You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2009.
Click here to see posts for the week before the race in 2008.
Below, and occupying the notch, Lincoln Sea, participant with all 8000 horses in the 2006 race here. I don’t know if Lincoln Sea (ex-S/R Everett from 2000)will be free to compete next week.
I don’t recall either Joan Moran (1975) or Gramma Lee T taking part in years I’ve watched. They showed fantastic torque yesterday spinning Andre Jacob on her axis. Interestingly, see the last foto here a year ago with Andre Jacob then bearing the name Margara!! Some vessels disappear to Alang; others disappear but reappear hiding in plain sight with new names.
I also don’t recall Hornbeck boats like Liberty Service (ex-Mac Tide 63 and Jaramac 63 from 1983) taking part.
Or Witte boats like Thomas D. (from 1961 and formerly holding such names as Kendall P. Brake, Reliance, Tammy, Matty J, and June C) , fotoed here at the Salt Fest yesterday.
Ellen McAllister (1966) may have.
I don’t recall Dann Ocean Towing boats, like Shannon (ex-Alice H and Chelsea from 1971) here, competing. That’s Captain Log off starboard and Houma off port.
Greenland Sea (ex-Emma M Roehrig, S/R Providence, Tecumseh, and Doc Candies from 1990) I don’t recall.
Or Great Lakes Dock and Dredge boats, like McCormack Boys (1982) here.
I have friends who, when “talking” baseball or football can pull the most arcane details and statistics out of the air, as if they’d spend hours memorizing the stuff. I hope someone following the sixth boro tug races has a better grasp of statistics than me.
Bowsprite fotoed the vessel below a few days back from her cliff. I’m intrigued. Can anyone identify this yacht? It’s Atlantide!!
Remember, Working Harbor Committee annual Tug Boat Race & Competition will be held on Sunday, 6 September from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Pier 84 on the Hudson River. Here’s a note from them: “In addition to selling tickets on our spectator boat (a Circle Line 42 vessel) we are offering 12 tickets for sale to be in the race on a tug TBD. The price of a ticket is $250 per person. The number of passengers is limited to 12. Please email Meg Black — meg@workingharbor.org — to purchase tickets.”
All fotos except the last one by Will Van Dorp, who waits with bated breath for Flinterduin. Get your cameras ready; she arrives in the next 24 hours.
Quick post on the 1st annual Atlantic Salt Maritime Fest. Atlantic Salt brings salt from Ireland, Chile, and Mexico through the sixth boro to keep icy roads less treacherous. Where salt made a huge mound in this winter post, today there was frivolity, free food, and lots of smiles. Thank you, Atlantic Salt. Below Half Moon and container vessel Sumida meet.
Kristy Ann Reinauer and Thomas Witte paraded past, and
as did Rana Miller. More Rana later; she’s quite similar to Guardian, posted here last winter.
There was singing, drumming, and dancing.
Did it rain??
No, problem. Did tugster find friends? Oh, this is getting frivolous.
Bowsprite took the foto above; all others by Will Van Dorp. By the way, if you know the Where’s Waldo series, bowsprite is depicted in TWO of the fotos above. Where’s bowsprite?
By the way, as of this writing, Flinterduin, the 15-masted motor vessel, approaches 50 degrees west, due south of Newfoundland. She should enter the harbor before Monday morning; I will do the math later to narrow the ETA. Remember the foto contest.
An adjective I’ve not heard of late and would like to resurrect is “many-splendored.” That word captures my sense of the KVK, aka Kill van Kull. If you live anywhere near the sixth boro, you can get up close by coming to the maritime fest at the Atlantic Salt yard. I’ve not found much info about them, but this is a space where salt is stockpiled for safe driving on icy roads, not savory eating in spite of your doctor’s wishes. One post I wrote about this place is here. Anyone share a link for more Atlantic Salt? For example, I know salt comes from multiple places; anyone help with provenance info? On the building poster, the red-white-blue mound behind the orange ferry is a tarp-covered salt pile.
I caught this prep work happening at Atlantic Salt yesterday. The Weeks barge carries the universe of waterpod.
Atlantic Salt lies near the east end of KVK; Norwegian Sea here enters the west end. That’s Shooter’s Island behind Norwegian, and behind that, reaching even higher than the upper wheelhouse, those are the gantries at Howland Hook.
