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Yes, I am a fan of the X-Files, and yes . . . submarines have appeared on this blog before, like this one in Coney Island Creek. Or this one headed north in the Upper Bay. Parts of submarines have emerged on the blog like here and here. There have been fleets awaiting disassembly like here. But recently at a yard on the North Fork, I saw the object in the image below, which intrigued me. Here are some pics and then after you’ve observed the evidence and drawn some conclusions, I’ll tell you what I’ve read.
Views from port side and
port bow. Osprey nest is not part of the vessel.
Views from port stern,
even a bit farther astern,
and starboard bow. Note the tripod and bracket mounted forward.
So what do you think? What is your version of this story?
Here’s Corey Kilgannon’s NYTimes story from eight years ago. Halfway through Kathleen Edgecomb’s The Day article you get a different version of the real history of the vessel. But by the time T. E. McMorrow writes this East Hampton Star article in August 2014, a whole new version of sub and owner have emerged.
Actually I don’t know the real story, and certainly have no clue of its future, since according to this BBC article, the court has blocked sale of the sub. Here’s the location of the real USS Deep Quest. Here’s a followup Emma Fitzsimmons’ article from the December 1, 2014 NYTimes. And according to this McMorrow follow-up of a few weeks ago, the sub owner is now in a federal facility, and the sub, even if it had never been so previously, is now federal property.
And the feds, they may put it up for sale. Want a toy with a “deep sea” history? Did anyone catch photos of it traversing the sixth boro back in 2007?
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
Click here for tugster posts related for the town on the North Fork, which get lots of attention in about a month. My most recent posts were here and here. My advice is to gallivant at least twice, and once before the flotilla arrives.
Take this harbor tour to get oriented.
Elco launch Glory
Captain Dave is a great tour guide as
he takes you quietly around the old shipyard at Greenport Basin. I heard rumors that Commander may be heading back west this summer. Anyone know?
Greenport feels almost like a downeast New England town. I’m told this vessel is part of modern oyster farming project. Eat something raw.
See truly beautiful boats, some newly restored.
Catch some fish.
Read about a veteran,
built on City Island in the Bronx in 1937.
Walk to a beach and take a selfie with Resolute. It was invisible but present, 10 or so miles to the northwest.
Discover research projects to ponder. More on that black spheroid soon.
Whatzit??!
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
First, two photos from Jason LaDue, up in Lyons on the Erie Canal. Click here to see some of the many photos Jason has sent along over the past years from Lyons and the Great Lakes. The vessel Lyons, below, has been painted NY blue and gold since it last appeared here two plus months ago.
Docked astern of Lyons is Salem, which has also gotten some new paint recently.
From the Canal to the sixth boro, here’s the sight I caught last week from the MediaBoat, as we entered North Cove. The vessel is the New York Naval Militia’s 440 Moose boat. Click here to see some of NYNM’s previous vessels.
I’m not sure where the group was headed. The schooner is Clipper City, which I really need to get out on one of these days soon.
Top two photos . . . thanks to Jason LaDue; last three by Will Van Dorp.
“Really random” posts tend to be far-flung, so let’s start out with this photo by Jed, who has contributed many photos recently. Then there’s JED, who has contributed photos starting from 2008. The boat dates from 1975.
From Jan Oosterboer via Fred Trooster, here’s the 1955 tug Argus along with
Orion (1961), and
Sirius (1966). It appears that Sirius–like Orion and Brendan Turecamo–also has a wheelhouse that can be raised.
For the scale of the “tow” here, scroll down and
behold–Thialf, with a combined lifting capacity of over 14,000 tons!! Click here to see the view down from Thialf’s deck AND be sure to read the comments that follow. Here are a few other heavy-lifters including Saipem 7000.
Heading back to NYC but as the South Street Seaport Museum area of the sixth boro of NYC looked in 1985, from a secret salt, it’s the 1939 USCGC WYT-93, Raritan! The two vessels around her are, of course 1885 schooner Pioneer and 1908 lightship Ambrose. Click here for a list of specifics and missions on Raritan, but one of her operations was against M/V Sarah of Radio NewYork International. M/V Sarah was eventually blown up for a movie stunt.
And rounding this post out . . . from Elizabeth, in Alameda, it’s the 1943 YT-181 Mazapeta.
In the distance is T-AKR-1001 GTS Admiral W. M. Callaghan, an MSC RORO named for a significant USN officer.
Credit for each of these photos is as attributed. Thanks to you all.
All these photos come compliments of frequent commenter Jan van der Doe. And all were taken in Hamilton Harbour, the southwest corner of the lake where I learned to swim.
Hamilton is headquarters for McKeil Marine, whose vessels have been posted on this blog here, here and here.
Click here for the specs on Leonard M.
Click here for info on Tony MacKay.
Florence M needs TLC and paint.
