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Believe it or not, I’m way inland and without a camera, and a preference for novelty prompts a different almost-year-end post together. Rules I made for myself follow: go to my archives and select the first photo of something water-related each month of 2019. So if the first photo in my archives for each month is a person or an inland structure, I don’t use it; instead, I go forward in that month to the first boat or water photo.
For January, it was Susquehanna in a very familiar IMTT on the Bayonne side of the KVK. She’s currently westbound along the Keys.
February was La Perla, an oyster barge on Peconic Bay.
March was Nathan G on the very southern tip of Manhattan, across from the Colgate clock. She’s currently working in the sixth boro.
Jonathan C was assisting a box ship out in the wee hours near the start of April. Right now, she’s in the sixth boro, doing or waiting to do a similar escort.
May began with a NYC oyster boat headed north through the Narrows.
Early June it was Tavropos, in the Stapleton anchorage. The crude oil tanker is currently off the Tabasco coast of Mexico. The tanker appeared here previously as Moonlight Venture.
July began with Fishing Creek headed out of the Narrows. She’s currently near Philly.
In August it was Grande Mariner approaching lock E14. She’s docked in Narragansett Bay.
In September, actually on September 1, it was Kaye E. Barker southbound across Lake St. Clair with the landmark Renaissance Center ahead. She’s currently upbound on Lake Huron, possibly getting another load of ore for the season.
October began with me meeting Mrs. Chips bound for the Narrows and point south and ultimately Florida, where she currently is.
November it was Denak Voyager taking on scrap. That’s the Newark Bay Bridge beyond the ship, and Rebecca Ann lost to the left margin. Rebecca Ann is currently in the sixth boro, and Denak Voyager has exited the Straits of Gibraltar, heading back to the sixth boro.
And finally, December, it’s a mystery boat for now and an unidentified location. Guess if you like . . . I hope to get back to this photo in 2020.
Maybe tomorrow . . . last day of the year . . . I’ll do the last photo of each month following the same rules.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
This begins a new series, and I’ll post only when I can get on WIFI. “Montreal bound” will soon devolve to MB. Logistics causes me to post with a few days lag, so I’m posting from Buffalo.
To start, this is the closest I’ve been to Roger Blough so far. One of these years, I’ll see her in much greater detail.
Since I’ve switched vessels most of this years, here’s my former ride . . . Grande Mariner, Chicago bound. By now she’s been in Chicago a few days.
Off Wisconsin, we passed Sarah Andrie towing A-390,
Tonawanda-bound.
At the Fincantieri Bay yard in Sturgeon Bay, I saw what I believe are portions of the new VanEnkevort barge.
At the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, I enjoyed the works of its namesake and benefactor, Gerhard CF Miller, and this drawing from 1883.
No stop here would be complete without a glance at the Elizabeth NJ-built John Purves.
But leaving town by the ship canal, I had my greatest surprise . . . these two USCG 22′ ice rescue airboats. The Door peninsula is happy they are here.
I never knew the USCG had such equipment. These are cell phone pics, because if I had run to my bunk to grab my camera . . . I would have missed the shot altogether.
All photos and any errors by Will Van Dorp.
As a reminder, CB here expands to Chicago-bound, our journey.
Dean Marine and Excavating are continuing work on the breakwaters in Oswego.
Madison R stands by as the barge is loaded with boulders brought in by train.
The ubiquitous Rebecca Ann waits along the wall in preparation to head for the Welland Canal.
As we follow Rebecca Ann, we pass Madison high and dry and waiting for deployment.
H. Lee White’s Eleanor D stands as a reminder of the commercial fishing that once happened here.
Over in Rochester, a party boat fishing vessel enters the Genesee River.
The fast ferry fiasco that ran two seasons or so 15 years ago has resulted in this Australia-built Lake Ontario boat now the object of derision in . . . . ready for it . . . Venezuela!!
During the first half of the 20th century, Rochester was a coal-export port using these two boats.
Today tug Seaway Patricia operates here to provide bulkhead reinforcement for the high-water-level-afflicted shorelines.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, and taken in Oswego and Rochester.
This post, beginning in the hamlet of Jacksonburg NY, overlaps a portion of the canal represented in yesterday’s post. Notice our vessel to the left below; the cattails beside the road to the road are growing in the original canal bed from 1825.
Our tender ferries folks back from shore excursions.
I believe this is tug Lockport in Herkimer.
Gradall #2 and tug Governor Roosevelt conduct dredging at Illion marina.
Tug Seneca undergoes shore work at Lysander.
Juice is generated in Fulton.
And as we approach Oswego, a sentinel watches our progress.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who needed to reduce file size to enable this post to load.
CB is obviously “Chicago bound.”
Neither Thomas D. Witte nor Clearwater here off Mount Beacon is that, but we were.
Meagan Ann headed south with
used and abused cars on
SMM 157 for the start of their last trip.
James William pushed several loads of building materials southbound.
Rebecca Ann turned around for her next trip.
Lisa Ann worked on the bulk heading project in Troy.
Frances moved a scow south, and
Ancient Mariner too moved on.
All photos by will Van Dorp, and this was Newburgh to Troy.
Last year I called it the same but without a date. See here . . here . . . and here for all the rest.
We’ll start and end with Dylan Cooper. Is anyone shocked by this tow tube behind the small boat?
Mary Alice returns with a dredge spoils scow.
Bear?
Durham and rebar?
Remnants of the TZ Bridge. . .
and “chewing” hard on other remnants.
Stony Point Light . . .
Tug Kristin Poling heads for Jones Point, and
Dylan Cooper moves toward the tanks in Newburgh.
All photos on Monday by Will Van Dorp, and this was Manhattan to Newburgh.
Grande Mariner is on its way to Chicago from NYC via the Erie Canal. Since I’m not onboard, I have the opportunity to watch it lock through.
The lock is on the Palatine Bridge side of the Canal, across the bridge from Canajoharie, five times larger with its population of 3500.
Note the captain (see sunglasses extreme right center of the photo) coordinating with radio info from the mates (on ship extreme left center). What the captain can’t see but needs to know is the orientation of the bow and stern with the lock wall, ie, distance from the wall.
Once inside the chamber, the lock master (nearer) determines when the mitre gate can be closed and start to fill the lock.
Lines on the bollard secure the ship inside.
When the chamber is full, the lock master determines when the upper gates can be opened,
and Grande Mariner sails west.
Chicago . . . it’s about two weeks to the west from this location.
If you’ve ever taken Amtrak west of Amsterdam NY, you passed within 200′ of this approach wall.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who will be westbound on the sister ship in less than a week.
Several minutes ago astronomical summer began in the sixth boro, and that means tomorrow the mermaids arrive, which means I may or may not post . . . . on time.
Locations here will remain unnamed, unless you try to guess, but photo 1 here to number 4 represents an approximated 15 miles of central New York, where
time warps can be fallen into.
Geographical discontinuities . .
exist as well.
All photos recently by Will Van Dorp, who will identify the locations and then do the mileage calculations afterward if needed.
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