Small Tankships 2

I should rename this post “Time Warp.”  I started it in May 2008 and this morning–in response to some Facebook exchanges–resurrected it.  Maybe I will begin a series called “Time Warp,” though, and any photos no more than 20 years old–to pick an arbitrary boundary and to keep the series from becoming ancient time warp which could be its own thing– . . . any photos you wish to contribute no more than two decades old would be welcome.   Maybe I gave up on this post six years back because I had too many unanswered questions.

Anyhow, to plunge back in . . . Robert Silva and Harold Tartell provided foto of Manhasset from way back, when it sported a flying horse on its stack . . . .  I assumed this vessel was long ago scrapped.  I’m also assuming the location of this shot can be pegged by the two LNG tanks in the background.

 

Here’s another shot of the vessel (1958) (or 1952) in transition, I presume, sent along by Robert Silva.

Here’s a photo I took in 2008:  a different small tankship Mostank (1950) maneuvers close to a tanker.  I don’t know if Galahad is still in service, and

Here in Arthur Kill to resupply, I suppose,  Mostank . . . M O S being Marine Oil Service.  Mostank shows up as registered until at least a year ago.  Emma Miller now serves the sixth boro.

Here’s where the time warp impinges on this post.  Great Gull was around still six or seven or eight years ago.  Time flies.  The Gull has flown south.

Back then, John B. Caddell was still working.  Is she still intact?

Nathan E. Stewart was still in town and here moving Mary A. Whalen to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The unique Odin still worked here, and

Weddell Sea was still known as Scott C.

 

All photos here by will Van Dorp unless otherwise attributed.

 

 

Coffee Barges Extraordinaire

See it there, the modest red covered barge between Wavertree and Peking?  The steel covered barge is called Progress today.   Once it transported coffee from ship to shore.   I’m making a note to myself:  learn more about these.

And right across the East River to the right of the firehouse at Fulton Landing, that modified but still modest white barge used to be Erie Lackawanna 375.  It too transported coffee.  More on this later.   I took this foto 6/16/2009.

Here’s another modified coffee barge, this one just south of Camden, NJ, now the floating office of McAllister in that waterway.

It’s a counterpart to this McAllister office on the KVK.   So given all these repurposed coffee barges I knew about, why

did it take me a day short of seven years doing this blog to go to Bargemusic, the EL 375 barge in the foto above?   Shame on me, posing in the “shadow selfie” below, for waiting so long to check out this extraordinary barge.

I trekked out there yesterday in spite of the gusty sub-freezing weather to hear some music and have a look.

It was warm inside and the smell of old wood  . . . I felt immediately welcomed.  Note the brick fireplace to the left.  Some wood from American Legion lives on here.

Jung Lin was warming up on the Steinway, as

was Andy Simionescu.

I didn’t–and one shouldn’t–take fotos during the performance, but during intermission, I went out onto the pier to see the view from the “back” of the stage.

Here’s  the obit of founder Olga Bloom–with more info on her barge project– from the NYTimes almost exactly two years ago.  From this article, I learn this was her third barge, that it was built around 1900, and that Peter Stamford was instrumental in getting it permission to dock at Fulton Landing.   Here’s a spring 1978 article on what may have been Bargemusic’s first season.  Here’s a link that gets you an interview with the current president and calendar of upcoming events.  By the way, at 2:48 in that interview, a Bouchard tug passes eastbound on the East River.

Credits to those who offered marine trade skills and others can be found here.

Request:  the bargemusic site credits a Captain Hearnley as the one to tow the barge to this location.  Can anyone say anything about him?  Does anyone know the name of the tug or . . . have a foto of that tow?  When was the former EL 375 last  hauled?

Final shot for today, a foto from 8/27/2010 of Volunteer passing bargemusic.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.  If you have never been to bargemusic, you’ll thank youself if you go there SOON.

For two more repurposed barges serving as cultural centers, click here and here.  Pennsy 399 will deliver sinterklaas to Kingston this coming week.

