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Crow languishes here in Port Newark.
A detail-impoverished foto of Manson Construction‘s hopper dredge Glenn Edwards along with tug Kendall J. Hebert. Actually Samantha Miller is hiding in the haze near starboard stern of the dredge, anchored in Gravesend Bay.
Click here for a coloful foto of Kendall J. Hebert.
Some of the other boats I’ve seen recently are Susan E. Witte,
Katherine, (Last summer I caught Katherine pulling a dredge scow in Morehead City, North Carolina)
Pati R. Moran,
Ron G, which I first read as Rong. Often she’s in Philadelphia.
Gabby L Miller,
Miriam Moran returning to base after retrieving the docking pilot,
And finally, a boat I’ve never seen before . . . Navigator. Anyone know her story? I took this foto Sunday morning.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
I took these fotos Friday before the winds started.
Viking . . . . To see how she’s evolved over the past 41 years, click here.
Brooklyn was previously a fleetmate of Viking. For her history, click here.
Above and below . . . it’s Huron Service, which recently got new paint as well. Here’s an overview–possibly out of date–of routes served by Genesis Energy.
Clearly, from the foto, to say commerce USED to happen on the Gowanus Canal . . . uses the wrong verb tense. Here, from L to R, it’s Shawn Miller, Samantha Miller, Miss Ayva, and Diane B.
Finally, and still in Gowanus Bay, it’s Discovery Coast and
Potomac and Hunting Creek.
Stay inside or at least firmly attached to something substantial.
Here was 15.
What is this? Foto was taken on Colonels Row, Governors Island.
Energy saver of the future?
Prison cage?
Recycling?
Construction material?
Fish habitat?
Monitoring device?
You’ll have to wait til tomorrow at least for the answer. It is pretty, though.
Exactly a year ago, I put up this matrix on a barge.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
Here were 1, 2, and 3. Looking back, my favorite of those three is number 1. So what are the delights of the East River, other than my longstanding fixation on this aggregate carrier . . . ?
Well, clearly I’m not the only one who recognizes how delightful Alice’s presence in the sixth boro proves to be.
Thanks to the Long Island City Community Boathouse for these pics long on spirit if perhaps a bit short on focus. My last trip with LIC Community Boathouse goes back five years already!! On that Sobro cleanup trip I also took these fotos.
These fotos remind me that I’ve yet to get myself to Four Freedoms Park (below) on Roosevelt Island, as well as
Ship of Tolerance, which will be at the salt dock on Staten Island this weekend. In the foto below, Gabby L. Miller is moving the Ship past the United Nations Building.
All fotos are compliments of the Long Island City Community Boathouse.
What’s this? Answer follows. And I just stumbled onto this blog . . . Crewboat Chronicles. Crew boat or crewboat?
OK . . . asking questions seems to be where this post wants to head. What’s Stagetide? The foto was taken on the hard not far north of Atlantic City and with the help of Fred Mallett.
Here are two crewboats I got a blurry foto of a few weeks ago in the KVK.
Crewboat Sabine plays lots of roles. Is she doing a visual inspection of dredge pipe here?
She also ferries crew and supplies between shore and projects, hydrographically surveys an area pre- and post-material removal, and shoos away non-project boats getting too close to the work. Sabine was built in New Iberia in 1980.
I’ve not been able to find out much about Stagetide.
Circling back to the top foto . . . it was the Swiftboat from the Washington Navy Yard, a vessel whose design alludes to its crewboat origins, I think. Here’s a post I did two years ago on swiftboats.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
Related: The Bayonne Bridge logo I’ve used on this blog since 2006 was taken from the USACE vessel . . . Hocking. I believe that’s a crewboat, the first I ever rode in. Anyone know where Hocking was built?
All fotos here from yesterday . ..
Liberty Service as you may never have seen her. Here (third foto in this link) she was four years ago.
Ditto Huron Service. Repainting on Huron seems farther along than that on Liberty. Here’s how Huron Service looked a year and a half ago. Get ready for Genesis Energy.
In the past year, this Pegasus has sprouted an upper wheelhouse; compare with here.
Welcome to the waters around Houston. Well . .. I do mean the 118,000-barrel barge married to Linda Moran. Uh . . . do tugs and barges ever get divorced?
Trucks on the water pushed by Shawn Miller.
I realized only later that–had my conveyance lingered here–I would have seen Catherine C. Miller push past with FIVE trailers/tractors on a barge. See her in the distance there beyond the bow of RTC 83.
Reinauer Twins waits alongside RTC 104 with a faux lighthouse in the background.
Lucy Reinauer–earlier Texaco Diesel Chief built in Oyster Bay NY–is the push behind RTC 83.
DBL 29 pushed (ok, will. . . open eyes. thanks for the correction.) moved alongside by Taurus. See some of my previous Taurus fotos here and here.
And thanks to wide-eyed bowsprite, a vessel I’ve not seen before pushing stone. It’s Patricia. She reminds me of a vessel I spotted along the road a few years back . . . Hoss.
So, this is the “plus” in the title, the group-sourcing request portion of this post: what company is operating Patricia?
And another question . . . from an eagle-eyed upriver captain. Notice the weather instruments on this channel marker just off Bannerman’s Island (I am planning to do another post on this unique location north of West Point.) And . . .
here are more weather instruments on this federally-maintained channel marker off the Rondout. Questions: who’s responsible for these and is there a website where the data collected can be monitored?
All fotos by Will Van Dorp, except for the last three, which come from bowsprite and Capt. Thalassa.
Speaking of bowsprite, today she’s running Radio Lilac and I’ll be there tending bar. Here’s something of the inspiration. Come on by if you have the time. Teleport in if you’re otherwise out of range.
And the winner of the speed race . . .
in a record setting 0 days, 0 hours, and precisely five minutes and 0 seconds . . ..