In almost the same location, sometimes referred to as Bergen Point, Oleander shows how a container ship lists in a turn; I imagine “slaloming” past a marker at the inside of a channel turn.
John B. Caddell is a regular on the KVK, as
are assist tugs Ellen McAllister and
Gramma Lee T. Moran.
All fotos taken this week by Will Van Dorp. This September is a many-splendored month; two big, nearly-climactic, halfmoonthly installments –we hope the channeling efforts work–coming up for HenrysObsession, the creative non-fiction and art project by Bowsprite and Tugster.
Some announcements:
This Sunday into Monday . . . Flinterduin will enter the sixth boro. I reiterate the foto contest of this many-masted motor vessel entering the harbor delivering the many-splendored sailing barges.
September 6: the 17th annual running of the sixth boro’s tugboat race.
September 12thish: Waterford Tug Roundup. Note that voting for “people’s choice” tug is long underway. Anyone can vote ONCE. I already did.
So that I avoid being labelled too much of a tease, I’ll start by saying . . . this post features two ships and a tale, but I do NOT know the tale of the two ships, which in themselves are related only in that they both traversed the KVK yesterday morning in opposite directions. The tale comes at the end, but before we get there, imagine loading a large population of boro6’s historic vessels onto a ship for a festival on another continent. for example, suppose the groups and people responsible for Pioneer, Lettie G. Howard, Pegasus, Shearwater, and Adirondack agree for their treasures to be –literally–shipped to South America for a festival. Visualize the emotional cargo making its way to the south. (Btw, if you don’t know these vessels, type the names into the search window on the left side of this blog.) And I’ll get back to this.
Now let’s learn some taxonomy (tjalk, aak, jol, botter, hoogaars, skutsje) and some place names (Lemster, Giethoorne, Zeeuwland). Ponder those words; I’ll get back to them too.
Here are two more shots of Sea Miror, also depicted in yesterday’s post.
Judging by the stains on the hull, I’m guessing this bulk carrier, its previous life betrayed by the paint job on the stack, transports a building material like cement. Anyone help with this?
Moving toward my point, I gave a big KVK welcome yesterday to MV Marneborg, a general cargo ship registered in
Delfzijl, up near the North Sea border between Netherlands and Germany. This area serves as setting for one of my favorite sailing books: Riddle of the Sands (1903), by Erskine Childers, author, sailor, and Irish nationalist executed by the British in 1922. I love the sailing and intrigue in the book.
Marneborg has the profile of contemporary northern European general cargo carriers; actually, she looks not unlike Flinterduin, featured here a few days ago. I’ve duly noted that the extraordinary orange survey vessel betrays a desire to follow Marneborg here. That’s Brooklyn in the hazy background.
So, when Flinterduin arrives in less than a week, it will treat sixth boro watchers with some quite unique and historic Dutch sailing vessels. Some examples:
Sterre (translated “Stars”) a tjalk built in 1887!
Vrouwe (Lady) Cornelia, a tjalk built in 1888.
De Goede Hoop (Good Hope) , a staverse jol.
Delfzijl, a modern port. Lemster, once a traditional Zuyder Zee fishing village. Giethoorne, another tiny water village. Zeeuwland, a province along the southwest coast of the Netherlands. The list could be very long, but the point is that coastal Netherlands, like coastal US, has places each associated with various boat types. For example, Jonesport lobster boats, Cape Ann schooners and dories, Chesapeake skipjacks . . . .
More tales on this later, as my excitement for September builds.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp and imaginary gnomes.
Remember the foto contest: material prize for the best foto of Flinterduin entering New York or making its way up to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on or about August 31, As of dawn August 27, tracking shows Flinterduin NW of the Azores, about halfway across.
In mid-August 1609 Robert Juet wrote in the log of Half Moon–that Half Moon— . . “we killed an extraordinary fish . . .” Nothing more in the way of explanation or description or taste did he write. That makes me want to speculate all night and all day . . and start a game like . . what extraordinary thing else might they have killed or at least experienced. Check out the extraordinary catch I witnessed today in the KVK. They pull and
they strain and
bring up a most extraordinary . . . cement block. “Part of a sediment sampling monitoring program,” I hear. Although Kenneth Biglane is a locally-based EPA vessel, I’ve never seen it until today. Incidentally, the vessel’s namesake studied oil spill containment in many places including the Torrey Canyon spill in 1967.
