Blue Moon and 2023 Calendar Going . . .

I’ll get to the blue moon reference in a moment, but first . . .

Need one or more calendars for 2023?  I’ve approached the project differently this year:  the calendars are ready, you can preview, you can order here, and they’ll come directly to you.  That’s good for me because it frees me from tedious packaging and mailing, leaving time to be out taking photos.  Watching sixth boro traffic, traveling among traffic, taking photos of traffic, and researching traffic . . . are all preferable to me, as you know.  Case in point . . . blue moon, which is actually a sea story with the usual losses and gains, some photos I took yesterday.

Don’t the lines look somewhat Chesapeake…ish, a bit of bugeye in her lines?

Yesterday morning she crossed the Upper Bay, heading south late in November all under sail.  

Blue moon and today’s post photos have a tighter connection than blue moon and my 2023 marine calendar.  Here’s the connection:  the “three-sail bateau” aka ketch here is called Blue Moon.  The 69′ aluminum-hulled sailboat was built in the late 1980s as a cargo schooner, transporting tropical hardwoods.  Later she was owned by a co-founder of Crocs shoes. Now she’s a Nantucket-based excursion vessel whose owner makes an interesting sea story himself with a maritime Covid love story thrown into the mix.  Teased enough?  Find the details here.    There are even references to King’s Point USMMA, color blindness, and lobstering in the story.

She was not on AIS yesterday morning, so I needed to do a bit of research to identify her, and researching is another time-consuming task I enjoy.  In a past life I may have been an intelligence analyst.  Puzzling things out certainly beats waiting on line at my local USPS.

Here’s more on the boat.  It was designed by Thomas E. Colvin, designer of Rosemary Ruth and Le Papillon and built by Reuel Parker. 

All photos yesterday, WVD.  Fair winds, Blue Moon.  

Repeating myself here:  my 2023 calendars are available here.  At that link, you can preview all the pages;  no sailing vessels are included despite Blue Moon‘s, going south, appearance in this post.  The calendars could be going out into the USPS system tomorrow. 

If you want something customized, I can do that too.   

 

From the Line Locker 37

I spent part of a quiet T’day thinking about doing a 2023 calendar, and difficult as it always is to winnow the choices down to 12 or so shots, I’m doing a calendar.  Price will likely be $20 again.    Sorry to bring up buying on this Black Friday.

Going back through the 2022 photos reminded me of the highs and lows of my personal year.  I also looked again at some gallivant photos I’ve never posted on the blog.  Today seems a good although dark, rainy day to open the line locker. 

Any guesses on this roadside attraction?  It’s a 3/8 size replica measuring 63′ x 13.’  I’ll let you do the math.  Answers below.   Doesn’t the design suggest a Zumwalt class destroyer?

I took the photo in April 2022. 

 

Here’s another roadside attraction.  Maybe I could do some road photos 2022 posts.  Any ideas about this similar replica vessel, this one appropriately on terra firma, or terra mudda?

There’s a clue in this photo. 

So before moving to the next sets, here’s some ID:  both are replica from the Confederate Navy and both are located in North Carolina, whose flag you see above.  The first is CSS Albemarle, moored in the Roanoke River in Plymouth NC.   The actual vessel–158′ x 35′ — was commissioned in April 1864, and sunk in October of the same year.  More here.

The second vessel is CSS Neuse II, a replica of a 152′ x 34′ steam-powered ironclad ram.  Also launched in April 1864, the underpowered and “overdrafted” warship bogged down and never left the immediate area of Kinston NC, where she was built.  Finally, in March 1865, her crew burnt the vessel in the river to prevent its capture by Union land forces.  More here. 

Previous US Civil War vessels I’ve mentioned on this blog are USS Cairo and CSS Hunley.   Any suggestions for other Civil War navies sites to visit?

The fine print on the vessel below says University of Maryland; it’s their RV Rachel Carson down in Solomons MD. 

I took the Carson photo from the decks of skipjack Dee of St Mary’s, a delightful cruise under sail as part of a friend’s even-more-delightful wedding. 

I’m not allowed to say much about the next set, but I have the privilege to see this tricky maneuvering up close.  

Note that this vessel, currently underway between Indonesia and South Korea, is assisted by four tugboats. 

Thanks so much for the hospitality.  You know who you are.  Again, sorry I’m not permitted to say much more or publish my article.  If you have any questions or comments about this last set, email or telephone me.

All photos, any errors, WVD, who’s thinking of doing a freighter cruise soon, with a destination in eastern or southeastern Asia.  does anyone have suggestions?  I’ve not yet contacted these folks.  

Fall Migration 2

This follows up a post from not quite two weeks ago here. Of course, this unidentified recreational craft–here with HMS Justice and Fort McHenry–is out for a morning to commune with the fish migrating through the boro.  More on fish soon.

