Random Tugs 408

Before I left the boro, I took a quick survey trip to check on some painting I’d expected had happened.  I took some photos, knowing I’d be away for a while.  No, not upriver, as they used to say.

Buchanan 5 runs a shuttle.

Margaret Moran has worked the harbor since lajnch, i believe.  This perspective shows her triangular profile.

 

That’s Rockaway moving in the opposite direction and Margaret waiting for her container barge to be loaded.

This is a rare view of Robert Burton not moving sanitation containers across the boro.

Sea Lion was running

alongside Charles James, almost as if they were joined on a mission, which

possibly they were.

All photos, any errors, WVD, who’s left the wordpress robots in charge for a few days.  I hope they water my plants.

Jaunt ’24 c

Sticking to the format, days 5 and 6.  Enjoy these from Salinas to Sacramento, traveling in the rain at the speed of light.  I chose this representative group while drinking morning coffee as well as while sleeping.  I’ve tried to arrange in chronological order.

It was too early to try the deep-fried artichokes at the “center of the world.”

Elkhorn Slough, and buildings of what once a dairy farm.

 

Pescadero Beach looking south and

north

Sausalito

includes a houseboat made of former City of Seattle and 

barrage balloon barges.

Beached locals and

and grounded Polaris at Rodeo.

Sandra Hugh assists.

Delaware bunkers.

Cape Fear LASH in Saisun Bay.

Then farther into the Delta [the size and complexity of which I had grossly failed to appreciate] to transit the Sacramento River  on The Real McCoy II portion of Route 84 and 

then ride the levee looking for

Delta King.

All photos, any errors, WVD, with thanks to George Schneider for local knowledge.  Not included here are the other 500+ photos I took.

 

 

Non-Random Tugs 15 B

Vane Brothers has expanded their fleet quite dramatically during the time frame of this blog [since 2006].  Although most of their boats operating through the sixth boro fit into two classes, Sassafras 3000 hp and Patapsco 4200 hp, strong design similarities blur the distinction.  In other words, with a quick glance, you might think they’re all identical.  Patapsco came out in 2004, and Sassafras, in 2008.  All come from the drawing boards at Entech, which has an impressive portfolio, as seen here.   Ironically, Sassafras now operates as George Holland, and Patapsco as Marilyn George.

Let me show some Vane boats I’ve seen in the sixth boro recently, beginning with Elk River, a 3000 hp.

Would you sat Bohemia is identical to Elk River?

The difference is in the height of the upper wheelhouse.  Bohemia is a 4200 hp boat, aka Patapsco class. 

Charleston is a 4200 hp boat, but given some upgrades, is considered of the run of at least four Elizabeth Anne-class boats. Elizabeth Anne and several other Vane boats work on the West Coast.

Brooklyn is an outlier;  it came out in 2002 and is a Blount product, previously called Sea Bull and Labrador Sea.

Helen is also an outlier, a Sassafras-class boat previously called Charles Burton.

Choptank is a 4200 hp boat.

Cape Fear is a 3000 hp, 

Pocomoke 4200, 

Magothy 4200, 

and Jacksonville, a 4200 hp boat of the Elizabeth Anne class. 

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Here was the first installment, and here’s a long series called Vane Brothers.

Jaunt ’24 b

Days 3 and 4 . . . here are a few, all taken while heading north between Long Beach CA and Salinas.

I could say more and I will, but for now, enjoy these photos.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll have to come back to this in a later post.

This is only several dozen miles from the Pacific.

Photos are not in the order they were taken.

This will be in your supermarket soon.

 

All photos, WVD.

 

 

Jaunt ’24 a

Unrelated:  To understand what likely happened in Baltimore, watch this 6-minute video  from Sal, up just a couple hours after the incident:  as a friend wrote, Sal is the best.

Today’s post:  For the next few weeks, I’ll follow a planned, circuitous route back home to the sixth boro from the Pacific side by car and train.  Some posts with photos from the sixth boro are in the hopper controlled by the robots in Tugster tower ready to post if WiFi and time fail me.  If you want to follow along, I’m posting mostly photos because–given limited time– the more text,  the fewer postings.  Thanks for following along if you so choose.  You’ll be able to figure out most of the photos, I’ll assume.  See the tags for help.  I’m starting in San Diego, then planning to zigzag across the country using Amtrak and rental car.

This post has a FEW of the 250+ photos from days 1 and 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember this Katherine?

 

 

 

 

All local knowledge and hospitality… thanks to George Schneider.  All photos any errors, WVD, who did this last year as traxter.

 

Sixth Boro Details 21

Miss Circle Line is a stalwart over on the Hudson.

Over on the East River, I caught a familiar sight crossing over to the Manhattan, 

Louis C, last seen on this same Pier 17, this time here to do some repair and maintenance to the pier.

Robert IV moved some sand eastbound on the strait toward the Williamsburg Bridge and beyond.

Mary H came out of Newtown Creek with her barge Patriot.

Over on the Upper Bay Bruce A. pushed NYNJR-200 with a load of rail cars across to Brooklyn from NJ. 

Over at the east end oil docks, a group of units either loaded or began moving cargo.

I love the clarity of winter air;  this shot looks across the entire length of the KVK ands beyond to the towers of the Goethals Bridge.  That wall of containers over beyond the Bayonne Bridge, that

is a new ULCV to me, MSC Fatma, a “fat” ULCV loaded 21 containers wide.  I wasn’t able to find her teu capacity.  Maybe someone can help. 