Earlier in the morning, a most extraordinary orange boat, previously depicted on this blog, crisscrosses the KVK as part of a sampling of sediments, I’m told, that
are no longer there as well as what’s left below where the silt is no longer there . . . or something. Michele Jeanne sampled away until it had to get out of Sea Miror‘s way, and then
Tomorrow, another day, I’ll go off in search of more extraordinary . . . . Join along? By the way, Sea Miror is ex-Maritime Pearl, 1990.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
Unless you already know from the clues here, you’ll have to guess: from left to right and at anchor, Vane Brothers Chesapeake, Wye River, and Tuckahoe. Slightly off center to the right is Scotia Sea. The twin raked funnels I won’t identify til later.
So yes, clearly this is another watershed. Am I cheating on boro6 by blogging about this? No way!! I don’t use the word “cheating” that way. Did Henry Hudson “cheat” on Europa by exploring new passages and connections? Did the Apollo 11 folks cheat on the Earth? By my perspective, sampling of all sorts spices our inner broth, chases off monotony, sustains life, and just follows logically from curiosity and wonder. If you call it cheating, then you might say I cheat all the time. But to do otherwise would be to cheat myself. End of rant.
Any guesses on the location?
Scotia Sea is ex-Mr Shep. Guess where Scotia Sea is located before clicking here.
Bohemia here passes . . .Campbell Field. Now that’s a clue.
All I’ll say about Jupiter now is that it was built in 1902 in this city at the yard of Neafie & Levy.
Jupiter‘s horns. I’d love to hear them.
M as in Myle . . . pronounced “my lee.”
This city also hosts the cruiser USS Olympia, and
the slightly older look-alike of the sixth boro’s very own Peking. This bark is Moshulu, which in the Seneca language means “one who fears nothing.” It was aboard this vessel that the author Eric Newby once worked.
And this is the city of brotherly (and sisterly and everybodily, one would hope) love. The two raked stacks off in the distance in first foto top the SS United States, launched the year I was born: such a young fast creature she is.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
In case you missed the hint above, TWO NEW messages have arrived from Henry Hudson, modulated by hurricane winds and arriving across 400 years almost precisely. Check them here and here. I have to confess, I feared we’d lost his signal, but . . . oh the joys of 21st PLUS 17th century technology!!
1969 . . . a year for me of many firsts, like finishing high school and going off to college and . . . . In events related to this blog, 1969 was the year of feats and firsts accomplished by the likes of Apollo 11, Suhaili, a 747, a Concorde, another Airplane, and ARPANET. A fire at Bannerman’s Castle destroyed much of the roof. In December 1969, up at Matton Shipyard, James Turecamo first splashed. Here’s early-morning 40-year-old James westbound last week.
This blog has featured fotos of James Turecamo in 10 posts since January 2008. Use the search window to locate them. Below, James (1700 hp) collaborates with Miriam Moran (3000 hp) to position Blue Jade at a dock along the Arthur Kill, giving
a burst of power as needed.
Deckhand on James’s bow coordinates with the color-coded crew aboard Blue Jade.
Next time you see James Turecamo, think 1969. And Andy will think 1969 this way.
Other tugs seen in the sixth boro hailing from Matton include the following: Jean Turecamo (1975) and Zachery Reinauer (1971). Ditto Thornton Brothers (1958), whom I haven’t seen around at all in the past year. Has Thornton Brothers gone off to Philadelphia? Ah, the city of brotherly love . . . I was there this week myself. Fotos soon.
All fotos here by Will Van Dorp.
Oh . . . some 1969 music, try this collaboration.
And thanks to Brian, tracking info on Flinterduin . . . sheesh . . . this is starting to feel like a drawn-out Christmas Eve.
x
First, a request OR call it a contest to all shipwatchers of the sixth boro or any who journey there on or about end August/begin September: a material prize for the best shot of 15-masted power vessel Flinterduin entering or traversing the sixth boro with its cargo of 20 traditional sailing vessels. Material . . to be negotiated. I’d camp out on the Narrows myself, but my job might conspire to compel me elsewhere.
Sometimes the name alone enhances a drab foto, but morning sunlight came to my rescue here and name plus image (IMHO) make this just a magical foto. Click on foto of River Wisdom, built 15 years ago, to enlarge.
Jo Selje squeezes into a spot less than 100 feet forward of the Lafarge barge Alexandra. Assisting from Jo Selje‘s starboard is Turecamo Girls. Assisting to Alexandra‘s starboard is Fred K, ex-Stapleton Service. I count at least 10 crew visible aboard Jo Selje.
