You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2020.
Below was the lead photo in Whatzit 3, January 10, 2009. Bowsprite took the photo from her cliff in late October of that year, and several months later asked me if I knew what it showed. I had no clue.
Eventually we figured it out, and only recently it occurred to my “slowness” that the tow must have come through the Erie Canal. Now thanks to “group sourcing,” we know that this unusual tow did enter the NYS Canals in Oswego on October 19, 2008. Kudos to Isaac Pennock for locating this page, credited to Jon Vermilye, whose site can be found here.
Above and below, M. R. Kane arrived with the ex-future HMS Detroit and put it in push mode to enter lock O-8, entry point from the Great Lakes to the interconnected waterways to salt water. For War of 1812 history fans, here‘s basic background on the construction and fate of the original HMS Detroit.
Notice the upper helm on the tug . . . allowing the captain to see over the “tow”.
Here the tow departs lock O-6.
Many thanks to Jon, Isaac, and bowsprite for these photos. Is it possible that someone along the other 27 locks between Oswego O-6 and the sixth boro might have gotten photos of this unusual tow? Maybe someone got photos of the tow at its final destination, which I think was somewhere in Narragansett Bay? I checked with the owner of the tug here and they had none, they said.
Maybe one of these years, SSV Oliver Hazard Perry will make its way back to Oswego, via the Saint Lawrence, of course.
Isaac works on a Great Lakes freighter and has created this invaluable database.
Kodiak Island came in with salt and went out with scrap, which she’s taking to Turkey.
St Paul came in escorted by Ellen McAllister.
SM Line is less than five years old, having risen from the ashes of Hanjin. I’d not noticed them here before, but
then again, some change is inconspicuous.
Seatrade White is one of six “colour-class” reefer ships.
Jorita came in with salt, road salt, as well. She’s now in Norfolk.
It was so hazy last week one day that even the brilliance of ONE Ibis was dimmed.
Indigo Ray was here this weekend, sister of Ebony Ray, and lots of other rays, some of which I’ve seen on AIS but not seen in fact..
Indigo has changed its name.
And finally . . . Seroja Enam. This name puzzles me. Maybe someone can elucidate the name?
All photos, WVD, one of those people who never tires of seeing ships come and go, knowing that in a month they might be on the other side of the planet.
This is what 13,000 teu looks like coming straight at you in the early morning . .
And when another 8500+ passes you, that’s a lot of boxes, tractors, and stuff.
See the three bridges in the distance . . . Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg? I’d like to see a comparison of the strength to weight ratio of that towline and the cable holding the roadbeds on the bridges?
Lady of the Harbor reaches up, and her assessment is . . . impressive breaking strength.
From here, the tow winds itself toward the Bayonne Bridge, where the big turn to starboard get made, assisted by Jonathan C and that towline, with James D and Kimberly. assisting from vectors needed.
All photos, WVD.
Click here for specs on Cosco’s fleet list.
Want to check out Random Tugs 001? The 001 got added more recently than 2007 because back then, I had no idea I’d go on. In the 2007 photo, might that be Mary Turecamo along with the Reinauer tugs, which are also still at work operating out of the sixth boro. The other morning Mary Turecamo was assisting MSC Maria Elena . . . . The tugboat has always been known by that name.
The many times renamed and reconfigured Brooklyn approaches from . . .. Brooklyn. I first saw her as Labrador Sea.
Brendan Turecamo, also renamed a number of times, takes the back channel out the Kills. That’s Bayonne in the background and a crane in Port Elizabeth beyond that.
Catching Genesis Eagle out of the notch is a treat. The third photo here shows a photo of the same boat as Eagle Service in roughly the same place a decade ago, although I was catching the opposite perspective.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen this particular Mary Gellatly moving around the sixth boro, but here she is, and I recognize the man with a camera between the wheelhouse and the stacks.
She was previously Vernon C, as in the top two photos here.
Dory is another boat that has changed hands and names and appearances. See her here . . . if you scroll.
Dory appears to be working with a Harley barge alongside a ship, bunkering ? . . . Kitikmeot W.
And let’s conclude with one of the newest boats in the harbor . . . Ava M McAllister, here returning from escorting a c-ship out toward the Narrows. Click here for photos from her christening half a year ago.
All photos, Will Van Dorp.
This series goes way back . . . in fact, the first installment was in 2006 using some photos I took in 2003, on my first trip up the Hudson.
What struck me yesterday as Nord Gainer headed out . . . was how much business was being taken care of on the fly . . .
As she headed out on the ConHook Range–I believe–opposing traffic is winter dragger Eastern Welder.
The docking pilot departs, via James D Moran, and after I’d gotten out ahead, it seemed odd to see the crane pitched over to port until
I caught sight on the vessel alongside her port . . .
the venerable Twin Tube!
Whatever needed to be transferred . . . Twin Tube was there.
Photos by WVD, who’s always surprised by sights in the sixth boro.
Nord Gainer is part of a huge fleet of tankers, some of which I’ve seen in the boro previously.
