Maritime Tugboats

Regionally speaking, Andrew, along with 

Roderick and Nancy, could be said to sail in maritime waters.

In the maritime province of Nova Scotia, though, I caught up with Atlantic Towing Limited tugboats Atlantic Oak,

Atlantic Cedar, 

Atlantic Fir, and 

 

Atlantic Elm.  Given their extensive fleet, it seems I need to make my way back here.  Other than returning in October, I’m not sure when that will happen, but now it’s a goal.  

Seeing the Canso Strait, first hand and after being introduced to it by my friend Jack Ronalds,  satisfied a curiosity.

Behold Spitzer Bedford, Spitzer Montreal, and Point Chebucto.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

LL Eastport to Portland

You’ll understand if I say this is a wicked quick post.  Bear with me.  At the appointed hour, albeit Campobello time rather than Eastport time, we cast off and made for sea.

Once away from town, the pilot departed, back for the Eastport station aboard North Sea.

We rounded the light off the top of Campobello as a fishing boat worked the same area.  I wonder what the catch was. 

Making our way SW out of the Bay of Funky Funky Fundy (yes, that was an autocorrect 2X!) and into the Gulf of Maine, we passed Storm Rider.  Note the crewman looking our way between the house and the curtain on the stern deck. Yes, this song came to mind.

At daybreak this morning we took on a Portland pilot from Spring Point.

Ram Island Ledge Light, I presume.

I’ve lots of other lighthouse photos, but as we made fast, we were alongside the Portland McAllister fleet:  l to r, Roderick, Nancy, and Andrew. 

Heading into town for some supplies, I had to photograph this sign.

All photos, wicked fast, any errors because I’m too wicked fast, WVD.

2013 Tug Racing Season

The season comes to the east coast in late summer.  New York’s 2013 sixth boro race is 12 days away, but you can get tickets to watch it from a boat already by clicking here.  Be patient  . . . it may load slowly.

This is NOT a foto from NYC.  Can you guess where you’d see this original OSV design?  OSV here means “offshore (lobster) supplying vessel,”  which I confess are my first love in workboat design, dating from back when I lived in New Hampshire.  All fotos in this post come thanks to Birk Thomas, a force behind this site and its Facebook version, which generates a lot of pics  of workboats from all over.

If you guessed Portland, Maine . . . this is the pre-race lineup for the MS Harborfest.

I’m pretty sure this foto was taken from Andrew McAllister.

And it’s push-off time.

So in New York on September 1, whether you ride the boat or watch from the pier . . . I hope to see you there.

Although the September 1 race in NYC is the 21st annual in the current series, the races date back to before I was born.  See fotos of the vessels from the 1952 race here.  Back then, an international lifeboat race–rowers came from whatever cargo ships were in port at that time–was part of the festivities.

Again, many thanks to Birk Thomas for these fotos.  And if you do Facebook, check out tugboatinformation there.

Whitherward 2

The centenarian-PLUS-eight-years Helen returns with a shiny coat of paint, and  . . .

off to her port the FDNY’s Emerald Society Pipes and Drums muster on the dock.  Why?

Aha!

Rosemary‘s already worked in the sixth boro since June.   Who’s the twin 500 feet astern?

Welcome Andrew . . .

Capt. McAllister comes ashore . . . and benedictions and champagne and

and soon “shepherds of the sea” cause the “river” water to rise up in celebration

obscuring their newly christened selves . .  or further christening them.  Anyone have gallons per minute info on these water cannon relative to the FDNY vessels?

At baptisms and christenings, I feel led to wonder about the future of the new ones, and ask the higher powers to guide and bless.  I feel the same looking at these fotos.  Welcome Andrew and Rosemary and congratulations to the McAllister family.  Whitherward these two beautiful vessels, great-great-grandkiddos of Helen?  Whither the sixth boro?  Whither us?

Special note:  Many thanks to “bowsprite” for these fotos.  Whither bowsprite?