New Houma

March 2011,

March 2010, and

… can it be and not in Kirby white but

Vane classic green?

the LongIsland-built tug with a Louisiana name, Houma!  And pushing DBL 25!

All fotos today by Will Van Dorp.

Random Pretty Scenes

See it there on AIS between Samuel Newhouse and Grave Grace Victoria?  Pretty Scene . . . and I missed getting a foto of it!!  I also recently missed getting fotos of potentially pretty scenes–or mediocre pics of vessels with interesting names like African Jaguar, Afrodite, and Great Reward.

Given that “pretty” is as subjective as the ocean is wide, you can judge whether you find these random scenes at all pretty.   Can you guess the tug to the right?

Try this . . . the pair of Brown family  boats with a couple of Weeks crane barges, or

G. B. Corrado by day at the salt pile where the Weeks crane barges  transfer the cargo and

by darkness at the same location passing a large MSC Sindy, 

a McAllister tug escorting out a RORO, or

a Dann Marine tug backing into a dock to pivot in place a bunker barge, or

a Moran tug putting power on the stern of a container ship?

I think they’re pretty scenes all.   And that tug up on the drydock in the first foto . . . Marjorie B. McAllister.

Here’s another from Erie Shipping News . . . Yankee has arrived in Erie for her makeover.   Here is the last time this same Yankee–the 1976 tugboat–has appeared in this blog.

Inside Beaufort Inlet

Click here for an account of gallivants in and around Ocracoke and Hatteras Inlets as well as my connection to these waters.  Beaufort Inlet–near Cape Lookout–is scheduled for some depth maintenance these days with Marinex Construction excavating what McFarland count not extract.  Katherine Weeks enters the inlet from sea with a light scow.

The only USACE presence I saw was Snell.  USACE awarded Marinex the contract to subtract a half million tons of sand from beneath these waves.

I believe this is cutterhead/pipleine dredge Savannah, connected by pipeline to this

scow and loading equipment.

When Katherine tows the loaded scow out–here past Sea Quest II, a dive boat (more on that later)

Na Hoku-formerly a K-Sea vessel–

tails.  The Sea Knight helicopter

just happened overhead.  I’d love the view from a helicopter here.

Once through the narrow inlet, Katherine heads out for the dumping area and Na Hoku returns to its holding station.

Who knew the inlet could be this busy . . . l to r:  Grace Moran, Aurora, Na Hoku, and Salamina1.  More on the last one on that list tomorrow.   Aurora, listed as a sulphur carrier, carries PotashCorp colors.

Potash Corp has their big mine about 35 miles from here, as the pelicans fly.

Chief is clearly a Marinex tug.

I’m not sure the ID of the inbound vessel here passing Chief, here heading out to the dredge.

I can’t say for certain about that dive boat early on and whether the divers had been on Queen Anne’s Revenge, but there’ve been lots of salvage activity around the Inlet in recent days.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Old Esso Maryland

But first . . . any ideas on the connection of this post to Pegasus?  This foto comes from last July 4, 2012.

The tug on this bunker barge I first came to know as

K-Sea’s Maryland.  Here’s a post that identifies the great blue hull of the vessel she’s bunkering.

Maryland just passed her 51st year mark, with a makeover.  Behold the colors from her recent pre-50th year mark and

now!!  Hudsonian caught her trip back from her makeover a few weeks back, slogging through the northern ice in February.

Enjoy  . . . the old and the

transformed!

So here’s the connection with the top foto above.  Maryland‘s original name 51 years ago was Esso Maryland.  There was a “state” series back then . . . although Maryland version looked quite different than–say–the Pennsylvania version.  Esso Texas appeared six years later .  . and is something of a blend between Maryland and Pennsylvania.  Before the state series, there were just numbers and at age 40, Pegasus became known as Esso N0. 1.  Pegasus today is 107 and looking forward to another educational season and the fundraiser listed below.  Details will follow.  For now, here’s info on the legendary Ear Inn.

From the Line Locker 14

Here were 11, which clarifies the title . ..  I hope.

