Context

I had planned to call this convergence, but the sixth boro or any harbor is much too dynamic a place for that title.  Stuff in and stuff out . . . .  From near to far here is Dewaruci, Arabian Sea, and Swan.  Dewaruci, arriving here already last Thursday, was the vanguard of the flotilla that prompted me to think of this as “convergence,”

When Swan left and sank over the horizon, here’s the track she followed for the rest of the day.

As she headed out, a flurry of other vessels moved out as well, like Mariposa. I’ll bet she’s the updated version of Butterfly, which used to call here. . . and maybe still does.   These are non-interactive screen captures of AIS.

Anyhow, as Swan and Mariposa headed out, notice APL Indonesia and A. r. c. Gloria  arriving.  As thrilling as it was to see Gloria, I felt the same to see APL Indonesia, which I foto’d here three months ago headed outbound for China;  THIS is the return, twice via the Panama Canal.

Let’s follow more KVK outbound shipping.

Sunday night I also noticed Gazela exiting Delaware Bay.  Almost two years ago, I stood watch on Gazela inbound from just east of Cape May and upward toward Wilmington, midnight to six, a thrilling experience.   If you’re local or can get here by this weekend, come see pirate burlesque on Gazela.  Get tickets here.

As Mariposa and McAllister Girls tango eastbound on the KVK, crew retrieve Girls’ line.  Just a few days ago, Girls participated in the foggy loading process of Swan.

In the wee hours this morning, I noticed B. E. Guayas (all 257′ loa of her) approach from the south and Eagle from the East.

Line back onboard, crewman flakes it out for the next job.

Also in the wee hours this morning. APL Indonesia heads back for China already, passing between Pride of Baltimore 2 and Cuauhtemoc, converging upon the sixth boro.   Here’s a quite poor foto I got of her at Pier 17 five whole years ago  . . . before this blog sprouted chin feathers!!  For a guide to pronunciation, click here.

Next . . .

Also by Tuesday morning, more Opsail vessels have converged within the sixth boro.  See Gazela at Pier 25 Manhattan, and over at the cement pier in Brooklyn is . . . . Alice!!!    Alice Oldendorff!!    My point is . . . Opsail happens within a context.

More vessels leave via the KVK Sunday to make way for those like APL Indonesia and scores of others arriving.   Below are Cosco Kobe and MSC Natalia.

And when I woke up this morning, Eagle was doing a turn in the Narrows while Scotty Sky (52 years young . . .  bless her vital Blount-built tanks!) was supplying Gloria with liquid sustenance.

Final shot . . . no one’s walking the plank here.  It’s the docking pilot debarking Cosco Kobe (check out her port history and more here.) onto Catherine Turecamo.

Enjoy Opsail and Fleet Week, starting tomorrow.    All fotos and captures by Will Van Dorp.

Latest . . . J.S. El Cano (1927 built and 371 ‘ loa) has popped up on AIS;  I had seen her in the wee hours.  Cisne Branco, La Belle Poule, Etoile, and all the FleetWeek vessels are still out of range or in stealth mode.

Unrelated:  Who works at the highest elevation in NYC?  Tom Gordon.   And, bothered by the rain today?  Read this from Zinder.

More context:  Click on the word for ships (in no particular order) of the Mexican Navy,  Ecuadorian Navy, Colombian Navy, Indonesian Navy, Brazilian Navy, and Spanish Navy.

Swan’s Weight

Note the Crowley props and the orange-clad crew.  Doubleclick enlarges image.

Note the huge design difference between Socrates (1966, 3200 hp) and

Heron (1968, 3200 hp).  

My question is this:  what is the actual weight added to Swan by these five tugs, one barge, and one crewboat?  Does the load change the draft of Swan at all, given that she like any vessel is ballasted as needed?  And I do not know the answer.

For outatowners, these shots from Bay Ridge show the “west” end of the Verrazano Bridge.  Yesterday’s fotos were taken from the bluff more or less just above the white dome of the lighthouse.

And for this foto, I pivoted slightly toward the south, capturing both towers of the Bridge.  Entering the Narrows is a ferry and dredger

Terrapin Island, which as recently as two and a half months ago was sucking up silt from Jed’s coast in southern Georgia.

All fotos this morning by Will Van Dorp, who probably has one more installment on Swan.  For the title, my apologies to Marcel Proust.

Swan is Down

(Note:  Doubleclick enlarges.) The title . . . those were the exact words John Watson emailed me last night.  If the message had been “hawk is down”  . . . or “condor …”  it would have alarmed me, but instead I charged my camera so that right after work I could zoom over to Fort Wadsworth for these shots.  By one, I found Alert loaded onto barge BFT No. 38, which

was already on Swan.  Gabby Miller was present, of course.  Lined up on the Brooklyn side was a cast of characters identified as

Cavalier, Pioneer, and Mars . . . in custody of Charles D. McAllister.

The three Crowley tugs glided onto Swan‘s back, extending beyond the hull on

both sides.

For outatowners, that’s Manhattan in the distance looking across most of what’s called the Upper Bay.  The Lower Bay is behind me, as is the Verrazano Bridge.    On the right is the boro of Brooklyn.  The red tugs are Charles D. McAllister and McAllister Sisters Girls.

If you wonder about my shifting POV, the tide turned from ebb to flood during loading, and with it a bank of fog crept in and out, several times.

Next on board . . . Socrates, who in spite of the fog, found

a place midships, starboard.

This left space for

Heron!  It’s not quite Noah’s ark, but I’m hoping Bowsprite will find a spare moment to drawing this vessel with its cargo almost as diverse as that of Pi Patel.

Loading completed, Susan Miller glides by.  No doubt Swan has already begun to deballast to rise back up, and tomorrow the menagerie onboard Swan will be high and dry.  After that, next stop, Nigeria.

I include this foto for outatowners.  The vessel farthest left and most distant is Swan;  I took it on the ferry about halfway back to Manhattan.   Land to the right of King Emerald is Staten Island.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Some related posts include Mighty Servant loaded last December, Blue Marlin loaded a year ago, and Socrates last summer . .  seventh foto down.