico surges past the finish line.

Under the bubble on Intrepid hides a space shuttle, as Freddie K passes.

Gage Paul, Catherine, Growler, and Pegasus.

Here’s 159 years of towing/pushing labor.

and their context for a minute second yesterday.

Race over . . . . ceremony is provided by Driftmaster and a fireboat.

More fotos later today when I have time.  Many thanks to William Hyman for use of his shoreside fotos.

Meanwhile . . . in the Sixth Boro n Beyond

Many thanks to Paul Strubeck for this foto of a preserved “results report” he has . . .   from a 60-year-old typewriter!  A week from today Working Harbor Committee is sponsoring a great event they call the 20th annual North River Tugboat Race, but clearly there have been more than 19 prior races involving the machinery of the New York City towing industry.  How many races have been held?  Going in “order of completion,” I’ve managed to find fotos of  #2 finisher Barbara Moran and #3  Socony 11 (later Dorothy Elizabeth, shown here racing again in 2007) from Birk and Harold’s site.   Also, here’s a foto of a model of #1 Shamokin.  And a foto from eBay of Wm. J. Tracy.    Finally, here’s a quite forlorn foto of Dalzelleader late in her life.  That leaves me without images of finishers 5, 6, and 7:  Dauntless 14, Russell 17 and Turecamo Girls of that vintage.

Thanks to Charlie Gallo for sending this foto of Mister T (2001) from the east end of the East River, a section of the sixth boro that I’ve inadvertently ignored.    I’ve no idea who the T is Mister T is. Behind the bridge is SUNY Maritime’s Empire State.  Thanks, Charlie.

In fact, I’m always looking for new perspectives, like this one from a week ago over southwest Bayonne, showing McAllister Sisters and Ellen McAllister docking Golden Gate Bridge, with Bebedouro and Islander (I think) in the distance.  Also, in the foreground, it’s drillboat Kraken.

One of the details of ships is their names, like this quite intriguing one.

From a similar aerial perspective, enjoy Turecamo Girls (1965).

How about an unexpected angle on a frequent subject of this blog, Gramma Lee T Moran, running here with an outbound Carnival Glory.

The T in Gramma Lee T is for Tregurtha.   Gramma Lee has this other vessel named for her as well.  She was the wife of Paul Tregurtha, a name that you might know from Ken or Isaac’s blog posts on Interlake Steamship Company vessels.

I spotted one such vessel from Badger earlier this week.  Behold barge Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann.

Barge Pathfinder used to be a boat:  J. L. Mauthe. 

Boat-turned-barge Pathfinder now has a detachable engine called Dorothy Ann (1998).

As the person behind this blog, I want to step back a bit and thank you all for reading what I post, looking at the fotos, commenting, and sometimes correcting my errors.  I’ve enjoyed doing the blog for almost six years and will continue.

More SS Badger soon.

Cast

Doubleclick enlarges most fotos.  Few words here, but lots of fotos of the cast that has now converged.  Count them . . . five here and

one more here, along with OOCL Kuala Lumpur in the distance, a lube tanker servicing an oil tanker closeup, and a dredger  in the distance to the right.

From Colombia, it’s Gloria, with Buchanan 1 towing two stone scows in the distance.

From Ecuador, it’s Guayas, with a

condor as a figurehead.

From Indonesia, it’s Dewaruci, with

a regal figurehead and

exuberant crew.

From Mexico, it’s Cuauhtemoc, which is also

the name of the figurehead.

From Brazil, it’s Cisne Branco.

And finally, of the vessels already in Gravesend Bay, it’s the schooner Juan Sebastian De Elcano.

All at anchor, awaiting the parade tomorrow.

Mare Atlantic also awaits orders or appointments within

view of the cliffs of Manhatan.

Thanks to Working Harbor Committee for organizing and executing this sneak preview boat tour tonight.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Unrelated:  See who I missed at South Street Seaport!@#@!!

NYC Tugboat Race 2011 a

Here’s 2010, 2009, and 2008.  And here’s 2007, when I got the best race start foto but with a less good camera.  September 2006 predated the blog although I posted 2006 race fotos here, my third EVER post.

Many thanks to Working Harbor Committee and all their volunteers and sponsors as well as to the towing companies and their crews for making this event possible, even a week after Irene whirled through here.  Here’s my favorite action shot from today, Quantico Creek neck and neck with Maurania III as FDNY Three Forty Three misted them.   I’m not sure what the results of the race were, but my bias says everyone who participated or spectated–even before hurrying to baseball, tennis, picnicking, or what have you– won.

By 9:15 the table had been set;  bowls at the ready for the gourmet spinach tasting ritual, which I will spare you out of concerns for propriety and delicate palates.

The most prestigious cup in water sport waits.

By 10 am, 0n the safety boat, Capt. John Doswell, calls the parade to order.

The race committee checks radios, stopwatches and imaging devices.   Capt. Jerry Roberts stands on the bench.

NY-1 is there with camera;  here’s their reportage.

Crews waved as they passed the dais;  my special “enthusiastic wave” awards go to the crews of Ross Sea and

Susan Miller.

Nine tugs in all this year paraded

up to the start line,

just south of 79 Street.

Sea Wolf, tug nine this year, enthusiastically raced up to the start line.

From Pier 84 at precisely 10:33:56, I witnessed those puffs of smoke, evidence that the great race had begun.

