Remember, if you’re in NYC and free tonight . . . Working Harbor Committee is presenting movie and panel: Women at Sea. If I didn’t have to work, I’d be there.
I’ve posted a set of fotos about this vessel here before, but still been unable to learn anything about it. It lies where Westchester Creek (In fact, click on the link and you’ll see another foto of the same grounded vessel!) flows into the East River west of the Whitestone Bridge. And not that I haven’t looked, though it’s clear that my searches have focused on the wrong places. Uncorroborated stories are these: it was coming from South America, the owner abandoned a plan to turn Christina or Cristina into a floating restaurant . . possibly in Philadelphia, it was dropped off there to mark a shoal. A search of NYTimes archives from 1920 until 1980 turns up nothing about either this grounded vessel or
When spring actually gets here and work slows down, I plan to put a human powered vessel in this area and look around more. Thanks to Robert Apuzzo for these fotos.
But . . . as often happens, I found some interesting info on other groundings in the harbor in the past 80 years . . . yes, one happened in the East River less than two weeks ago, as of this writing. Some of these include:
May 1927 dreadnought Colorado Diamond Reef* (between Governors Island and southeastern tip of the Battery)
Dec 1936 freighter Malang Roosevelt Island, then Welfare Island
Aug 1951 battleship Wisconsin (actually North River near NJ across from 79th Street)
Oct 1955 battleship Wisconsin Diamond Reef
Feb 1970 tanker Desert Princess (ex-Hoegh Grace, 664′) Mill Rock
Dec 1972 tanker Vitta (659′) south of Ward Island, spilling 150 tons of oil
April 1979 tanker Algol East River off 10th Street. If you have a NYTimes subscription, you can read the article here, telling that six Moran tugs came to the assistance of Algol in sprite of the strike then happening.
Apr 28 2005, a gasoline barge struck Diamond Reef, with some spillage. See here.
Meanwhile, if I don’t find some info on that top wreck, I’ll succumb to all the imagined histories, maybe even embroider them a bit, and call it fiction. Not so bad, eh?
Unrelated: Check out this site dedicated to the waterway leading from Rotterdam to the North Sea . . .Maasmond (mouth of the Maas River) Maritime.
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
March 30, 2011 at 6:07 am
jeff s
the thing at the shoal off Westchester Creek, as the story goes, started out as the city ferry WELFARE for the East 79th St.- Welfare Island route.
after many changes and conversions became CHRISTINA in a failed venture that saw her ended up on the flats.
blt. by John W Sullivan in Elizabethport,NJ in 1930.
i have had reports that she was removed this past January???-jeff s
March 30, 2011 at 6:31 am
tugster
now i’ve even more motivation to get a small boat up there when the water warms up . . . thanks, jeff. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/bethelizabethport.htm
March 30, 2011 at 8:25 am
Fjorder
thanks for the post, wish I was free tonite I’d go check that out.
BTW on the parrots, I see them several days a week in my neighborhood hard by Green-Wood Cemetery.
March 30, 2011 at 8:17 pm
skip
Love your site.
I am the cameraman who captured the grounding by Eagle Service on 3.18.11 off the south tip of Randall’s island that you refer too above. I still can’t tell whether it was skill or luck that kept the barge off the rocks – which is a good thing, considering it was laden with fuel. I’m actually wondering if you might have more information on that grounding – I am certainly curious as to the given reasons. You are more than welcome to add the video to your site if you wish – just grab the embed code or contact me if you would like to post it here. After all, your blog is the most comprehensive resource on NYC tugboats I have come across since that accident.
March 30, 2011 at 10:12 pm
tugster
thanks, skip. i loved that video. i’m busy for the next 36 hours, but i’ll write you after that.
March 31, 2011 at 10:07 am
Bonnie
I am SO sorry you had to miss that great program last night!
April 7, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Simon
As of April 6th, 2011 The vessel, CRISTINA is still grounded off Clason Point.