So, I watched today until a bank of clouds slid in and turned all light monochromatic. While watching, thoughts that came to mind included . . . “mighty patient” you have to be to load such a vessel, or watch it.
0851 hr . . . Gabby floats all alone on the Bay . . . that bodes well. Mighty Servant 1 has been in port less than a week.
0922h. Mighty Servant spins with the beginning of the flood tide. Once in place, she will be mightily served. Note the orange tender hanging from Mighty’s port side. I’ll call it Lesser Mighty.
And some lucky end-o-seasoners heading south catch a rare view.
0943 hr . . . RTC 105 arrives, pushed by Bruce A., house up, and then
0954 . . . house down and she leaves the barge in the able hands of Gabby and Linda L. Miller. There’s an invisible Ellen on the far side also.
At the same moment, the orange tender aka Lesser Mighty delivers
the tower crews to their stations to winch the load into place.
1002 . . . Lesser delivers line handlers onto the RTC 105 as well.
1021 .. . Ellen and Bruce approach
with mighty patience and care. Note the gray towers on the far side.
1058 . . . Note the additional Miller boat, Barbara, in the foreground and the next barge in the distance.
1107. Lines gets shuttled between RTC 105 and Servant by Lesser.
Whatever was the snafu, the barge gets hauled off, then back on, and line shuttling gets shifted to Bobby G., a small Miller boat,
who weaves a web, and who earns the nom-de-guere More Than Lesser Mighty Servant.
1225. By now, the lines get snugged, Ellen, Bruce, and Bobby G move over toward the next barge. And a thick winter cloud moves in. With cold fingers, I leave for other projects, but the loading goes on. Maybe I’ll return tomorrow early.
4 comments
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December 17, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Anonymous
Will, the way you photograph and chronicle the daily marine work in New York Harbor, is Epic!
You have earned the title: Mayor of the Sixth Borough! I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Photo Fantastic New Year!!!
December 17, 2011 at 11:42 pm
tugster
Dear An O’nymous– seriously thanks for the kind words. The hustle and bustle ashore and the mainstream media miss the good stories, and i just love my beat. Happy every day and new years to you and all.
December 17, 2011 at 9:46 pm
Mage Bailey
Absolutely fascinating. I’m learning so much. I got my camera’s back this week, but there was nothing on the bay to shoot. Darn.
December 30, 2011 at 4:45 pm
tugboathunter
Hello, Will… I am fascinated by your blog! Also, great photos of Mighty Servant 1 and Blue Marlin. I hope I get to see something like that someday.