I’ve had these fotos from Seth Tane for quite some time.  I looked at them today while culling fotos from my library.  Foto shows Foss tugs moving the Sauvie Island Bridge span into position near Portland, Oregon.  Foss tugs visible are (I believe)  the larger PJ Brix and Jim Moore.

This foto also shows Daniel Foss. The bridge move happened in late December 2007;  see page 6 of this Foss publication.  Looking up info on the Sauvie Island Bridge, I stumbled on the clever Flickr assemblage of fotos with the string “island bridge” in the name.  Try playing with it to see bridges with those two words juxtaposed from everywhere.

Like I said, I was scrolling through and culling my 2008 fotos.  Joan McAllister . . .  haven’t seen it in a long time.

Ditto Crow.  Has she been scrapped?

Here’s a summer 2008 treat, tandem pushing Aegean Sea and Caribbean Sea, although still on Roehrig colors.  The K-Sea colors on both have yet to come and by now both have been repainted.

Later in summer 2008 I took this, M/T Great Gull . . . now operating near the Panama Canal.

And  . . . last one for today, Odin passing the stern of ITB Groton, also sold foreign. ITBs like Groton, obsolete now, were technically catamaran tugs.  Just forward of where the stream of water is exiting the hull is the “bow” of the tug;  look above it and you’ll see the “seam” where tug and barge conjoin.   I posted about ITBs here back in late November 2007, and since

I’ve been enhancing my fotos on this blogs, let me add a few to that post here.  Here I’m looking between the “hulls” of the catamaran and toward the stern.  Note the portside prop.  For scale, note the size of the “lift basket” and yard worker.  The aftmost portside portion of the “barge” fits into the groove.

Here’s the aftmost port starboard side of the barge.  These two fotos were taken in the Brooklyn Navy Yard GMD November 2007.

Thanks much to Seth for starting this 2007/08 flashback.  I feel like a veritable John Titor after this glance back at how much the harbor has changed in five years.  All fotos except otherwise attributed, are mine.

And totally unrelated . . . prepare to laugh yerself buttless  bad lip reading the NFL.   This one is a guaranteed laugh-producer too . . . what they really said in the first debate.

Tugster Retrospective 2012

My library for the time period  January 1, 2012 until today contains 11,244 fotos.  Starting from tomorrow, any 2012 fotos will be taken along the road.  So I decided to choose ONE foto per month, quite subjectively and without regard for this foto having previously been featured here.  I don’t claim these are the best of the month. Only 12 fotos, one per month.

January, Sandmaster . . .  waiting to refuel.  Today, Dec 22 . . .  Sandmaster was out there doing what it usually does, mining sand.

February . . . Eagle Beaumont escorted in the Arthur Kill by Charles D. McAllister.

March . . . side by side, CSAV Suape and bulker Honesty, Pacific bound through the Miraflores locks, demonstrating graphically what panamax means.

April . . . red-trimmed Taurus west bound on the KVK, cutting past Advance Victoria.  And just today, I saw Taurus, now blue-trimmed, heading north between Manhattan and Jersey City.

Choosing just one foto per month is tough, but for May, here’s Swan packed and almost ready to go hulldown toward Africa with these specimens of the Crowley, Reinauer, and Allied fleets.

June . . . Weeks Shelby tows shuttle Enterprise from JFK toward Manhattan.

July and an unforgettable 4th using Pegasus as subject under the rocket’s glare

August . . . and coal-fired Badger heads into the sunset . . . and Wisconsin.

September, and a parade of vessels including Urger and Buffalo leave the Federal Lock bound for Waterford.   My inimitable platform here is Fred’s Tug44.

At the start of the Great Chesapeake Schooner race, crew is setting sail on the unique tugantine Norfolk Rebel.  In the distance, it’s Pride of Baltimore 2.

Coming into the home stretch from Montreal, it’s Atlantic Salvor delivering segments of the WTC1 antenna.

