Retro Sixth Boro 52

Wow!  August almost passed us by without my doing a glance back to a decade ago.  McCrews is now in Philly I’m told.   Reliance and Justine are still with McAllister.  Lynx was sold foreign  and experienced an incident while being delivered, although I’m not sure how that turned out.  Barents and Yankee both were refurbished by Donjon:  Barents Sea is now Atlantic Enterprise and Yankee is now Signet Atlantic and sans upper wheelhouse.   Mark McAllister was scrapped, and Na-Hoku under the same name works for a company  based in Charleston SC.

 Ellen McAllister here was bringing in the future Alex McAllister, which has gone on to spend a lot of time working in the sixth boro, although I’ve not noticed her recently.

Patrice (had just had a tragic delivery fire in this photo)  and Bruce still work based out of the sixth boro.

 

I never did see Yankee after her upper wheelhouse was removed.  I may have to return to the GOM if I ever want to see her.

Duty is now Nydia P, and I’d have to go to Puerto Rico to see her.

Ireland became Hoppiness, and has been converted to a liveaboard on Lake Ontario but headed the inland waterways of the TVA system.

Labrador Sea is now Vane’s Brooklyn.

And finally, here’s a mixed set:  OSG 350 and OSG Vision still work under those names, Amy Moran became Stasinos John Joseph, and Scotty Sky became a snow bird and sails the Caribbean.

All August 2012, WVD, who after reflecting on all those changes admits to not being the same person as in August 2012 any more either.

 

Retro Sixth Boro 48

Does equipment ever change in the sixth boro?  Of course.

Thornton Bros, the 1958 Matton Shipyard product, was scrapped in 2014.

The 1971 Maria J is now Nicholas Vinik.

USACE Hudson, the sweetest Corps boat I’ve ever seen, got transformed into a fish house in 2019.   Advance Victoria, 2006, is now Kition M, anchored in the Persian/Arabian Gulf.

The 2002 Labrador Sea is now Vane’s Brooklyn.

The 1944 Gage Paul inadvertently became a very deep fish house in 2015.

The 2002 Gramma Lee T is now in Norfolk.

Does the US Navy still have airships?  If ever I have the chance to ride in one of these, I’ll take it in a heartbeat!

Bruce A brought in the 1970 Crowley Mars and

Michael J brought in the 1975 Crowley Pioneer;  both Crowley’s were shipped off to Africa later in 2012.  The 1971 Michael J. was scrapped late in 2021. Christine was working for Reinauer.

The massive 1970 Penn No. 6 is now the massive Vinik No. 6.

The 1972 Catherine Turecamo is now on the Great Lakes as John Marshall. 

Do you still want to tell me nothing ever changes in the sixth boro?

All photos taken by WVD during the first SIX days of 2012.

 

Retro Sixth Boro 4

OK, if old songs make for “classic rock,” then old photos of tugboats could be called classic roll or pitch, yaw, or some such.

Let’s start with one from March 2008 . . .  American Patriot over NW of Shooters Island as seen from the Port Elizabeth shoreline.  I’ve no idea why she was here and have never seen her again.

Given recycling of names, check out Dean Reinauer of June 2008 over by Gracie Mansion.

Same time period, here’s the Curtis Reinauer of that era.

Labrador Sea . . . she’s the first boat in this post that’s still around here.

Emma M. Roehrig  has changed colors twice since 2008 and has not been in the sixth boro for at least five years, maybe longer.

Great Gull still around back then.  She’s gone down to Panama.

And finally, June 2008 saw the transition from the Roehrig fleet into the K-Sea one.  Note the new name on the nearer tug although the colors were still Roehrig.  Aegean Sea had been Francis E. Roehrig.  The farther tug had been Vivian L. Roehrig, renamed Caribbean Sea under K-Sea, and now still works in the boro as Emily Ann.   Did Aegean NOT have a mast?

All photos from a decade ago by Will Van Dorp.

 

Labrador Sea No More

I have a bunch more “cypher 12” calendar-ready ideas to come, but time flows, changes and evolution press, and I don’t want to get left behind.  Again, I’m NOT selling calendars, but they are easy to make.  

Back eight years ago I did a post called Labrador Sea.  There she is below, photos I took yesterday.  You’ll notice a radically new paint job.  There’s a name change as well.  She’s still pushing the same barge, but now she’s Brooklyn, the latest Brooklyn.