The last photo comes thanks to Aukatik;  all other and any errors, WVD, who by now has left the boro for some overdue gallivanting.  

 

Non-Random Tugs 21 D

Here are the previous Non-Random 21 installments.  Part D showcases Reinauer boats I’ve seen in the past month or so and a bit of information about the size of each.

Dace Reinauer, 109′ x 30′, larger than I would have guessed. 

I’d have underestimated the size of Morgan as well, 119′ x 34′.

Jill, 92′ x 27′.

Stephen, 100′ x 31′.

Josephine, 110′ x 33′.

Matthew Tibbetts, 92′ x 27′.

Dylan Cooper, 112′ x 35′.

Nicole Leigh, 119′ x40′.

Lucy, 109′ x 32′.

Gracie, 112′ x 35′.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Here’s a series on Reinauer boats going back to 2007.

 

 

 

Sixth Boro Details 20

Does 153305 have another name?  

In the first half of March, 153305 and Eastern Welder were still dragging the bottom of the boro, hat tip to the late great Joseph Mitchell.  Above and below, these photos were taken looking west toward New Jersey from a central location in Upper Bay.

The boro, my invented unit for the harbor greater than just the Upper Bay,  is full of surprises, as was reiterated to me on a warm day last week as I sat in the sun, looking NE toward the Manhattan Bridge, and watched things pass . . .  like pilot boat Yankee down at Pier 17.  The excursion boat in the distance, stern toward us, is The Manhattan.

Westerly was reading the bottom near the west end of the East River and Red Hook;  note the crewman working in the winter sun in short sleeves.

Different day, here’s Westerly working, with Governors Island ferry, Lt. Samuel S. Coursen, and heliport in the background.

Curtis Reinauer was on a mission, 

leaving a trail across the calm waters.

Identify these boats

 

In the foreground, it’s Discovery Coast with a Vane barge; middle, it’s Navigator with her barge; in the distance, it’s a quite busy Bayonne Dry Dock and beyond that, the cranes at Port Elizabeth.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Great Lakes News 2

Today is the day.  Given the mild and relatively ice-free winter on the Lakes, today’s opening of the Soo locks is a few days earlier than usual.  Can you imagine another reason for the early opening, other than the weather?  Answer follows.

It’s a good time to note which Great Lakes boats transited these locks most last season.  The results are as follows:  

Lee A. Tregutha made 92 transits, making her the most frequent vessel through the locks.  She is quite the survivor too, delivered as tanker USS Chiwawa during the early years of WW2.

Second place greatest number of transits was Hon. James L. Oberstar with 88 transits.

With 86 transits, Edwin H. Gott was third.  She was also the first vessel to pass through the locks at the beginning of the 2023 season;  see the ice cubes in the lock at this time last year.  Any guesses on te first cargo vessel to transit today?

A glance on AIS will tell you, and a glance today and again in 10 days will show very different pictures on Lakes traffic.

Fourth place for number of transits in 2023 was Paul R. Tregurtha with 81 transits.

American Century transited 76 times, making her fifth.

John G. Munson was sixth with 75 transits.

If you’re needing to know the entire top 10, here’s a link with that information. 

And what additional impetus is there for opening a few days early?  The steel producers.  More info here.

First through the Soo for 2024?  See who’s first in the queue as of 0530 today?

Here’s Joseph, as photographed 10 months ago approaching the Soo from Superior side.

Indiana Harbor will be next.  The first ATB through will be Dirk S. VanEnkevort, as it looks just before posting, since they’re already in the St Marys River. 

Technically, the first vessel through transited already yesterday, a Canadian icebreaker named Risley, on its way up to Thunder Bay. 

 I transited a dozen times or so in 2023, but I will likely do that zero times this season.  June 28, 2024 is Engineers Day, a good day for a behind-the-scenes view.  I will however be gallivanting soon.  Watch this space.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

It turns out that today the whole system opens as well.  More here.  On opening day on the Welland Canal, top hats are presented to the captains of the first upbound and downbound vessels through the Canal.  Navigation to the Twin Cities on the Mississippi began on March 17 for 2024.

 

Something Different 82

I’ve posted photos like this before, this one with Kristy Ann and RTC 80 in the foreground, and in the background Ever Fine inbound under the VZ Bridge.  If you’re local, you’ve seen this background.  Imagine my surprise, then when I saw

this image.  I took the photo last week in a subway car.  It’s advertising!  For what?

Well, here’s the rest of the image.

Other advertising posters in the same series were located in the same subway car.  They’re AI-generated images would be my guess, and strange ones at that, but in advertising, my guess is that the strange catches attention, which means effective.

StreetEasy is a Zillow creation, and the art certainly blends Renaissance style with AI.  Here’s more.  Attribution goes to a partnering of Mother-New York and Buck.  I’d love to know about the process.

And still more.  Paywall keeps me out of AdAge.

IMHO, the location should be corrected to say SIXTH BORO (2024), and the journeying real-estate searchers with their guide should at very least be overlooking the furry bow of a  be-puddinged tugboat.  I love that the sixth boro is depicted in this ad, but let’s have more harbor context than just the VZ bridge.  

All snap shots and opinions, WVD.

Previous installments of this title can be seen here.