And December . . .  it’s Stena Primorsk looming over the USCG vessels.   At this time, Stena Primorsk was impatient to load that first hold with “north dakota crude,” only to experience the malfunction that has left her temporarily disabled upriver, its outer hull gashed open.

Tomorrow I hit the road . . . gallivanting and visiting season.  I thank all of you for reading, many of you for helping me get these fotos, lots of you for correcting my errors and supplying missing info. Happy New Year and let’s pray for much-needed Peace on Earth . . . .

Back in the Sixth Boro 2

Here was the first post by this title.  I’ve been back for a few days, but it’s been hard to transition from my jaunt in Utah areas of wilderness back to the densely settled areas in and around the sixth boro of NYC.  I didn’t take the foto below of Binghamton, but her time is clearly running out.  If you notice human/mechanical demolition (as opposed to destruction by natural erosion . . . as in the desert) happening, please get in touch or  send me fotos? This was taken Friday during the rain by Allan and Sally, whose sweet vessel you’ll see later.   I did three posts early October 2011 about Binghamton, then ravaged by Hurricane Irene.

I caught this foto of Miller Boys yesterday when it seemed the winds were blowing more rain in.

Ellen McAllister was moving this “unmarked” McAllister tug (anyone recognize it?) around the yard. Info follows, thanks to Birk Thomas.  That’s Cashman’s Lynx in the background.

Also in Mariner’s Harbor, it’s Mark McAllister, not typically a sixth boro boat.

And slightly west, lined up from left to right are Barents Sea, Yankee, NaHoku, and Taurus.

Potomac stands off with Lower Manhattan in the background after an assist.

Over in North Cove, expedition yacht Copasetic costs more than twice any of the tugs appearing in this post; that bow is inspired by much larger ships.

And finally, my host vessel for a jaunt and great conversation . . .   the Lord Nelson Victory tug Sally W, operated by

Allan and Sally, who’ve kept this blog during their recent jaunt up to Ottawa.  By the way, has anyone seen Chase, the long distance padleboarder?

Binghamton fotos by Sally.  All others by Will Van Dorp.

In case you were not able (like me) to identify the tug alongside Ellen McAllister, it’s none other than Winslow C. Kelsey.

Life Savers/Life Saving

Mr. Pena . . . below is a foto of your life saver aka CABO ROJO taken in the East River NYC in November 2010.  Note that on this day she was pushing three scows just south (west) of Hell Gate.   The connection to your story was made by Gus Pervolarakis.  Thanks much,  Gus.    Since I added Mr Pena’s note  to yesterday’s post late (I do go back and add “stuff” sometimes), let me reproduce part of it here:

“we owe our life to the captn and crew of tug boat CABO ROJO; they saved us from capsizing on 13 of may 1966 on rough weather crossing from cuba to florida; our boat was a 17 footer; l was 18 yrs old at the time.   now at 66 l would like to have a photo of the ship or crew. … note at the time of our rescue, tugboat CABO ROJO was pulling 3 barges behind it with molasses on a trip from puerto rico to new orleans.  who was to tell that  [our] faint far away light was seen in the distance.  it was going to be our salvation. thanks a million captn god bless. tugboat CABO ROJO and his crew. …  our boat the ANITA was abandoned to the mercy of the sea; every time l remember seeing it fade away under the lights of the reflectors of tugboat CABO ROJO l can’t stop tears . thanks again for saving our life. gratefully yours r.a pena”

I’m not sure where CABO ROJO aka Solomon Sea (ex-Brandon Roehrig) is at this moment, maybe tied up in the yard.  Any commercial vessel coming upon a distressed boat in nasty weather would do the same.

Here’s a scene I caught the other day when Hellespont Pride had just entered port.  Shot was taken from Fort Wadsworth.  Note where the lifeboat is, astern of the barge and Jane A. Bouchard.

A closer-up a little later and

still later.  As with any safety drill, it’s important to do these under calm, practice conditions.

Here the lifeboat’s locked back in.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

For some great old freshwater tug fotos, check out Isaac’s tugboathunter here.