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Of course, there are little known gunkholes in the backwaters of the sixth boro where fossils–living and inert–float. This one is off an inlet behind one island and concealed by another, a place easily missed, and if seen, it gives the impression of being off limits by land and too shallow by water, near the deadly bayou of Bloomfield. But with the right conveyance and attitude, it’s feasible if you’re willing to probe. And the fossils have names like . . .
Caitlin Rose. I don’t know much, but built in Savannah GA in 1956? Relentless. She’s before my time here, but I suppose she’s the one built in Port Arthur TX in 1950.
I can’t make out all of the words here.
Ticonderoga is obviously playing possum. Only a month ago she doe-see-doed into the Kills with the ex-Pleon, the blue tug behind her,
a Jakobson from 1953.
Dauntless .. . built in Jakobson & Peterson of Brooklyn in 1936, was once Martha Moran.
From right to left here, Mike Azzolino was built for the USCG at Ira S. Bushey & Sons and commissioned as WYTM-72 Yankton in 1944. Moving to the left, it’s Charles Oxman . . .
was built by Pusey & Jones in 1940 and originally called H. S. Falk., and looked like this below, which explains the unusual wheelhouse today. She seems to have come out of that same search for new direction as David, from a post here a year ago.
The photo above I took from this tribute page.
The small tug off Oxman‘s starboard, i don’t know.
The low slung tug that dominates the photo here is Erica, and beyond here is a Crow.
Someone help me out here?
And as far into this gunkhole as I dared to venture . . . this one is nameless.
Oh the stories that could be told here! I hope someone can and will. Balladeers like Gordon Lightfoot could memorialize these wrecks in a song like “Ghosts of Cape Horn,” which inspired a tugster post here years ago. And looking at the last photo in that old post, I see Wavertree, which leads me to this art- and detail-rich site I don’t recall having seen before.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
As of six days ago, that gap was all that seemed to remain for a complete span. Who knows . . . by now, that may be bridged as well. Here are some of the posts that show the project of modifying the soon-to-be 85 year-old icon I’ve had on my blog since day 1. Here were a set of posts I did when the bridge turned 80.
Once the higher span is complete and open for traffic, the lower span will be dismantled. I wonder what the arches are feeling.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
or “whatz dem”?
I really am clueless here. At first I thought fendering, but the location makes no sense.
Help?
I know I’ve read Guy de Maupassant, but I can’t remember anything of that either. I guess I’m a mess today. Even the time evaded me.
All photos I do recall taking, though.
So the difference that makes the “really” is that several folks have contributed these photos.
Starting in Toronto with Jan van der Doe, here’s M. R. Kane, which has appeared here and here previously on this blog. In the first link, you’ll see Kane towing the hull that would become tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry.
Next three photos came from Allan Seymour, who took them as he traversed the Cape Cod Canal recently. This Independence is rated at 5400 hp.
Bohemia and barge wait to pass.
And Buckley McAllister shares escort work on the Canal with Independence.
The rest of these photos I’ve caught recently, all of tugs I’d not previously seen. Miss Ila came through the sixth boro Saturday,
Miss Lizzy I saw Friday, and
Performance I saw in Massena earlier this month, and
Robinson Bay. These last two are operated by DOT’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), which is looking to replace these aging tugs. Robinson Bay (103′ loa and built in Wisconsin in 1957) and Performance (50′ and Indiana, 1997) do maintenance work on the US portions of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Thanks to Jan and Allan for the first photos here. All the others are by Will Van Dorp.
Who else greeted Wavertree on the rest of the way home? John J. Harvey is always in on celebrations.
Lettie G. Howard was there,
as was the helicopter. Feehan presented herself on the far side of Rae.
Pioneer accounted for
herself with crew in the crosstrees.
Pioneer and Lettie teamed up at times.
Wire showed up.
New York Harbor School had two boats there, including Privateer and their
newest vessel Virginia Maitland Sachs, about which I’ll post soon.
Melvillian throngs came down to the “extremest limit of land” on Pier 15 and 16, for one reason or another, but who were about to be treated to some excellent ship handling.
Rae took the lead, showing the need for tugboats of all sizes.
The larger tugs pushed and pulled as needed to ease into the slip
until all lines were fast and
and the shoreside work needed doing.
Bravo to all involved. If you want to take part in a toast to Wavertree, you can buy tickets here for the September 29 evening.
If you haven’t read the NYTimes article by James Barron yet, click here.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who hopes I left no one out and who as before is grateful to the South Street Seaport Museum and the photographers’ boat provided by US Merchant Marine Academy and crewed by a set of dedicated cadets.
