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I don’t go to galleries, museums, or other events enough, I know, but ’tis the season when it’s dark and rainy, and indoors can be bright, dry, and cheery. Rainy Sunday afternoon recently, I stopped in at the Noble Maritime Collection on Staten Island to show it to a friend not familiar with Noble’s work. Snug Harbor –location of Noble Maritime— is always a good place to visit. I’ll put links to John A. Noble in general at end of post, and I know some of my readers knew him.
Here’s one of the images that caught and held me. Spend some time and savor it; farther below is more information.
How about those 1949 Cadillacs? I needed to know more about the Cadillacs, of course. And I found some. Can you name the other “Cadillacs” of the Moran fleet? Any more about them? Answer follows.
Here’s a slightly closer up of the image above. This image is on display as part of a current exhibit called “Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea.”
While you mull over what you know about the Moran Cadillacs, how ’bout a glance at some Cadillacs of that general vintage.
Never before have I looked at a hood ornament and thought how much that figure resembles a version of mermaid . . . not a woman and fish; rather, a woman and a ray. Agree?
The first of four here is a Cadillac, again . . . that general vintage. Can you name the other three?
All photos, any errors or digressions, WVD.
Here and here are some starter John A. Noble links. Here’s an online gallery of some of his works for sale.
As to Moran’s Cadillacs: Grace (now Towell Power), Doris (last Piar), Barbara (reefed as Georgia), Carol (reefed near her sister), and Moira (later Cedar Point) from Levingston Shipbuilding, now gone. They launched at the rate of one each month between April and August 1949. Paul Strubeck mentions their naval architect–Tams Inc., in his book Diesel Railroad Tugboats I reviewed not even two months ago here.
While I’m on books, Erin Urban offers at least two books on John A. Noble.
Here are previous posts in this series.
And today, April 1, I’m not fooling; Noble Maritime Collection is a “must see” in NYC. You can actually see their buildings from the KVK, just west of the salt pile. Their latest exhibition is called “Robbins Reef Lighthouse: A Home in the Harbor,” a collection of works by contemporary artists asked specifically to depict the light. The painting below “The Barbican of the Kill van Kull” is by Pamela Talese.
What follows below are just a few of the pieces from that one exhibit.
The photo above is by Michael Falco.
William Behnken and
and others also have pieces. If you’ve never been to the museum and you devote two hours to all the fine maritime treasures there, you’ll still feel rushed.
Here and here and here are some previous posts I’ve done about the museum.
I’m excited to be doing another showing of Graves of Arthur Kill tonight. I hope to sell some copies, but I also look forward to hearing others’ stories of visiting the marine scrapyard over on the Arthur Kill.
Over the years i’ve done two series of blogposts on the yard: the ghosts series and the graveyard series. Another way of viewing the place is as disintegration. Enjoy these fotos and then I’ll explain where in a perfect world with endless resources I’d like to go next.
So I’d be thrilled if I could work with someone who could do time lapse simulation like this and this. I’d take a vessel like Hila aka ATR-89 from the time it arrived at the yard, and project its progressive disintegration over about a century.
Meanwhile, we have our imaginations. By the way, we’re selling the video also at Noble Maritime, all proceeds going to the museum.
All fotos here by Will Van Dorp.
By the way, bowsprite has her own commercial activities operating South Street Seaport’s 14 Fulton Street pop-up shop.
Here was post #1 of what could become a series from over five years ago.
Dusk rarely finds me at my places along Richmond Terrace, but last night I was here with elizabeth, and she took a pic much like this one, and when she sent it to FB with the question “Guess who my dinner date is?” one friend wrote back . . . “the great Gatsby?” So call this . . . what the great Gatsby sees as tugster on a short day’s journey into night, apologies to Mr O’neill.
Barney Turecamo passes Gatsby’s place, as do
Frederick E. Bouchard and B. No. 210,
Ellen McAllister,
Dorothy J,
and Weddell Sea.
Gatsby’s for the night . . . was actually Blue–formerly known as R. H. Tugs. From Blue, it was a short walk to Sailors Snug Harbor for the 25th annual John A. Noble Art Auction. And I’m very pleased to say that
a print of my foto below brought $500 into the museum’s funds for restoration of Robbins Reef Light, and the framed foto went home with a very happy friend. To see the other 49 items in the auction catalog, click here.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
. . . sometimes aka Kate’s Light. And I did a Katherine Walker post here without including the light in that post. So here’s my attempt at amends. All Robbins Reef today . . .
