Retro Sixth Boro NYC Tugboat Races 4

2015 is the last year I saw the race;  in the following years I was working and away.  But 2015 Labor Day Sunday had beautiful weather.

Again, I’m not going to name each;  you can read the names either on the boats or in the tags . . .  and then match up. And in the photo above, the jetskis had no names, but I hope you noticed them.

I’ll make an exception for Sea Horse, the Linden-based Sea Scout boat.  Click here for more info on the boat.

 

 

See Harvey back at the end of the line?  It was 19 years ago that Harvey came out of retirement to assist when tragedy struck.

Both lead tugs here are nicely appointed with the colorful pennants.

Ellen certainly had the best matched “riding crew” that day.

Let’s hope the this race comes back in 2021.

All photos, WVD, whose fabulous ride was care of the NY Media Boat.  If you’re looking for something to do, click on the link and book a ride.

 

Retro Sixth Boro NYC Tugboat Races 3

Let’s do 2013 and 2014, or redo them, same conditions as I stated yesterday. But first let’s look at the 2013 crowd, packing in like you wouldn’t with covid.  Here was the crowd at 1010 and

by 1035 they had grown significantly.

The compulsory muster takes place, irrigated by fireboat John J. Harvey.

Once the race begins, a front-runner like Decker

might soon get left in the wake.

The fire boat slices up from behind and

propels itself between two Miller boats.

Pushoffs happen next, sometimes quite equally matched like here, with 3900 hp countering 4200.

Let’s jump ahead to 2014, with the arrivals on the watery carpet,

the processing to the starting line,

and get straight to racing without all the preening and posturing.

Someone seems a bit oversize in that gray livery.

This is a fairly mis-matched pair:  Wayne at 5100 hp, and Ellen at 4000.  Maybe a re-match is in order Wayne v. Ava.

Thanks to Jeff Anzevino for this shot, the Media Boat has military background in common with Wayne.

After Wayne has strutted its stuff in the push-offs, some of the boats lined up for the roping the bollard.

Let’s hold it up here.  All photos, WVD.

 

Random Tugs 232

Let’s start here as a quiz.  Name that tug?  Answer follows.  The blurriness is a clue to the vintage . . . of the photo.  More oldies at the end of this post.

Here’s an unusual treatment of name boards.  Can anyone clarify why the 6140 hp J. George Betz is the only Bouchard boat wit this treatment?

 

I suspected it was Betz when I noticed her here, but had to look more closely to verify.  I believe this is the first time for me to label–if not see–the B. No. 235 barge.

Gulf Venture . . .I’ve not often seen this 5150 hp boat light.  Question:  Does Gulf Venture currently work for John Stone?

Ernest Campbell departs MOTBY here, her mast perfectly shown against the Putin monument . . .  he did come here for the dedication.

Gabby L. Miller .  . she’s not been on the blog in a while.   This 660 hp tug gives the right push at the right time in the right place sometimes.

The 2000 hp Eric R. Thornton dates from 1960, making her the oldest tug in this post except

More oldies.  This is Marion, although I have no information on where and when it was built.  Marion was one of two tugs operated by Disston and June Marine Construction, previously called Burcroft Marine Construction Company. Their other tug was Constructor. Marion sank in Weedsport, although I can’t find that date.

This tug may still be afloat.

It’s Morania No. 8 pushing Morania No. 170 barge.  Has anyone seen her in Port-au-Prince Haiti?  I wonder if this was a company slogan or something displayed more widely.  I’ve never heard it.

The mystery tug, believe it or not, is Buffalo, somewhere in the Erie Canal.  Click here for a few good photos of Buffalo taken by Tim Hetrick back in 2014.   Maybe someone can put a date of the photo by taking into account the color.

All photos except Buffalo by Will Van Dorp.   All the oldies here are by Steve Wunder.

 

Seats of Power 1

Consider this a post in the genre of stacks and wheels. The fourth photo is the latter post shows 12 hands on these wheels, and no one seated.   Someone once said you stand (not sit) watch.

This canoe livery motorboat used in Algonquin Provincial Park has a flat aluminum seat, no cushion.

No seats here either.  I believe this is an oyster dredge mast unstepped.

Tugboat Jupiter has a old-style steering and an old style stool, not surprising given that it dates from 1901.

The once-padded barber’s (dentist’s?) chair shouldn’t really count here because it

complements this wheel aboard Frying Pan, a much modified vessel now floating pub.

So now let’s go standard contemporary.  Thanks to Xian Herrou, behold the seating aboard Abeille Camargue, now VB Camargue, a French tug built in 2007.  Here a seat is essential to operating the controls.

Here’s the note from Tony A, who inspired this post when he wrote:  “The Eric R. Thornton is rocking a new helm seat from Ocean Air Inc, Gainesville FL.  The [builder] is a chief engineer on a processing ship in Alaska and builds these in his spare time. They are very very heavy duty and will last a lifetime.”

