NYC Tugboat Race 2012 D

It is a race, and that means there’s a winner, but the race committee decided to have both the first place (left, Lincoln Sea . . . 8000 hp) and second place (right, Meagan Ann . . . 2200 hp)) finishers raise the cup this year because of Meagan Ann‘s lightning speed that allowed her to beat at least four boats of equal or great horsepower.  Is her hull coated with slippery paint?

Someone remarked that the Kirby livery makes this originally blue vessel seem larger than previous paint jobs.

This blue vessel built originally for Alaska is

speedy.  She left us in the dust . . .  er . . .  froth!

Final shot of Lincoln Sea (for now) and

us as we appeared from her upper wheelhouse.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp, except the last one by Dave Boone.  Thanks, Dave.  You caught me waving . . . green deck forward of the wheelhouse.

Related:  last week I got this email from D. J. Lake, who gave me permission to reprint it:

“I am contacting you with regard to the pictures of the first tug boat race in the New York harbor in the early ’50’s that you posted recently. My uncle, Vincent Lake, a long-time employee of the M & J Tracy Towing Line, was a captain on the William J. Tracy on the day of the race.     As you probably know, the William J. Tracy was one of four new tugs acquired at that time by Tracy Towing, including her sisters, Kathleen Tracy, Thomas Tracy and Helen Tracy (all named for members of the Tracy family).  These tugs were replacements for older units in the fleet.     My Uncle Vincent always talked about this race and what an honor it was to be involved in it.  I am glad the races have been given a new beginning. The races give the public an opportunity to see tugs in action in the harbor.  Thank you. D.J. Lake”

D. J. . . . thanks for sharing that bit of history with us.

For a short video on this coming weekend’s Waterford Tug Roundup, see “now published author” Rick Old Salt’s blog here.

NYC Tugboat Race 2012 C

Here’s to the photographers of the event!  We do love it.  And here’s to the companies, crews, spectators, and organizers.  The sprint is only the start of the event, though.

After that, greetings and foto-ops happen, as

do carefully calibrated/matched push-offs contests like Vulcan III v.  Lincoln Sea or

Maurania III v.  Quantico Creek

or Pegasus v.  Thornton Bros. or

Weddell Sea v.  Lincoln Sea or

Thornton Bros. v.  Pegasus (again!@#@!!)  or

Vulcan III  v.  Gage Paul Thornton or

Quantico Creek v. Buchanan 12 and so many more.  Sorry if I missed your best brawl.

Meagan Ann won the line-toss, with second place going to Buchanan 12.

Yes there were kayakers but they stayed in the wash-machine between the piers.

Other results if I copied them correctly:

Class A (3000 hp and up)  Lincoln Sea,   Class B (1500-2999 hp) Meagan Ann, Class C (500-1499 hp) (not so) Little Toot, and Class D . . . Growler

Other awards:  “little toot”  to The Bronx (180 hp), “best vintage and “best mascot” to Pegasus and Duke, who can be seen steering two years ago in the fifth foto here. )

“best looking” to Maurania III, “best-dressed crew” to Growler, “best tattoo” to a crewman on Lincoln Sea, and “best company support”  to Miller’s Launch . . . who participated with four boats.

And (if my notes accurately reflect what was said) some maritime-related statistics from the EDC:  The sector provides 170,000 direct jobs in NY/NJ, 280,000 total jobs.  Tugboats in the greater sixth boro area account for 33,000 jobs and $2 billion in personal income.

And if you want more like this, steal away 130 miles to the north this coming weekend for the Waterford Tugboat Roundup.  See you there.

And finally (for now) see Bonnie Frogma’s race coverage here.

NYC Tugboat Race 2012 B

The prizes await the results;  that’s executive director of WHC John Doswell on the far left.

Here’s the official table.  We’ll come back to the trophies and raffle items in part c or d of this series of posts.

The next eight fotos come compliments of William Hyman, who positioned himself at the 70th Street Pier (I think) to get great line-up/race-start  shots.  Thanks, William.  From L to R, it’s Buchanan 1, Meagan Ann, Maurania III (my riverhorse), and Quantico Creek.

The field fills in.  I hope to see Mai’s fotos from the little green/white crew boat soon.

Thornton Bros. and Gage Paul Thornton almost don’t arrive in time.  Between these two working vessels is 123 years of towing!   Happy Labor Day!

And looking west across the river, enjoy the burst of adrenaline and diesel fuel as . . .

hulls begin to defy inertia and an adverse tide.

This is the back of the front.

and the farther back.  There are four different classes by horsepower, so all are contenders . . .

even The Bronx.

The rest are my fotos . . .  here the surface Hudson is channelled between a combined 7000 hp.

But somehow Meagan Ann has surged ahead . . .  they must have speed wheels or boosters under that hull.

Here’s the field to the L to R:  Catherine Miller, Little Toot, Susan Miller, Gage Paul Thornton (barely visible), Buchanan 12, Buchanan 1, Thornton Bros., Vulcan III, Pegasus.   Any errors are mine.

Freddie K Miller runs the east side and

Lincoln Sea dominates the west.  I wonder how the spectator boat lurched as Lincoln passed.

Again . . . to the west.

and the east as we’re way past the halfway point.

Some goofy supervisor assigned this crewman an unfortunate time to touchup the paint.

Here’s a 180 years of towing labor out to play.

Here’s a 46-year-old.

Note W. O. Decker in the distance as Quantico surges past the finish line.

Under the bubble on Intrepid hides a space shuttle, as Freddie K passes.

Gage Paul, Catherine, Growler, and Pegasus.

Here’s 159 years of towing/pushing labor.

and their context for a minute second yesterday.

Race over . . . . ceremony is provided by Driftmaster and a fireboat.

More fotos later today when I have time.  Many thanks to William Hyman for use of his shoreside fotos.