Transits 1

I started a series called transitioning, but here’s something new.  Actually I did a transit post a few years back when a Boston ex-fireboat transited the sixth boro on its way to  Lake Huron to reinvent as a dive boat.

This post started with Glenn Raymo catching a shot of NOAA 5503 northbound in Poughkeepsie.

Then, unprompted, Mike Pelletier, engineer of Urger noticed it between locks 2 and 3 in Waterford, westbound.  When I noticed it on AIS, southbound on the Welland, I knew she was doing a long haul.  So here’s what I’ve since learned:  this vessel “was transferred to NOAA from the CG in Fort Macon NC.  Its final destination is Muskegon MI,  where it will undergo a full overhaul and be refit for service as a research vessel on the Great Lakes.”   Many thanks to Glenn, Mike, and my other sources.

But if NOAA is transiting far, Sand Master is going much much farther.  Any ideas what HN RTB is?

Here’s a photo of Sand Master I got just over a month ago at the Great Lake just west of the Bayonne Bridge.

Try Roatán, Honduras.

Thanks all for the photos and the information.  And please help keep eyes open for unique transiting vessels and those who work mostly here.