Any Number of Tugboats

All the photos in this post I took over a two-hour period Friday.  I post this in part in response to the question raised by a commenter recently, how many tugboats operate in the sixth boro, aka the waters around NYC.

They pass one at a time,

you see them in twos . . . . and that might be a third with the crane barge off the Battery in the distance,

a trio might be assisting a single ULCV,

foreshortening might collapse four into a single shot, and

if you look across the repair and docking yard, you might see five tugs plus one science boat.

And finally for now, move the huge box ship away, and six of more are revealed.

This is the sixth boro, folks, one of the busiest ports in the US.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

 

Weather 2

Technically this is a post about the effects of weather;  I couldn’t document the wind-driven snow because it happened in darkness.  Maybe you witnessed it; I took the coward’s way out and crawled into bed early.  I trudged out early to record these effects like the wreath on Liberty IV having more frosting than two days back; in fact the after deck

has the same covering as Bedloe’s Island in the distance.  Exactly two months ago already I tramped in snow upstate.

Wherever Morgan Reinauer’s headed from seemed to offer a glazing.

A crewman on Pegasus (the younger not the ancient) demonstrates why a snow shovel is standard equipment.

Wavertree sprouts some fangs around her stern.

Austin Reinauer heads eastbound past the crushed stone piles deposited by Alice and her sisters or cousins.

W. O. Decker nestles among other snow-covered historical vessels.  The black hull foreground left is Peking, former schoolship Arethusa (the second?).

Amy C. McAllister looked somewhat hoary this morning, and

Marjorie B. McAllister, house up, moves this barge into a snow-sweeping wind for the first time since last night.

Ancient Helen, it piled up on her.

And the final shot for now . . . I believe it’s Emma Foss (a really outa-towner)  pulling an interesting but unidentifiable barge;  the tow was too far past when I noticed.  Had I stayed along the East River a bit longer, I would have gotten a close-up.  Anyone have an idea?  ((Thanks to Stan Willhight, the answer follows.  Much obliged, Stan))

All fotos by Will Van Dorp today.

Answer to the mystery tow above, Emma Foss is towing barge Columbia Boston, the fifth Cianbro module for a Motiva crude refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.  Watch a video showing tow departure from the Cianbro dock on the Penobscot here.  Interesting close-ups, interactions with the USCG Bridle,  and perfect illustration for Bowsprite’s boat time post on a three-watch system.  FYI, the tow left the sixth boro aka exited the Narrows around 1300 Sunday headed south.