Retro Sixth Boro 50 A

June 2012 was pivotal for me.  A photo sent along by a friend alerted me to Canal commerce–Canadian corn– entering the US at Oswego, a place I knew something of from my youth. 

If that was a spark, then the breeze that fanned it was an invitation to do my trial article for Professional Mariner magazine, which led me to Kingston NY, the mouth of the Rondout, and a project involving use of a half century old tug Cornell to do TOAR signoffs.  My most recent article in the magazine came out today and can be seen here.

On that assignment, I was privileged to have a mentor, Brian Gauvin, do the photography.

Other big events for June 2012 included the movement of shuttle Enterprise from JFK airport ,

ultimately to the Intrepid Museum to be

hoisted onto the flight deck as part of the display, now covered.

My daughter went off to Brasil (again) and the Amazon, leading me to go there myself a year later, fearing she’d never return because she loved it so much there.

I’d given her a camera before she went, and was rewarded with some quite interesting photos, like these small motor boats that looked almost like slippers …

with straight shafts coming straight out of air-cooled engines.

During my trip up to the Rondout, I stopped in Newburgh, where replicas of La Niña and Pinta, crafted using traditional techniques on the Una River in Bahia, Brasil, attracted crowds, one of many stops along the great loop route. 

Other festivities on the Hudson that summer . . .

included the sails and music associated with the Clearwater Festival, and of course the small boats moving in some of the venues.

 

Patty Nolan and Augie were the small tugs, and of course the sailboats including Mystic Whaler, Woody Guthrie,

 

and of course the sloop Clearwater.  The Clearwater organization will not be doing a music festival in June 2022.  Mystic Whaler is now working in Oxnard CA at the Channel Islands Museum.

Summer time and the living is easy well, at least it feels that way some days . . . . 

All photos, except the first one, WVD.  That first photo was taken by Allan H. Seymour.

 

Retro 2012 Waterford Tugboat Roundup

The 2010 post had a photo from 2009, so let me start this one with one from 2010.  This photo made the cover of a NYS Restoration publication devoted to boats, but I lent my copy to someone and it’s never returned.  If you know the publication, please let me know.

OK, let’s see one more from 2010, taken from the same bridge, but closer to the bank and less zoomed.  Lots of folks come to these Roundups, but the number of working boats that can get there is decreasing because of increasing air draft and the inflexible 112th Street bridge, which also wiped out the viability of Matton shipyard.

The Roundup always begins with a parade, and that used to be always (in my times there) led by Urger.

Cornell and spawn named Augie waited on the wall in Troy.

Buffalo is now in Buffalo, and in less good condition. Here‘s more info on her.  She’s 53′ x 16’ and worked for the Barge Canal from 1916 until 1973.  Originally steam, she was repowered after WW2.  See her engine, a Cooper Bessemer, running here back in 2007.

Wendy B was the show stealer in 2010.  She looked good and no one I spoke with knew where she’d come from.  She’s a 1940-build by Russel Brothers of Owen Sound ON, originally a steam tug called Lynn B. More info is here but you have to scroll.

8th Sea is a staple of the Roundup, probably has been since the beginning. She was built in 1953 at ST 2050 by American Electric Welding. That makes her a sister to ST 2062, now in the sixth boro as Robbins Reef, seen here if you scroll.  Here‘s a tug44 description of tug and captain.

Small can still be salty, especially with this innovative propulsion . . . . Little Toot.

As I said, one of the traditions of the Roundup is that Urger leads the way.  Here, above the federal lock, the boats muster. And traditions are important.

The active commercial boats line up at the wall nearest the Hudson River, but when a job needs doing, they head out.

Since the Roundup happens just below lock E-2 of the Erie Canal, the thoroughfare for the Great Loop,  it’s not uncommon to see some long distance boats pass by.  All I know about Merluza is that it’s the Spanish word for hake.

What happened to 2011 you may ask?  Irene happened and the Roundup was cancelled.   We’re indebted to tug44 for documenting the damage of that hurricane in the Mohawk Valley.