Often folks ask how one can learn about the harbor or is there a book about the sixth boro. Volunteering at South Street Seaport Museum is a great way available to all to get access to the water, to learn from like-minded folks, and to start on a journey of reading the harbor and its traffic for yourself. Each volunteer’s journey will be unique, and willing hands make institutions like this museum survive and thrive.
Almost exactly 16 months ago, Wavertree left Pier 16 for a lot of work at Caddell Dry Dock. Here was my set of photos from that day, and here, subsequent ones at several month intervals. Yesterday she made way, back to Pier 16.
Here’s looking back west. Compare the photo below with the third one here to see how much work has been accomplished on the Bayonne Bridge during the same 16 months.
Yesterday, Rae helped, as did
Dorothy J and Robert IV.
The combined age of Rae, Robert IV, and Dorothy J is 139 years, whereas the beautifully restored flagship they escorted in is 131 years old.
And as the tow approached the Statue, John J. Harvey joined in.
These photos all by Will Van Dorp, who is grateful to the South Street Seaport Museum and the photographers’ boat provided by US Merchant Marine Academy and crewed by a set of dedicated cadets.
For some interesting history on Wavertree and info on a fundraiser on board on September 29, 2016, click here. For the story of how Wavertree came from Argentina to New York, read Peter & Norma Stanford’s A Dream of Tall Ships, which I reviewed here some time ago.
More photos of the return tomorrow.
Given the glorious sunshine, the transition from summer to fall begs another series. Let’s start with Maule,
2/3s of her escort, and
a fraction of her crew.
Following in Maule‘s wake, Helsinki Bridge arrives, here with half its escort.
McKinley Sea traverses the Upper Bay and passes
UBC Mobile.
In the harbor was Cordula Jacob and Seastar, as seen from two angles.
with some ferries and a Miller’s Launch crew boat.
Caitlin Ann and
Miss Lizzy work the AK and in the
KVK, for the last day, there are two glorious ships with bright futures . . .
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
x
Today’s a good day to return to this series I had going for a few years and now return to. More Chrononauts in the next few days…
But first, this vessel bringing in my favorite celebratory drink.
The fabulous September weather has allowed this project to rush to completion. Remember, tomorrow
in early afternoon she goes on a towline back to South Street Seaport through a portion of the sixth boro of this city made great thanks to shipping work and capital. You can watch from along the KVK, from the Battery, or from South Street Seaport Museum.
The name paint is on the list of about a thousand “last” things to do before departure.
Also, enjoying the spectacular equinox weather, the crewman who becomes almost invisible in the bow
tethered to James D. Moran.
More on Peking as she gets prepared for her home-going. Doesn’t this look like a shipyard for the ages?
All photos taken yesterday by Will Van Dorp.
Chrononauts here now refers to us, looking at photos from the past. This summer, in one of my Great Lakes ports, i bought first two prints, then the whole album of over 50 prints, all taken in the sixth boro between the 1930s and the 1950s. So let’s start with this one, taken in either 1948 or 1949,
How about this one, and you can find the overlap: S.S. Normandie (1932 –1941), Alice M. Moran (1925–1953), and New York Central Grain Elevator Pier 7 Weehawken (1884–1962).
I’d love to learn more about either of these photos. They are stamped on the back as Gmelin, probably the photographer.
Of all the project boats, converting work boats into yachts, few get completed to the degree this one has.
I took these photos last weekend in a cove just off a major portion of the sixth boro, thanks to a tip from MM & MM.
M. V. Santandrea keeps some elite company, its humble beginnings notwithstanding. Click here to see her working lines usually submerged. Now here’s the most important link . . . to see what she looks like inside, thanks to MM. I have not found photos of her as she looked in 1961.
Converting a workboat to a yacht seems a common dream and sometimes succeeds, as in the 255′ salvage tug later called Lone Ranger, now called Sea Ranger. Another success would be the 193′ Sea Wolf, former sister of pilots’ mothership Elbe. Then there’s the sixth boro’s own Yemitzis. And there’s Wendy B, which was 1940 built in Owen Sound, ON, and which generated lots of interest at the 2012 TBRound Up.
There’s no mistaking that rigging.
Meanwhile, Santandrea . . . she’s a beauty.
PS: Does anyone have updates and/or photos to share of Sea Monster, formerly of Narragansett Bay and once being worked on in Mamaroneck?
All photos here by Will Van Dorp, and thanks again to MM & MM.
tugster: a waterblog 
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