The foto below is Nellie Crockett, a 1925-6 Tangier Island “buy boat” that may never have cleaved sixth boro waters, but–used with permission here from the FB page Chesapeake Bay Buy Boat–certainly conveys the notion of a workboat decorated for the end-o-year holidays.

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The rest of these fotos come courtesy of Justin Zizes, taken earlier this week in the Hudson off the west side of mid-town.   Circle Line does lights this way.  Here’s how you could get on board.

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Nearby, World Yacht does it this way.  And although you can’t get on for the end-o-year holiday, there are many other events.

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Notice anything interesting about this arrangement?  Look to the left side of the foto.

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It’s Sea Bear aka Sea Gus as the red-nosed draft animal.

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Here’s that same small tug without the Rudolphian accoutrements.

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Many thanks to Justin Zizes and to Chesapeake Bay Buy Boats for permission to use these fotos.

In the next week or so, if you take a foto of a workboat–or mariner– with colored lights a la Christmas, please send it to tugster.  I could possibly even come up with a gift for what we deem as the best foto.   By the way, I’m still mildly obsessed with finding a foto of the 1997 transport of the Rockefeller Center tree down the Hudson via tug Spuyten Duyvil and barge.

And what is the story of Sea Bear aka Sea Gus?  It looks to be cut of the same plans as 8th Sea.

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