Here’s another shot of Tony and Florence.
From left here, more McKeil Marine vessels: Carrol C 1, Bonnie B, and James A. Hannah. This latter (rightmost) tugboat has appeared on tugster before, and in fact is a sibling of Captain Bob (in the Columbia) and Bloxom, the faded red tugboat on the cover of our 30-minute documentary film Graves of Arthur Kill. If you want to read about the dispersion of the entire Hannah fleet by the U. S. Marshal’s auction, click here.
Here’s a side view of the same three boats.
Click here for the specs on Kingfish 1.
Believe it or not, this blue-hulled vessel below dates from 1959 and used to be known as Helen M. McAllister. Here’s her story as told from a different perspective.
Jerry G. is one year younger. Click here for more info.
This looks like two old but active boats, Lac Manitoba and Vigilant I, both of Nadro Marine.
And finally, Jan didn’t pass along info on the black hulled vessel to the left. Pacific Standard . . . ex-Irishman (?) is my guess.
I visited Hamilton twice 50 or more years ago to visit a relative there. I recall not liking the city. But what does a kid know? Jan’s photos in this post and tugboathunter’s here inspire me to consider a return there.
Jan . . . many thanks.
Somewhat related, for a great database of Owen Sound-built boats, click here.
This was the tip-off photo: in the right light, the raised-metal lettering is clear. I received this photo from I.Y. last September, but never got more of the hull going abaft the US.
This one doesn’t show the lettering.
Nor does this.
So this past weekend, when I was in Greenport, I headed straight down to the water–aboard Glory, which I’ll talk more about tomorrow–and
bow of ex-YG-33 later J. R. Nelson
although the light didn’t bring out more detail, the captain did. It turns out that YGs were garbage lighters, and this one had a memorable engine, although I don’t know if it’s rusty remains are still submerged. This YG was turned into a fish
processing vessel that sank at the dock and became the focus of a lawsuit.
Thanks to Ingrid Young for putting me on this search and sending the top three photos. The last three photos I took from launch Glory.
Fleet Week is part of the official marking of Memorial Day in the six boros of NYC each year. Maybe someone can tell me how long ago this tradition began.
DDG-55 Stout receives greeting from Fort Hamilton
This is the day set aside to honor those who died in America’s wars, but the listing earlier in this sentence does not list all of the skirmishes that resulted in the death of American military personnel. Take the Battle of the Pearl River forts aka Battle of the Barrier Forts. Know the details? I’ll tell you about it in a minute, but I stumbled upon this neglected, overgrown monument in NYC about five years ago. The public couldn’t see it because it’s fenced off.
Barrier Forts Monument
As it turns out, the stonecutters misspelled two names here, and two others listed here as killed were not.
The Barrier Forts Monument is located inside a closed-to-the-public area of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. For an interesting article on the battle and the monument, click here. For a wikipedia treatment of the event, click here.
I stumbled onto the event depicted in the rest of the photos here last week and had only the phone camera. Any ideas on what’s going on?
What I’d happened upon here is two workers of the NYC DPR Arts and Antiquities division cleaning up the Richmond Hill “doughboy” war memorial. The crew told me they do this one each year in May as a preparation for today.
All of this brings me to a thought I’ve carried today. I retire from teaching this month, a pensive process of deciding what comes next and revisiting students and colleagues from the years extending back to 1973 and in places in five countries where I’ve worked.
There was a student in one of my classes back in 1979 who died in Desert Storm in January 1991. This link identifies her as Staff Sgt. Tatiana Khaghani Dees. I knew her as Tatiana Khaghani, a student on an F-1 visa in the US who wanted to be a lawyer. A FB link goes on to describe her death this way, and I paste it in here, since not everyone does FB.
“USA SSG Tatiana Khaghani Dees, from Congers, NY in Rockland County but originally from Tehran, Iran drowned after stepping backwards off a pier in Dhahran while avoiding moving military cargo. She was unable to swim due to all the gear she was wearing. She was assigned to the 92nd Military Police Company, 93rd MP Battalion, 14th MP Brigade, V Corps based in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Tatiana leaves behind two children: Lena and Joseph. On 28 May 12, I received an email from Tatiana’s son Joseph. He thanked me “for remembering the great women who served our country” and included this photo of his mother.
According to SSG Bill Hancock: I wanted to clear up the events that lead up to Tatiana’s death. It is reported incorrectly on your site. Tatiana had immigrated from Iran to the United States and was assigned to 2nd platoon (squad leader) 92nd MP Co, 93rd MP Bn, 18th MP Brigade, (not the 14th MP Bde) from Baumholder, Germany. Tatiana and 2 soldiers in her squad were pulling guard duty at the port. They saw a man taking pictures from atop one of those large cranes. Tatiana sent her 2 soldiers up to investigate. Both soldiers handed Tatiana their M-16s so she was holding 3 M-16’s and wearing full gear including Kevlar and flak vest. She stepped back from the base of the crane to get a better view of her soldiers as they climbed when she fell into the water. She was found an hour or so later and still had all her gear on and the 3 M-16’s. I think she was found in 50’ of water around 11 p.m. She was a great squad leader and person. Her troops held her in high regard.”