“He uses a Nylatrol bushing that will last the life of the chair. The design incorporates an automotive style seat which can easily be replaced if the seat gets damaged or worn out.  He gave me a discount, because I told him I would try and promote his product.”

“His cell is 206-409-9881.  Let me know if you want to come and sit in it:)”

Thanks, Tony and Xian.  More seats of power to come.

Unless otherwise attributed, all photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Tugs 218

For the last batch of tugboats for 2017, check out these workhorses of the harbor, run and maintained by devoted crews and owners . . . to whom this post is dedicated.  It’s a random sample for the sixth boro.

Rhea I. Bouchard,

 

Genesis Glory with

GM11105,

 

Eric R. Thornton passing the

monumental former supports of the bridge,

and Bouchard Boys.

 

To all those folks working this frosty day and to all my readers and commenters . . .  happy, safe, peaceful, and prosperous 2018.  All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Random Tugs 204

I’m guessing Eric R Thornton is off in search of some scrap waiting in

the Bronx maybe?

It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Penn No. 6, and here she and Normandy are made up to Penn No. 121.  See those four shore cranes against the sky?  Here’s a post I did on them almost a decade ago.

 

Here’s B. No. 250 eastbound for the Sound, with

Evening Star in the notch.

Some people would be pleased with this juxtaposition: MTA’s Highbridge Yard, with Harbor II, MetroNorth, and the 44th Precinct Police Station!

Barbara Ann holds station at the University Heights Bridge, with the unmistakeable Hall of Fame for Great Americans dome over the treeline.  That’s a place I’ve yet to visit, one of many places in the five boros.

Ditto . . . Ireland on the north side of that bridge.

 

And to conclude for another day . . . it’s Penn No. 91 with

Skipjack in the notch.

Oops!  All photos by Will Van Dorp . . . from aboard Manhattan II.

Scrapper 4

Thanks to Tony A, whose previous contributions can be found here, here’s an insider’s view of a scrap ferrous metal run, starting with a view across the deep “hold” of the scow as it exits the Buttermilk heading for whichever of the sixth boro’s creeks has the product.

Once loaded, the scow is brought ship side.

Note the multiple load marks . . .

As the crane transfers the scrap into the hold of the ship, the tug may move to a safe distance or do another run.  By tomorrow, bulker Nichirin will be arriving in Iskenderun, Turkey, 15 miles from the Syrian border and less than 30 from Aleppo.

Photos I’ve taken over the years of scrap metals runs include these of Crow, in blue and

in red.

And here I think it’s Sarah Ann doing a really efficient run.

Thanks to Tony for the top four photos.  The bottom three are by Will Van Dorp.

And come to think of it, I wonder if the late great Crow has ended up in Iskenderun also….

 

Scrapper 2

Scrapper 1 focused on loading scrap from scows onto a bulker anchored in the Upper Bay.  Since then many posts, such as this one, have shown loaded scows pushed hither and yon in the harbor, and like this one, even down an ice-encrusted river.

Today’s post features a unit and a crew heading out bright and early to load scrap that once was the machinery of daily life.  In the shot below, I get the sense that the heat exhausting out the stack has just erased a segment of the Bayonne Bridge roadbed, cauterizing it.

Cauterizing is an extreme first aid term I’ve read about and grateful I’ve never had to perform.

I use the term here because this crew, small company, and 1960 machinery engaged in commerce illustrate how like a single organism really are the sixth boro and by extension the supply chain they fit so smoothly within.

Happy harvest, gentlemen.

All the rest could not happen without your part being played.

All photos and sentiments strictly by Will Van Dorp.

 

Marine Steel

Name that tug?

Yes, that one on the far side of the outbound

CMA CGM box ship . . .

 

and passing all the steel skyscrapers in the distance.

 

Eric R. Thornton has been doing its utmost to make the sixth boro greener. You first saw her here, and then later here.  I’m wondering about the new stack logo, though.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Sixth Boro Summer 2

Even with sunglasses on, you can see the provenance of this barge Matilde in summer light.  Jeddah was my point of departure for a voyage I took just over 30 years ago . . .  and greatly enjoyed.

Summertime brings folks out to all the geology along the north Brooklyn side of the East river.

And Sunday I finally made it to the Brooklyn Barge, and I’m sorry I waited so long. I went there via the East River Ferry, getting off at India Street and walking around via West and Milton.  I highly recommend the fish tacos and the shrimp tacos.

Here’s where you pick up the food after the magic has been done.

Of course, the Media Boat fleet was out and busy, and

the juxtaposition possibilities are great on a summer weekend.

Imagine the possibilities for a Spencer Tunick installation, partly on the hillock and partly on the scrap metal . . . .   Of course, I’m don’t know if all the stakeholder would agree, so I’ll just imagine those oxidized shapes on the scow and those fleshy forms on the hillock have been painted that way by Mr. Tunick.

What will bring me back to this part of the East River soon–other than the tacos–is this air traffic, dodging

PWCs and ferries.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp, whose next post will be “whale watching summertime.”

If you’re looking for summer reading, check out this list.