Published in error . . . but oh well. These photos were taken ten years ago . . . almost, early February 2010.
I took them my first time ever to see ice boating. It was cold but glorious. Yes, those are the Catskills on the other side of the Amtrak rails. If you travel the river, you recognize the contours of the peaks.
Conditions for ice boating do not happen every year. In fact, most years you cannot go ice boating because it’s too warm, ice has snow on it, ice is too rough . . .
As a result, members of the HRIYC has some quite old boats that have not been used much. I was told a 100-year-old boat might have been used only 10 seasons.
Wind bellies the sails and the boats race!
You can find a thread into my post from 10 years ago here.
All photos, WVD.
Quick . . . name those units?
Type Vane Brothers into the search window, presuming you know these are Vane Brothers boats, and you’d get all the previous instances of this title, going back to 2009.
Now you can see the names . . . Potomac above and Fort McHenry below.
Philadelphia is legible here, as is
Kings Point.
On a related note, I’ve been doing some blog maintenance; I finally added tags to the first three and a half years of this blog. Tags? You can find them in the “fine print” just below the title. When I started the blog back in November 2006, I had enough to do just remembering the process of getting images and text on the page. So until April 2010, I just skipped tags. Their addition matters because now–if you want–you can efficiently trace all instances of a certain vessel appearing here. For example, the first time I saw any Vane Brothers boat in the sixth boro was at the 2007 tugboat race; it was Patapsco. If you want to locate all the photos I’ve posted–and now tagged–type Patapsco into the search window, find it in the tags, click that tag, and voila . . . you can go all the way back to the first one.
The system is not fool proof because Patapsco, the word, might refer to the river and watershed also. It refers to any other vessel by that name as well. For example, if you type in Pegasus, you get both the 1907 tug and the 2006 boat. However, with tags undated, you get more of the older images than previously. Similarly, Philadelphia may refer to the boat above or the city; type that in the search window, and you’d get both.
And if I neglected to tag something in posts more recent than April 2010, it’ll be harder to find. If I made a mistake, you’d be given my mistaken info . . . GIGO. Those caveats given, searching is now a bit easier than it was.
All photos, WVD.
It’s a dark and soon to be rainy day in the sixth boro, so for your enjoyment . . . colorful photos from yesterday.
This ship uses the old spelling . . . like Peking v. Beijing. Know the current spelling?
Crystal Cutler came by with Patricia E. Poling, to add some greens to the palette.
The Hapag Lloyd box ship was assisted in by James D. Moran and
Mary Turecamo.
So . . . today’s maps would spell this as Qingdao, home to China’s second largest brewery . . . which uses the old spelling too.
All photos, Will Van Dorp.
The answer to yesterday’s question is Barra de Navidad, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, halfway between Puerto Vallarta and Lázaro Cárdenas. From a post from just over a year ago, see a map here. Yes, Roger, the baker’s boat with an English language sign was a “red herring,” or a donut among croissants. It turns out the baker is originally from Montreal, so maybe a sign on the back says boulangerie francaise. His place in town is called El Horno Frances, and you can befriend it here. If you want to read more about this creative baker transplanted to a beautiful place, click here.
Last time I used this title was more than a decade ago here. The newest lube tanker in the sixth boro is Lesney Byrd, working here already for almost two years.
Here’s a closer-up of the pump meters.
Today was spring-like in the harbor, as you can see from the haze surrounding the island.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who had to be convinced to come inside at all this sunny, balmy day, therefore posting a bit late.
Maybe the sixth boro needs a French bakery boat….
*I could have called this “ports of ___” because I’m not telling you yet where this unexpected location is. Not yet. Tomorrow.
These photos were sent to me yesterday. And I’m asking for your help if you chose, later in this post.
Here are the wares delivered by the “french bakery” boat.
In tomorrow’s post, I’ll tell you where this is.
All photos sent from afar. Again . . . where?
Now . . . I said I’m asking for your help. Here’s why: it turns out that in much of February and a part of March I will be very occupied and way inland. So I’m asking for some relief crew posts. Here are ones you have helped me with in the past.
Guidelines: One to five related photos that you have permission to share; can be contemporary or historical; a short paragraph or caption for each but not too much text; no politics or religion; must be boat or truck topic; might be commercial … as in selling a book, CD, painting, service, vessel, idea, project . . . There can always be exception, but it MUST be photo-driven, sparse text with embedded links . . . . as in the tugster format.
Don’t worry about creating the post or embedding links; just send me the photo(s) and explanatory text to my email or PM on FB, and I’ll remain the editor. You can choose to use a nickname. Here’s your chance for some free publicity.
I’ll have access to wifi, just tied up and inland.
No . . I’m not infirm, getting rehab, going to prison, expecting to be kidnapped, entering the witness protection program, or becoming a fugitive . . . I just have some business to attend to starting in early February in a place of snow and ice. If you want to ask some questions first about your relief post, I respond promptly.
tugster: a waterblog 
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