The tug Robbins Reef is an ex-army tug, sibling of 8th Sea, built in 1953 in Fells Point at American Electric Welding. Can anyone add info on the former American Electric Welding shipyard? National also appears to be a sibling, but I am starting to digress.
Back to the light by that name . . . in the distance.
See you at the Noble Maritime auction tonight, I hope.
It’s snowing in the sixth boro now, but Sunday–between threatening clods–it looked like this.
Let’s start with Discovery Coast and GCS 236.
Shelby passing Grace D of
D & G Launch Service . . .
Buchanan 12, again light . . .
And a close up of Discovery Coast . . .
and another ending with Robbins Reef Light, which looked like this in 1951.
All fotos taken on Sunday by Will Van Dorp, who hopes you can come to the auction at Noble Maritime this Friday evening.
Sunrise to the left of Coney Island Light and tug Escort, a Jakobson boat. Note how calm the water is.
The mighty Resolute passing the lofty Chesapeake Coast, with a loftier tower off in the distance.
James Turecamo–a Matton boat– tailing Stolt Aquamarine
Gulf Dawn with GL 54
Escort six hours after the lead foto . . notice what 22+ knot wind out of the west does. That’s Taft Beach disappearing behind the island.
And Potomac heads eastbound. I’m thinking to use Robbins Reef light as the terminal punctuation for all posts this week. Do you remember these signs that used a product name in the same way? I’m gathering if you are over 55 and a US resident, you’ll know about Burma Shave. Otherwise, you’ll think I’ve lost it again.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp, this morning.
And check out this Staten Island Advance story on Robbins Reef light rehab work, featuring my foto!
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.
Here were 4, 3, 2, and last but not least enlightening 1.
And where’s this?
Let’s spiral outward a few.
A noteworthy woman once lived here, you know . . . the
. . . Germany-born Kate.
See more here on the Noble Maritime Collection site. Noble is the steward of the light and is seeking help restoring it to Kate’s tenure at the light.
I have a folder devoted to fotos “illuminated” by the light. Like January 2010.
February 2012,
also February 2012,
November 2012,
right after Irene in August 2011,
and July 2012.
Anyone have Robbins Reef Light with noteworthy vessels . . . to share?
Click here for some of my favorite images of Kate’s Light.
Thanks to Erin Urban for the passing along the first six photos, taken by Brian DeForest.
And I thought I was a solitary tourist wanting to see the sights here? I always do bring outatowners here to my “offices” for the scenery.
And to think that he too thought a maritime center devoted to contemporary shipping is sorely needed along the busy channels of the sixth boro.
First, Noble Maritime IS open this Saturday and Sunday, Labor Day. More than half the fotos in this post are from the well-worth-seeing display called “Tides of 100 Years.” Snug Harbor also caught some attention in the New Yorker this week.
The KVK always intrigues and amuses. Like, this tanker . . . made me think Torm is mini? No way . . . it’s heavily-laden, it’s rusty,
it’s orange (or would you call that cantaloupe?).
Over beyond it at Bayonne’s dry dock, USNS Dahl is getting a make-over.
Farther west, Maersk Phoenix is transferring a petroleum product and soon to head into the Mediterranean.
John Noble is the godfather of this blog. And this exhibit helps you form a fuller idea of the artist.
And lest you think, it’s only his fabulous artwork, it’s more . . . like this manual below. John Noble had a Jeepster, one of my all-time to-be-coveted vehicles! See the flickr image to the left margin of this blog. Anyone remember his topless Jeepster around Staten Island?
And here’s a taste of his workshop . . ..
If you have a chance this weekend or soon, come to see this exhibit. Spend some time in the museum, and then find a place across the road to sit and watch his inspiration.
Tangentially related: My Jeepster story does NOT involve John Noble or even NY. I was born in coastal North Carolina, a marshy farming area where deep ditches tend to outline roads. My slightly older relatives–who will stay unnamed–used to waterski behind the Jeepster. Run the tow line from the car to the ditch, where the skiier crouches at the ready hoping to begin the ride before a snapping turtle, alligator, or water moccasin happens along. Once the tow gets going, keep your skis cranked forward in the ditch, not toward the car. Can be done. Has been. Wish I had fotos!
If anyone has Noble Jeepster stories, please leave a comment.
tugster: a waterblog 
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