In Alexandra‘s notch, as usual, is Doris Moran.
Slightly earlier Tuesday morning, Kimberly Moran assisted Sanko Venture into a berth, and
Gramma Lee T. Moran escorts Felicity out to sea.
At dusk Spar Virgo heads for sea. See it happen for the first time ever here, and
Balsa 61 heads upriver.
Here Stadt Berlin heads from Red Hook for sea. Click here for a foto of Stadt Berlin with an interesting deckload.
That’s it for now. All fotos taken in the past week or 10 days by Will Van Dorp.
Remember: contest for the best foto of Flinterduin entering boro6. Tell you equally vigilant friends; get your best camera ready.
Foto credit here goes to Wilto Eekhof of the city of Sneek in the Netherlands province of Friesland. And I’m crediting him via Koopvaardij as transmitted by SeaBart of Uglyships.com. Flinterduin, below, looks to set of record for masts: a 15-(at least)-masted-power vessel. Here at the Flinter site are pics of the loading of this particular vessel. She currently at sea, bound for the sixth boro. Here are other interesting Flinter vessels.
On or about August 31, this vessel will enter the boro and forever (at least for a while) change the sailscape of the harbor. From it will emerge 20 traditional flat-bottomed sailing barges. Check out all those leeboards; get your cameras ready! Here’s an update foto from sea from Koopvaardij (a publication whose title translates as “merchant marine”). Article includes this sentence: “Wij wensen kapitein/eigenaar Henk Eijkenaar en zijn bemanning een goede reis en behouden vaart,” which translates as “We wish Captain/owner Henk Eijkenaar and his crew a good trip and a safe voyage.” Amen.
Here’s a link showing Flinterduin’s hold and a view down onto the deck from a bridge over Harlingen harbor. As to the type of traditional vessels contributing to all those masts, SeaBart tells me they are multiple tjalken (plural of “tjalk”), a staverse jol (the English word “yawl” stems from the Dutch “jol” or the German “jolle”), a lemster aak and 2 skutsjes. Here’s another skutsje link.
I’d love to hear from readers who know these specific boats or boat types.
Tugster returns with his own fotos, taken on a most recent gallivant, tomorrow. For more interesting cargoes coming into Duluth from the sea on Flinterduin, Marlene Green, and Margot (both of whom have previously appeared here), click here, then click on “ships” window.
Tangentially related: August 29 . . . Atlantic Salt Maritime Festival.
Take 2 . . or 2b, and there’ll be more attempts to figure out the ghosts of the sixth boro. Like others of you, I’m fascinated by these hints of a disappeared world. Below, if I’ve understood correctly, lie the remnants of the ferry Astoria. I wonder who worked on it and how many thousands of folks rode it regularly either to work or play or . . . do mischief. For info on Astoria, which ran between Astoria in Queens to 92nd Street in Manhattan from the 1920s until the 1970s, read here.
Here is the ferry Major General William H. Hart aka SS Meow Man, so dubbed by a graffiti flinger. General Hart worked at Brooklyn Army Depot after World War 1. Like Astoria, she was built in the mid-1920s and ran until almost 1970, when it did a short stint at South Street Seaport. See more info here.
Here’s another view of the tug I posted on previously. In September 1944, Berger Boat in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, launched this vessel was as Navy rescue tug ATR-89, After the war, it worked as Hila. Now the metal deck and wooden hull turn back into raw materials. Again, I see it and try to imagine crew: who they were, where they came from and went to, and what they or their descendants would think if they saw it today.
I’ve heard this is a ferry that previously ran between Newburgh and Beacon. Anyone confirm this?
I’ve no idea what vessel this once was. Anyone help?
Nor this, although this vessel lies 50+ miles upriver in Cornwall. It seems to have evolved into a breakwater protecting the town marina.
In this closer-up shot, you can see the portside hawse.
In Kill van Kull, this “retired” car ferry called Pvt Nicholas Minue is named for a World War II Medal of Honor winner.
Let me end this on a non-wreck. Many of the vessels in this post once were ferries. Anyone know this ferry? Those are the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges in the distance.
Here’s the same vessel seen in profile rather than stern on. It’s Michael Cosgrove, a mini-ferry I’ve not seen before this year. See the link here for more–not much–on Michael Cosgrove and the other Staten Island ferries.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
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