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Sorry for the hiatus in posting. I was out at sunrise New Years Day . . . but more on that in a moment.
Part of my silence was attributable to verizon. The rest . . . was because I decided to ACT on new year’s resolutions, not just make them.
The first photos after sunrise January 1 . . . Buchanan 1, who must have been towing a loaded dredge spois scow out as the new years whistles were blowing and fireworks blasting. Bravo, Buchanan 1.
The linemen/boom managers were out working, as
were the crews of Lucy Reinauer and pilot boat Yankee.
Jay Michael headed out with a scow load of dredge spoils, evidence that dredgers worked their way from 2014 to 2015.
And Bering Sea . . . heads west into the Kills, having passed Gotland Marieann.
All photos by Will Van Dorp.
Name that tug? Answer follows.
Kodiak . . . this is a new one for me and a one-off trip for the vessel?
The tug here is
Liberty Service. And yes, that’s Chesapeake Coast in the distance.
McKinley Sea leads Bluefin in from the anchorage. I’m not sure why Bluefin is still gray.
This is an impressive lineup in the late fall afternoon light: the McAllisters Kate, Bruce, Helen, Brothers, Brian . . and more.
This vessel I truly don’t know. It’s new in the harbor, and I have a hunch . . . but will keep that to myself.
And the mystery tug at the start of this post was none other than W. O. Decker. Here’s one of my favorite set of old photos of Decker. Here are many others.
All photos very recently by Will Van dorp.
Bergen Point, a 1958 Blount product, coming through the Narrows last weekend. Click here for many interesting vessels from Blount that have appeared on this blog.
And a first timer on this blog . . . John Parrish.
Penn No. 4 all painted white . . . click here and scroll through to see her in PennMaritime gray.
Bluefin . . still in PennMaritime gray . . . or is that primer?
Maryland . . . with reflections.
If my search window serves me right, then this is the first appearance of Katie G. McAllister on this blog.
This is definitely the first appearance of Pelican State here. The photo of this Great Lakes Dredge & Dock boat is here thanks to Mike and Michele Mcmorrow.
And thanks to Mage, here’s Esti and
Cerro Jefe.
A previous view here of Emily Ann had her as Solomon Sea.
Brian Nicholas at work in Great Kills. Click here (scroll through) to see her as both Banda Sea and Brian Nicholas.
And finally . . . it’s the mystery tug Elbe when it was Maryland Pilot boat Maryland. At its stern is its predecessor, Baltimore. I haven’t found out much about Baltimore. Any help? About Maryland, Capt. Brian Hope–who shared this photo, said this, “In 1985 and MARYLAND was donated to Greenpeace. She was a great boat, but too expensive to operate. She had a crew of 18, plus a chief steward. The crew worked two weeks on and two weeks off, so that, counting the steward, we had a total of 37 crew. When we went ashore that was reduced to about 21 and our fuel, repair and food costs dropped dramatically as well. I am very glad to see that she has been preserved (in Maassluis). She’s a great boat!” Thanks to a generous reader, here’s an article about her sea trials.
When next I post, I hope to share photos Elbe in her restored glory.
Sorry to miss NYC’s fleet week again.
Here was 7 in the series.
ABC-1 is a harbor supply boat, restocking the larder and spare parts lockers while load shifting happens in port. Click here to see her high and dry a few years back.
BB 163 . . . is a still used antique, up on the Canal that connects the Great Lakes with the sixth boro. Some day, when it’s warmer, I hope to learn much more about these BBs, buoy boats. I’ll do more on BB 163 later. For now, I can’t look at this and NOT see the flag of Colombia or Ecuador.
Gabby has been featured here many times.
Miller Boys is a crew boat.
But really the focus here is the line boats operated by Ken’s Marine.
It might be 5 above zero or 5 below 100 F, these crews are shuttling lines from ship to shore, negotiating with crews on a vessel as well as crews on shore.
Note the ship line handler chief watching the line boat and signaling to his crew to pay out line.
Once the line boat gets to the shoreline, the shore crew takes over. Given the ice I know is on those rocks, this is a job requiring concentration and sure-footedness as well as strength.
Once lines are on, the line boat stands off until they get snugged. Then there are lots more lines to get on.
“All fast” needs to be done quickly and thoroughly. Not long after this vessel was snug, two container ships passed between Medi Osaka on this side and UACC Masafi on the other side, creating tremendous lateral pressure on all vessels, straining the lines.
But all fast is all fast. Bravo, guys.
All Fotos by Will Van Dorp.
Rhine is currently in port offloading salt given the reported shortage of the material.
Lines were made fast Monday midday, just after Balder had left.
In the past six days, Balder had come and discharged its dozens of thousands of tons of the stuff and gone. As Corey Kilgannon reports in the first sentence of his recent NYTimes article, “Pass the salt, please” describes the business plan here.
This is what international trade looks like, whether it be Islandia heading out under a leaden-gray afternoon or
these unidentified vessels departing recently at dawn. In the photo above, the dry-docked vessel in the background is USNS Pomeroy, T-AKR 316.
The first three photos are used with permission of Brian DeForest. The others are by Will Van Dorp. And obviously, none of these photos were taken today, as another type of white stuff descends upon the harbor.
Count’em . . . three! Becky Ann and two of Ken’s boats.
Click here to see a post I did a few months back on crewboats exclusively. Miami River shuttles in here past Charleston in drydock.
Becky, Doris, and Maria T.