For Tatiana, all those who have died in too many wars, and all the families, let’s keep some solemnity in this day.
Entirely related: American war dead still abroad.
Also related, an 1889 poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier called “The Captain’s Well”
Ocean Tower passes the tow of Wavertree, aka “ocean wanderer.”
Ocean Tower, built 1969
At the east end of Caddell Dry Dock.
Coral Coast, 1970
Joyce D., no longer the newest Brown boat.
Joyce D. Brown, 2002
Between Atlantic Salt and Caddell.
Rae, 1952
In the Morris Canal.
Little C, 1988
At the southwest end of Shooters aka Mariners Harbor.
Bering Sea, 1975
On the Shooters Island end of the Bayonne Bridge.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
Unrelated:
A video of the welcome of Half Moon now in Hoorn.
A fun 8-minute 7-day trip from the Hudson River to the Thousand Islands via the Erie Canal, with ALL the locks!
A less-professional video of the arrival of Half Moon in Hoorn, but showing music by the Musiek Boot, delightful man of the waters, Reinier Sijpkens, (click here and scroll) who entertained here in the sixth boro six years ago.
This post shows the second leg of what felt like an epic journey, but first let’s back up about 10 minutes. See the small blue vessel just off the bow of Wavertree?
It’s a King’s Point vessel, and leaning out of the house, it’s Capt. Jonathan Kabak, formerly master of Pioneer, Lettie G. Howard, and other vessels.
So let’s resume . . . the tow travels west of Caddell and rounds up against the tide, ever so
gracefully–to my eyes–making its way to the dock. Thomas J. Brown and later Rae working the port side.
it took a full quarter hour to spin Wavertree 180 degrees and inch it across the KVK, but then the heaving line flew, followed by the dock line.
Thomas J. and Rae worked this side in coordination with Pelham–invisible all this time from my perspective–on the starboard side.
almost all fast
Lots of money will be spent and sweat expended before the NEXT leg of the journey.
The 2001 (or earlier??) photo below comes from Mike Weiss, SSSM waterfront foreman. It shows a more complete rig.
Also from Mike’s FB post, the photo below shows Wavertree in her Argentina barge days. For the saga of Peter Stanford’s efforts to get this hull from Argentina to the sixth boro, read A Dream of Tall Ships starting from p. 221. Actually, the whole book makes an excellent read.
All photos except the last two by Will Van Dorp, who is eager to see Wavertree‘s transformation in the year to come.
From gCaptain, here’s a good explanation of National Maritime Day, yesterday.
But first, many thanks to Bjoern Kils of New York Media Boat for the enjoyable ride aboard his RHIB Amundsen. I’ve decided to divide the photos into two posts. These cover the first 15 minutes (!!) of the trip to the yard.
arriving for the pick up at Pier 25, westside of Manhattan looking towards Jersey City
Bartholdi was finishing up his copper creation a year AFTER Wavertree began its career as a bulk carrier of jute.
I was thrilled to see the tugs that did the tow, starting with Thomas J. Brown. This tug has appeared here many times, but here’s probably my favorite.
Thomas J. Brown, 1962 built
On starboard side was Pelham.
Pelham, 1960 built.
This post covers only 15 minutes, but it seemed like ages, watching this highly unusual tow traverse the Upper Bay.
at the 31
passing Robbins Reef Light and . . .
the Verrazano.
and into the Kills
Now if you were on Rae yesterday, you might be feeling left out at this point, but here’s the beginning of your part. I first saw Rae more than 10 years ago , when she was still Miss Bonnie. Click here and scroll.
passing the dented 6
In the hard hat here and in the rigging earlier probably with the NYTimes photographer who took this photo, it’s Mike Weiss, South Street’s Waterfront Foreman.
Waving from the shrouds here it’s Capt. Jonathan Boulware, now executive director of SSSM.
If there had been a salt pile in the late 19th century, Wavertree could have transported it, as it spent its last years before the 1910 dismasting in the tramp trades . . . Maybe someone can help with specifics here, but I recall reading that Wavertree called in the sixth boro before 1910.
Here’s a closeup of Rae now in Fox colors, and click here for one from five years ago.
Rae, 1952 built
And we’ll pick up here tomorrow.
to the lower left, that’s Joyce D. Brown about to overtake
All photos by Will Van Dorp. Many thanks to Bjoern of NY Media boat for the ride and to Mike and Jonathan of SSSM for the advance notice of the transit.
tugster: a waterblog 
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