2012 Tug Race Winner is . . .

soon to be determined . . . less than 48 hours from now.  Here’s a schedule from the race organizers.

Will the winner be blue . . . like Atlantic Salvor or

formerly blue like Greenland Sea or Lincoln Sea?

Maybe it’ll be blue and miraculously restored . . . like Crow?

Or will it be red, like this Pegasus or

. . . the not-to-be underestimated Augie?

Or maybe a blue and gold government boat?

Or it might be some shade of white like Susan Miller or Gabby L Miller?

On the other hand, it may be a stealth competitor, like the one these gents have been refurbishing since late spring?

Cosmetic work has been visible on the outside, but

Glen had this grin straight off the cheshire cat when he told me they’d installed huge power down below and

as they’ve worked on the surface, above decks, rendering a beautfully restored New York Central No. 31 house.  Who

knows whether Glen was kidding or not about that power plant and about the hull they cleverly built below the dock which be free with a few minor cuts of the Saw-zall.

New York Central No 31 might turn its competitors green with envy once they steam out onto the course.  And if she were flying a Canadian flag, she’d be an international entry.     And

with all that jabber about competitors red and blue at the beginning of the post, you might have wondered if I was talking about something else.  Maybe a spokesperson for red or blue might be interviewing a stealth version of a leading member of the competition?

Check page four of this 1952 issue of Towline for an action foto of one of the winners of the race exactly 60 years ago.  And on page 5, you’ll see that the 1952 race was in fact a revival of a pre-WW2 International Lifeboat Race.  Click on the image below to watch a two-minute video of the rowing race, some time between 1930 and 1939.

In 1952, after the tugs raced, oarsmen took to the same course.  Hmmmm….  Might that portion of the race be revived too?  I wonder what happened to that trophy.