Wolf River has returned to the sixth boro after some time away. Brazil maybe?
A few weeks ago, here’s Julia assisting as Freddy K Miller prepares to move a construction barge away from Governors Island.
Miss Ayva in the straits of Gowanus down under the BQE is one of the workhorses . . . work ponies of the harbor, not unlike
this unidentified vessel off Happy Dynamic‘s stern and
Gabby . . . here staying ahead of Sarah Ann and her clutch of barges and
Julia fearlessly speeding out the flat Narrows to run someone out to Gravesend Bay.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
It’s appropriate that this was Salt 6. You’ll understand as you go through this post and the next one.
Just like it’s appropriate that this Cat is prowling.
Wonder what’s the relationship between this dark shape arriving and safe driving and even on safe walking on streets in the lit-up Manhattan in the distance?
Balder is in port with almost 50,000 tons of crystals from the deserts of Chile aka road . . .
. . . salt.
She drifts in silently and crews make her fast.
Can you imagine doing this in a February or any other cold month sixth boro?
Well . . . it happens
again and again, ship after ship, with utmost concern for safety.
Balder (2002) features a self-unloading system.
Once all lines are secured along with customs check and other paperwork, partial crew change . . .
While some of the city sleeps, Balder’s arm stretches forth and the Cats get to work.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who is very appreciative for Atlantic Salt terminal manager Brian DeForest’s permission to be in the yard.
Think of the sixth boro as a destination/origin as well as a crossroads. WMEC-905 Spencer anchored in that point of convergence as of midday.
In points not far from Spencer and the Statue, cargo destined for/originating in this port was moving only if it could transfer in the harbor, petroleum liquid, like here, congress happened between barges powered by Pati T Moran and Sassafras as Meagan Ann passes by with a scow. For debris?
Kimberly Turecamo stands by with Long Island itself . . . well, a fuel barge by that name. The spirit is greatly willing to move fuel to faltering consumers on the shore, but the distribution system is broken, for now.
Nicole Leigh Reinauer awaits the green light.
St Andrews with barge on this side and Kimberly Poling on the other . . . like thirsty twins on their mother, Glory Express.
Traversing the sixth boro . . . Marion Moran pushes LaFarge barge Adelaide to points south.
Supply boat ABC-1 passes tanker Favola.
Diane B waits with a barge. A problem is that debris like blowaway and sunken containers may lurk unseen at the transfer docks.
Doris Moran, with another LaFarge barge, makes a power turn from the North River into the East River.
A cluster of DonJon vessels–tugs Mary Alice, Thomas D. Witte, and Brian Nicholas–attend to crane barges Columbia NY and Raritan Bay on some “unwatering” project just west of the Battery Coast Guard station.
Transiting the sixth boro from south to North is Apollo Bulker. More fotos of her later. She may be headed to Albany.
Ken’s Booming & Boat Service tug Durham passes the “seeing boat” Circle Line Manhattan.
Over by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, schooner Lynx heads for the Sound, past an East River ferry.
And–this just in–as of 1900 hrs tonight, APL Sardonyx became the first container ship to enter Port Elizabeth,
escorted in by McAllister Sisters and Barbara McAllister. Interestingly, see the foto here of her as one of the first into the port post-Irene!! Here’s another shot almost exactly two years ago of APL Sardonyx.
And a bit later, APL Coral came in, escorted by Elizabeth and Ellen McAllister.
Outside the Narrows waits USS Wasp, recently here five months ago for Fleet Week. A pulse has been re-established.
I am mindful that many residents of the area are hurting. My prayers go out for relief for them soon. Folks who suffered through post-Katrina are also sending along their prayers and encouragement, their solidarity with Sandy-afflicted.
We went through a “reboot” here 14 months ago, but this one is going to be much tougher.
x
Le vie navigabili . . . is what you could call “sesto borgo” or “the sixth boro.” And it’s navigated by creatures small as these canadagoslings,
greater,
numerous . . . unwanted or
scruffy but perennially utilitarian.
Say hello to 3/4 of the painting crew on Pegasus last Saturday. Vote daily for Pegasus here–so that she might benefit from a huge grant of $250,000–and
starting from THIS weekend, come and visit Pegasus on board at Pier 25 in the boro called Manhattan. The schedule now calls for Pegasus to leave this “canale” within the sixth boro tomorrow . . . Thursday, pick up Lehigh Valley 79, and move back over to Pier 25. In reference to the canales di venezia, Pegasus would look good exploring there . . . By the way, here’s a log of Pegasus’ last visit to the drydock for work.
Here you’re looking east at Manhattan and its tallest building from the Morris Canal in New Jersey. Il canale di morris è una delle vie navigabili del sesto boro.
See you some hours this weekend on Pegasus at Pier 25. And please . . . vote daily, no mater which continent you are on.
Parting shot . . a foto of Pegasus leaving the tour dock in Yonkers 11 months ago.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
By the way, the tugboat shown most completely in the 4th foto is the 1943 46.5′ Linda G. I don’t know where she was built. Pegasus is 96′ and 1907-built in Baltimore. The goslings, hatch of 2012, were about 4″ long.
Here was the first in this series.
Size matters. I love watching the line handlers shift 
lines over to the bollards.
As a vessel arrives at a dock, lines are at ready so that no time is wasted.
Trust and communication are a must, even if 
no common language exists. And as winter approaches, this work becomes less and less comfortable or forgiving.
Kudos to the line handlers.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
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