I have to admit first off that I missed SV Vaquita sailing through, but you can catch the highlights and follow along on YouTube, produced by the same wit as TimBatSea, both of which are YT channels worth checking out. Vaquita made its way south of Norfolk through the Dismal Swamp canal. 

Ketch Manana from Nova Scotia was eyeing the KVK before heading out the VZ.

Asteria is a 52-year-old yacht.  Registered in Bikini, she actually has the stuff to get there.  I love the lines.

In recent days, I’ve seen her both in North Cove and out by the

the statue, here sending her tender out on a mission.

As this sloop came between Roosevelt Island and the UES, she caught my attention because

of the lines and the polished aluminum hull. 

It turns out she’s Pleione, an Alubat Cigale 16 that’s been around although registry is Boston.

Finch seemed to be worked by a solo sailor from Portsmouth NH that was handling sail only just outside the ferry routes.

And if these lines don’t catch your attention, nothing will.  Of course, it’s a Lord Nelson Victory Tug (LNVT) 37′ version.  You’ve seen the model before here . . .  as in Sally W.

As it turns out, Sally W is hull #42, and the boat on the East River three days ago is hull #48, aka

Edward S. Marvin, another New Hampshire boat, here quite diminished by the cliffs and bridges along Manhattan’s east side.

All photos, any errors, WVD, a contrarian who’s migrating north a bit next week.  

Sailing Cargo 2

This title goes back almost a decade, and this schooner has been doing cargo runs on the Hudson for a while now, but I’d not seen it yet. 

Fortunate for me, I finally spotted the boat this past weekend, running

from Brooklyn side Upper Bay to Raritan Bay and the Arthur Kill.

I’ve posted photos of autumn sail here and here and in other posts like here, but this one is moving cargo.

As of this posting, she’s in the Hudson Highlands section of the river.

 

 

Cargo or not, sailing vessels have an elegance, a je ne sais quoi . . . .

Wind is the other alternative fuel.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

Apollonia has caught the attention of the NYTimes here about a year ago, and here recently in a Kingston NY paper.  Here’s a joint venture with a microbrewery up the river in Beacon.

Mixed Sixth Boro 2

Christy Anne is a small tug that I’ve not seen in 15 years!!  I posted it here, after seeing it in the Hackensack River, a place I see rarely.  Unrelated:  where are those buildings on the ridge in the distance?  Is there some Fata Morgana effect going on there?

With the placement of tire fendering fore and aft, I had the impression of an amphibious craft, the hull shaped around the tires almost like fenders on a flat-fender Jeep.  Here’s the late Fred “tug44“s post about the boat. 

When I saw this boat sailing in the other day, with its serious lines, I had to learn its story.  It’s Sparrow, an Open 50 racing sloop, preparing for the Global Solo Challenge. More on the boat here. 

 

Nicholas Miller, 33′ x 11′ crew boat, is picking up a pilot on the fly as

MSC Elodie, 980′ loa, comes into the harbor.  Nicholas matched the ship’s six-knot speed, sidled up, and stuck the rubber to the ship’s hull;  once the pilot was safely aboard, 

powered her way to overcome the physical forces and get away from the ship.

Ocean Venture is a purse seiner that comes through the boro periodically.. Some concern exists about the menhaden fishery.

She was possibly headed for her base on the Penobscot.

The seiner skiff helps deploy the purse  net.

What was curious, I thought, was that UConn’s 90′ loa Connecticut came in right behind Ocean Venture. 

 

As seems true a lot these days, I suspect there’s much more to the movements of these vessels

than I will ever know.  

All photos, WVD, who’s just being his customary curious.

Gloucester Schooner Fest ’22 c

I’m calling this the last batch, although there are dozens of photos I’ve not posted.  I’ll do the same as yesterday and number the shots, commenting on some.  I didn’t have access to my VHF, so whatever announcements were made, I didn’t hear them.  However, photo 1 shows the boats jockeying for the best position when the race signal was given. 

1.

2.  Once it was given, schooner Brilliant flew that bulging sail (a spinnaker or an oversized jib or a golly wobbler? ) and raced ahead.

3.  The race was on.

4.  Brilliant was way out front racing downwind.  It appears the jib has not been raised. 

5.  It soon became apparent that for some reason, there was a problem and the race was off.  Secondhand information said that incorrect instructions had been given, so the race needed to be restarted.  That meant getting all the boats back to the start line.  For power boats, returning to the starting point is direct and easy, but for sailing vessels, 

6. …  herding cat fish comes to mind.

7.

8. I believe this was part of the line up, and the race was restarted. 

9.  Below, the two nearer boats are in the lead;  the three a bit farther off and sailing to the right have yet to round the the inflatable buoy. 

10.  Here was the most exciting duel of the afternoon;  l to r, When and If and Narwhal.  In photo 10, Narwhal was trailing but moving to overtake When and If. 

