F. Scott Fitzgerald said there were no second acts in American life . . . but as in this case, he was wrong about so many things. We all have second and third acts, fourth and fifth lives.
Does anyone know the larger vessel below? What’s barely legible on the bow is the name Maryland. Photo was taken by Brian Hope between 1978 and 1984, and that info should make identification quite easy. There’s a closer-up at the end of this post.
Unrelated . . . but another vessel, currently in the UK, has also gone through a series of lives.
Currently it’s on the Avon River near Bristol . . . Its previous lives include the following
30-06-1916 Flora, Rotterdam; 18-11-1975 Zuiderzee, Urk; 1979/04/07 Zuiderzee, Enkhuizen; 22-08-1979 Zuiderzee, Steenbergen; 16-01-1980 Zuiderzee, Rotterdam; 1981/06/08 Zuiderzee, Maastricht; 1990/09/11 Gaby, Maastricht. I’ve simplified the info a bit here; the underlined words are towns of registry although in many cases the boat had multiple owners in the same town.
Her previous life as a small tug is evident in her lines.
Her current owner–Pete Totterdell–is looking for any more info and photos from her previous lives. Further info from him: “The boat was originally bought from Zaandam. It has a Volvo Penta 117hp engine currently. 15m x 3.5m, Air draft 3m, depth draft 1.6m. It was a was a working canal authority vessel.”
Parting shot . . . closer-up of Maryland, whose current life and mine may cross paths in exactly one week.
Thanks to Capt. Brian hope and Pete Totterdell for these photos.
tugster: a waterblog 
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May 18, 2014 at 10:15 am
sfdi1947
Don’t know about the MV Maryland, her upper works are different, but her original type, the old style deep water salvage tug is marked by her lines, compare her to the USNS Grasp. (http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607993191161531251&pid=1.7) Here is a 3/4 port hand from the bow shot of her.
May 18, 2014 at 10:20 am
tugpower
MARYLAND was formerly L. Smit International’s salvage tug ELBE. She was was sold in 1976 to the Association of Maryland Pilots of Baltimore USA for use as a seagoing pilot vessel bearing the name Maryland. In1985 the vessel was purchased by Greenpeace to replace ill-fated Rainbow Warrior. The vessel served with Greenpeace until 2002, taking part in numerous projects and travelling round the world many times. See more at these links: http://www.maritimejournal.com/news101/tugs,-towing-and-salvage/historic-sisters-meet-in-the-netherlands, http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe_(schip), http://www.towingline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/nieuws_2012_16.pdf, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaKhiP6_Vus
May 18, 2014 at 11:05 am
Kees
Indeed the “Elbe”, sold to the Maryland Pilot Association and renamed “Maryland. Donated to Greenpeace and renamed “Gondwana”, later renamed “Greenpeace”. Donated by GP to Het Havenmuseum Rotterdam renamed “Elbe” again and now owned and operated by Maritieme Collectie Rijnmond. Photo’s on request, Will, but than you have to send me an empty mail and I shall return with the pics.
May 18, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Peter B
The”Elbe”
May 18, 2014 at 6:19 pm
sleepboot
You can see the tug here during the tug fleetshow “Maassluiis 400”.