. . . sorry . . . this is part of the day too; click on the foto for bowsprite’s rare foto coverage.
The winner of the speed event will be revealed, uncovered, somewhat shorn . . . at the end of this post. But first, besides the tattoo contest, other contests include line toss.
Jamie of Susan Miller shows how it’s done.
Then . . there’s sanctioned, precision pushing.
Can you spot the difference between the white-and-green tug to the right above and the one below?
Vane had twins in the race, and one near-clone.
I’m not sure what this event would be called . . . mustering maybe.
There’s sizing up and
retreat.
On the pier, winners wear not laurels but spinach . . . . Someone inspired by the anthropological study of the Nacirema people might write this up as a study of a late summer ritual called Ecar Toabgut.
There are raffles that landed some this bowsprite print of a boat that represents–I believe–the first Vane participation in this race on
September 2, 2007.
And after the race–if it hadn’t happened before–boats might pose with the great Lady.
Here are some of the crew of the fastest boat . . .
Resolute.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
Congratulations to the crew of Working Harbor Committee for their work; many thanks to all the companies and crews for participating.
And let’s make this Tubing Tuesday, with a video of the race in NYC, the one in Gloucester and this tour in port of Antwerpen . . al this same weekend.
The race may last for less than 10 minutes for (most) boats, but each participant spends hours before and after. Here, using the power of thousands of conceptual horses and one very real donkey, all four vessels in Miller contingent make their way upriver.
At Pier 66, crew on deck and crew below start them up.
Lady B (read her interesting history here and here, the latter explaining that the “B” stands for either “Benazir” or Bhutto.”
For boats that arrive on the scene early, Red Hook may have come straight from a job delivering bunker to Norwegian Breakaway, there’s time for what might look like lollygagging, and
(in these next two shots from William Hyman) saluting the spectators or just
being seen. Does Seagus have another name?
But it’s also getting acquainted time.
Some regulars didn’t show, and other vessels arrived that I’d never seen before.
I had to look up South River Rescue Squad attending the Great North River race . . .
Somewhere in the attractively dressed race day crew on Jake-boat Resolute are two of the principals of tugboatinformation.com . . . hi Birk and Craig, as well as the force majeure aka Rod behind Narragansett Bay Shipping.
This kayaker stays well out of the stream.
The white bowstriped vessel–Lt. Michael P. Murphy– in the distance won the prize for persistence, finishing the course in a historic half an hour . . . spending most of that time doing a mid-race-course onboard repair.
Despite forecasts of storms–and rain north of the GW Bridge–the only lightning I saw was here and
thunder from the crowds on the piers. That’s the intrepid bowsprite showing us her drawing/painting arm.
Spectators took advantage of any platform.
More soon. Thanks to William Hyman for his fotos, especially the one of an exuberant W. O. Decker, which I featured hard at work using Seth Tane fotos from over 30 years ago here. Click here for John Huntington’s superb fotos from a wet place in the race . . ..
Again, my hat’s off to all who must work on Labor Day, including my son, who always works holidays for the higher hourly rate. And if you’re inclined, read what Paul Krugman has to say about Labor Day.
Uh . . . what’s this?
It’s Buddy, living breathing braying hoof-beglittered mascot of Debora Miller. If you’ve never been to the New York’s race, there’s a best mascot category. In the past there’ve been . . . dogs, hermit crabs, even a chicken . . . but Buddy redefines the contest.
With the threat of rain, someone made a wise decision and advanced the start of the race. Here Resolute, Catherine Miller, Tasman Sea, and Red Hook move toward the starting line . . . feted by now-retired 1931 fireboat John J. Harvey.
Foto thanks to William Hyman . . . the line up.
And at 10:29:30 . . . they’re off . . . with 1930 wooden tug W. O. Decker taking an early and easy lead!!
45 seconds later . . . W. O. Decker has dropped back.
Here’s they are 15 seconds later.
John J. Harvey is not a tug, but to see the speed out of this octogenarian . . . was humbling. An engineer toiling away in the engine room later told me all four engines were driving propulsion.
The red tug–Resolute–went on to win, although I don’t yet have the official times. I could have written them down, but I was far too busy applauding and taking fotos.
And here’s the crowd at the finish line.
Part B tomorrow. Thanks to William Hyman for foto 4. All others by Will Van Dorp.
Many thanks to Glen Miller of Miller’s Launch for my ride this year.
Unrelated and almost forgot: Here’s a query from Jeff S, a frequent commenter on this blog: he saw a “very weather beaten wooden sailing vessel (hull) at the Jersey end of the Goethels Bridge, about 65-70 foot long , two deck cabins and a bowsprit.” It was parked in the oversize lot waiting to cross the Bridge when traffic gets light. Anyone have an idea what this may be?
Guess this tug? This and alternate fotos here are taken by Seth Tane. Answer follows.
Joan Turecamo (1980 and one of the last tugs built at Matton in Cohoes)in the foreground. Guess the one in the distance?
Natoma . . 1976.
Vessel in the distance earlier was Susan Miller, 1981. I’m guessing the barge is loaded with riprap for shoreline protection somewhere in Raritan Bay. I wonder about the origin of those rockaceous chunks.
Craig Foss was launched in June 1945 as LT-648 by Tampa Marine, one of over 700 tugs operated by the US Army at the end of WW II. For a foto of a Tampa hull, click here.
Peering over crane barge Delaware Bay, it’s Caitlin Ann, 1961.
It’s Shaver’s 1981-built Portland. For a foto of a 1947 ship-assist tug Portland, click here.
And finally . . a tug with a tent passing a clock with no hands, it’s Miriam Moran (1979).
Top foto is Amnav’s Revolution at the Rainier Foss shipyard in 2006.
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