11.  And here, Narwhal makes the move and races to the winning time. The two schooners on either side have still not rounded the buoy. 

12. Click here for the 2022 race results.

All photos, WVD,  Thanks to Artemis for the ride.

 

Gloucester Schooner Fest ’22 b

The following photos were all taken between 12:30 and 1:00, my favorites from a half hour’s harvest of photos just before the race began.   I’ll number them for reference purposes in case you choose to comment.

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All photos, WVD, who will post the race–the recalled one and the real one–in the following days.  Post time is always noon.

Again, I was crewing on Artemis.  Check out her site here.

 

Gloucester Schooner Fest ’22 a

I’m having a hard time deciding what to post . . . so I’ll do multiple posts.  Hundreds of photos from the schooner fest is an amount that overwhelms my decision making even as the clock ticks down the time until noon.  So here goes . . . for today, random sights.  Maybe by tomorrow, I’ll have a plan. For today then, just a few photos, minimal identification. 

I crewed on ketch Artemis and as a ketch, we were not involved, although we tested her wind-propulsion from the sidelines and did quite well. Artemis is a popular name these days.

Sail rigs of every sort caught the breezes and my eye.

A parade of sail took place in the morning in the Inner Harbor, or maybe this could be called a re-enactment of one of Fitz H Lane’s  canvases.

Human power crossed the harbor also.

I’ve no idea why those folks are trying to sail that navaid.

Some sailing vessels had white sails, some tanbark, and some had both.

 

 

More tomorrow . . .

All photos, WVD.

I’ve a question for longtime Gloucester area residents:  my first trip to Gloucester was in winter 1986-7 or 87-88.  I took a half day off work in Newburyport because I’d read in a local paper that a Soviet factory/trawler had been granted permission to enter the harbor for a few days, and I can’t recall the reason.  It was a raw day, but the sight of a large rusty ship with the hammer/sickle on the stack was unforgettable.  I did even own a camera in those day . . . maybe I’d left my smartphone at home . . .  .  Does anyone recall details, get photos?

I was thinking to call this “summer sail,” but that didn’t seem to fit.

Whole Lotta Dredgin’ 15

At least two other dredging projects are happening in the sixth boro simultaneously.  The one in the Buttermilk Channel  came to my attention because of the following two photos taken by Captain Malcolm of  schooner Pioneer.

Neither this tug–Miss Gloria— nor the dredge were ones I was familiar with. Miss Gloria is a 2003 Rodriguez Brothers tug operated by Marquette, and plenty of other Rodriguez boats work the sixth boro, and Marquette boats have been here before as well, mostly involved in dredging projects.

Malcolm’s photos intrigued me enough that I decided to come out for a night sail on Pioneer;  it had been far too long since I last had done that, especially given Pioneer‘s role in my starting this blog to begin with:  I’d been volunteer crew on the schooner before I started the blog, had taken lots of harbor activity photos, and then created this blog as a means to share those photos. 

Here’s a one-photo digression then for a photo I took more than 16 years ago from another vessel of Pioneer–black hull–and Adirondack sailing together in the Upper Bay at dusk. Although both are schooners, over a century of age and shipbuilding materials development and some very different history separate them.

To return from this digression, the following photos I took of the Great Lakes D & D dredging in the Buttermilk, photos i took after Malcolm suggested I put my feet back on Pioneer‘s deck. More photos of that lovely evening to follow.

I also have not shared photos I took of outstanding GLDD equipment I took in March. Click here for a January 2022 preview. 

Miss Gloria was elsewhere, but Smith Predator, who’s been doing dredge spoils runs the past few weeks, was standing by as a dump scow was being filled. I’d seen Smith Predator on AIS, and with a name like that, it had attracted my attention, but to date, I’d not gotten a good clear photo, only very distant ones.

 

Thanks to Captain Malcolm for the first two photos and the suggestion to come sailing;  all others, WVD.

More photos from the Pioneer sail to follow.

Summer Yachts 9

Maiden is in the boro, an impressive thoroughbred sailing since 1979!  I hope you click on that link for her amazing history.  Here‘s more on its current voyage.

The definition of yacht is quite loose.  I’d argue that the sloop passing in front of the Statue is someone’s yacht, although it’s not a global circumnavigator like Maiden.

 

Sportfish Markella was eastbound on the East River . . .  maybe trolling for tidal strait tuna . . .

Or this one, Zada Mac, in pursuit of and hoping to snag Hudson River halibut?   Yes, those were written in jest.

Mariner III looks delicate and outsized here passing alongside a tanker in the Kills.

Yacht Liberty carries the St. Vincent Grenadines flag, but besides that, I can’t tell you much.

Yacht Full Moon is a 65′ beauty once owned by Jerry Lee Lewis, a stunner now operated by Classic Harbor Lines and

dating from 1950.  It was built by Grebe. 

All photos by WVD, whose tugster blog is currently operated by riverine robots.