All photos, unless otherwise attributed, WVD.

 

 

Seats of Power 3

Just when I thought I had no more photos for another installment of “seats,” uh . .  more appear.  This arrangement of seating in this Erie Canal tug has to win a prize.  I can’t tell which lock it is, nor (I believe) can Bob Graham, who sent it in.  The captain on the Feeney at one point was Bob’s grandfather.

Is that a folding chair way high up on Augie?

January 2014

Might folding chairs be more common than one might expect?

Ceres has become inactive after a noble attempt to sail north Country produce down to the NYC markets.

Angels Share is the largest Wally yacht I’ve ever seen, the photo taken in North Cove in September 2013.

But the person on the helm got no seat, unless–you suppose?–they’ve got a folding chair in the lazaretto. It’s since been soldand renamed.

NYC-DEP Hunts Point has a variety of seating options.

And let’s end with two European boats:  Tenax and

Abeille Bourbon. Tenax has appeared on tugster in 2012 here, and Bourbon . . . here.

Many thanks to Xtian, Vlad, and Bob for sending along these photos.  Here are the two previous “seats” posts.

And a final shot below, that was tugster in 2011 at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Belle Isle at the helm of the detached house of SS William Clay Ford.  Note the “old man’s” chair in the background.

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Augie Grows Up

Here was Augie when I first saw her, June 2012.

A few months later, here’s Augie alongside Cornell.

Ditto . . . Augie that year at Waterford Tugboat Roundup.  Start counting the days until the 2014 event.

Here are photos I took of Augie about six weeks ago in Kingston.  Notice some evolution?

Augie‘s now grown an upper helm!

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who lost his notes on Augie‘s history:  what I recall is Florida-built from the 1940s.

Waterford Tugboat Roundup 2012 c

Three vessels at the roundup this year appeared there for the first time .  . well sort of.   The red one, aka Augie, was in fact there for the first time.  The other . . . on the left, Frances, has been there before but with very different appearance.

Here’s a closeup of Augie, who first made a show here and here.

The surprise newcomer at the roundup this year was Wendy B, but with a bit of search, I’ve found this blog about here journey from Toronto to DC seven years ago, by the previous owners.

Click here for the specs at the time of her last sale.  Talking with the owners, I learned she was delayed in the sixth boro–on her recent northward passage–by the 4th of July 2012  fireworks.  Does anyone recall seeing her in town?  Here are my fotos of the spectacular illuminations that day.

Here’s Augie, nestled up to Cornell, in current colors.

When I saw Frances this weekend, I first assumed I was looking at Margot, currently working on Lake Ontario.

Here’s how Frances looked two years ago.

I’m enthusiastic to see Frances (1957) covered in new paint that just exudes vitality.  Soon she’ll be working like Margot, her one-year-younger sister.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Unrelated but thanks to Barbara for sending this link along:  South Street Seaport in the news.

Up the Hudson 2

The event is called Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival, so indeed, it’s a water festival, a river fest  started by a folksinger, now 93,  who cares deeply about

the river that flowed past his birthplace.  A river festival means boats.

Of course, Clearwater in the distance is the flagship of this festival, and the big sloop spawned the smaller sloop Woodie Guthrie closer in.

The festival takes place on a peninsula where you see the tents in the middle of the foto.

It’s called Croton Point Park, about 30 miles north of Manhattan’s north tip.

But this location is surrounded by shallow water, so temporary docks are needed, which means small shallow draft tugboats like Augie (1943 and on the first job of her new life) and

Patty Nolan (1931 and available for charter). . .   And the red barge is Pennsy 399 (1942!!) .

Also taking passengers during the festival is Mystic Whaler, here with Hook Mountain in the distance.

Here’s the northside of Croton Point last evening looking toward Haverstraw.

Exactly five years ago I took this foto from a small boat just off Pioneer‘s bowsprit.   Here are more fotos from that day.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp, who might go back for some music tomorrow.