Here a half minute later,  frothy “bones in the teeth” demonstrate that RPM as well as SOG and probably adrenaline levels have risen.

Vessels left to right are Ross Sea, Quantico Creek, Maurania III, and Pegasus.  As evidence of investment in the sixth boro towing industry, these boats were launched 2003, 2010, 2004, and 2006, respectively.

Top horsepower boats were (l. to r. ) Ross Sea (3400), Quantico Creek (3000), and Maurania III (4000).  As to design and function, the two tugs on the left push oil barges, and Maurania III does mostly ship assists.

Here are the smaller boats, l. to r. Pegasus, Growler, Sea Wolf, Catherine C. Miller, and Freddy K. Miller.  Type any of these names in the search window upper left and you’ll see what I’ve written about them before.

For Quantico Creek  and Maurania III  it was indeed

a foto finish.  This is NOT an official foto-finish foto.  Check back here for official “processed” results.

Vessel on the extreme right is Susan Miller.

Pegasus passes, and

as does the

rest of the field.

Check back here for results.

Tomorrow more reportage of the rest of the competitions.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who reminds you that unlike the farm tugs I put last month, these boats might already be back on the job this evening, Labor Day weekend notwithstanding.

Random Tugs 76

When I took this foto in 2006, I knew none of the folks depicted;  more about this foto at the end.

This Sunday in the sixth boro is the 19th annual tugboat race.  If you are free, come down to Pier 84.  Will Beth M. McAllister be there?  the young Pegasus?

Viking was partly there last year.  Might she race this year?

Might Tasman Sea clench her pins and sprint to the finish?

Will Bohemia lope ahead of the field?

Will Lee T Moran show just how misleading the “Gramma” part of her name is?

Will Socrates miraculously spring free from these lines and parade over the finish line first?

Will Brendan Turecamo and all these other occupied Moran vessels churn up the one-nautical-mile race course?

In previous years, the weekend following the tug race in the sixth boro, there was a tug roundup in Waterford, NY.  Bad news this year:  because of Irene’s reckless bluster and immoderate rain, the 2011 Waterford Tug Roundup  has been cancelled.  I will miss the puppytugs,

the pushoffs of fiberglass into steel,

the carefully matched performers,

the hometown favorites taking on the outatowners.    But I’m not going to miss

the hospitality of Waterford and its fine folks . . .  because I’m coming up anyhow.  See you on the 9th or 10th.

Thanks to Stray for sending along this link to fotos of Irene devastation upriver.  I feel sick.  Crow and Wire, #94, 119, and 181, were at the Roundup last year.  Black Knight, seen in a tugster post a week ago, shows up in #178.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Really Random Tugs 5

In case you worried that Patty Nolan‘s figurefigure would go unrefurbished, check this out . .  and just in time for the holiday.  The 1931 vessel is updated, state-of-the-art, and decent!  More Patty soon.    If you don’t get the “figurefigure” reference, well, this is a “headless” and limbless figurehead.

If you’re really coordinated with screen controls, you can tour 1939 Hudson, the only pre-war sea tug museum in the Netherlands.

Here’s Hudson posing with Elisabeth, Netherlands 2011 tug of the year.  Click here to tour Hudson‘s engine room and see the Burmeister & Wain engine.

Ellen McAllister –that nose packs a terrific punch–rafts up with Nathan E. Stewart –now in the Pacific Northwest?–after the 2009 Hudson River tug race;  the 2011 race will happen in LESS THAN two months.

Barbara McAllister (1969, ex-Bouchard Boys, ex- T. J. Sheridan)  here pushes Bouchard No. 282 out of Port Jefferson.

And back in the sixth boro, here’sOSG Horizon and barge OSG 351 on possibly their first foray in these waters.  Assist tug is Elizabeth McAllister (1967).  Horizon is the twin of

OSG Vision.  Another of the design is planned.  Any guesses on the name?

Credits here go to David Williams, Fred Trooster, moi-meme for Ellen and Nathan, Justin Zizes, and John Watson.

And an announcement, this blog leaves on a gallivant tomorrow and may be silent for the better part of a week.  We hope to surface in Jacksonville, Miami, Key West, and Dry Totugas.    Cheers.

Pairs in Springtime 1

No . . . I’m not misspelling the name of that French city that enthralls all those singers like . . .  PaperMoon.  I mean sixth boro  ”p-a-i-r-s,” which that French city just re-enacts, right?  Pairs here like Siberian Sea and Stolt Invention, this latter featured in yesterday’s Hoops post;  or

small fishing boat and Stephen Scott Reinauer, or

Charles McAllister and OSG Independence, or

that same Charles McAllister and Serenity, or

the unmistakeable Lincoln Sea and the –is it–Eastern Dawn?

More pairs in springtime would include North Sea and Katherine G (the jack-up vessel way over beyond Liberty Island) as well as all the architectural and monumental pairs here.

Nicole Leigh and Franklin Reinauer, and

McAllister Girls and Buchanan I.

Is it Ellen Bouchard here with Evening Light?

another shot of Katherine G with a pair of crewman sitting forward,

and  . . . upcountry in farmland New York, a pair of megalithic Steiger tractors, compared with Larson and Lucas. . . tillers from today’s NYTimes.

More “pairs in springtime” tomorrow.

You can see your own pairs and triplets, etc. on a tour with Working Harbor Committee, starting next week.