 

DBL25 she’s pushing was the same formerly Kirby/K-Sea barge, and if you scroll through here, you’ll see DBL25 as paint was making her transition from a K-Sea to a Kirby barge.

Below is a photo from February 08, 2017 showing her in Kirby livery.  I’m wondering if the crews moved over to Vane with the boat.

All photos–yesterday’s and February’s–by Will Van Dorp.

Random Tugs 192

Genesis Energy likely has more boats on inland waters than offshore.  I saw the first two boats in today’s post first when they had Hornbeck livery.

Genesis Victory used to be Huron Service  (and further regression is found at that link) and

Genesis Liberty used to be

Liberty Service, and here’s more regressions on both.

A lot of boats in the harbor have worn other names previously.  It’s true of Mary Alice.  

Here’s her history, thanks to Birk’s gold mine site.

Jonathan C, however, is brand spanking new, having been christened less than a year ago.  But starting from week one, maintenance needs doing.

 

Ditto Janet D, she’s less than two years old.

 

And here is Labrador Sea as I saw her last week, but when I first photographed her she looked

like this. And although I have none of my own photos, here’s what I first saw.

I hope you enjoyed this look backwards.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Random Tugs 180

Random means random, and I challenge you to come up with a more random set . . .

Let’s start with a Gmelin photo from 1930.  I’ll give the name of the tug later in this post so that all experts of arcane sixth boro history can play.  Since today is the V-Day, let me mention that Herbert Hoover was POTUS, and not very popular at that time, post-crash, in spite of his 1928 campaign slogan “A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Garage.”  Well, that did not work out so well.  A few things impress me about Hoover though, like . . . in what language would he and the First Lady–Lou–converse privately when guests were in the White House.  By the way, why is the 2nd Tuesday in November Election Day?  Answers at the end of this post.

Here’s a photo from my archives, Surrie Moran (2000 built) assisting with a big south-bound Crowley barge El Rey (1979) in June 2013 on the Delaware River.  I was shooting against the morning sun.   You see a little of Cape Henry (1967) on the stern also.   Any guesses which Crowley tug was towing?

And another photo from 2013, January,  in the KVK.  It’s Rebel, built 1976, with her odd hull.  Is she now scrapped?

So now a few from the past week . . . James D. Moran (2015) passes the KV buoy heading for the North River.

Genesis Victory (from 1981) heads into the Kills.

The 2002 Labrador Sea comes in from somewhere out east.

And over on a waterway I don’t get to see that often, I stumbled onto the 1940 Ireland,

1958 Bergen Point, and

the 1947 basic Harbor II.

And since a lot of things are cyclical, we’re back at the mystery tug.

With my magnifying glass, I read enough to make me think this is Richard J. Barrett, which would have been 11 years old in 1930.  Here’s Birk’s info. The ship is the 1925-launched MS Gripsholm, significant as the first transAtlantic liner powered by a diesel engine.

And Hoover and his wife spoke Mandarin for their secret asides when guests were in earshot.  I’m impressed.

And towing El Rey, here’s Sentry  (1977).

And we have our 19th century agrarian roots to thank for the 2nd Tuesday being election day . .  . here.

 

 

Really Random Tugs 33 and More

I’m trying to catch up with the photos you all have been good enough to share on tugster.  The first five here come from some salts up on the Caloosahatchee Canal in Florida.  John Parrish was westbound here, but a week later it showed up in the sixth boro, and by publication of this post, it’s already back to Norfolk.   That’s some sea miles.  Here are some of my previous photos of John Parrish.

Also, westbound in that Canal, it’s Brittany Beyel.  She’s Beyel Brothers equipment, who have a dramatic photo on that link.

This one’s eastbound on the Canal with a crane.  I can’t quite make out the name, but the the steersman has great visibility.

Boomalong was getting hauled out.  Her fine lines made me think she has a storied past, and it turns out she does.  She began life in 1944 in Owen Sound, ON as HMCS Neville, HMCS being Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship.   She’s a Russel Brothers boat that has been around, currently quite far from

Sault Ste. Marie.

Thanks to Jed, who previously contributed many photos, here’s a photo and text:  “it’s Stephanie S (1986) returning to Port Canaveral after escorting the bulk carrier VENTURE out of the port.”

photo date 11 MARCH 2016

From Birk Thomas, it’s Barents Sea, now over in Port Newark, having moved for the first time in at least five years.  She looks rough, but I’m hoping there’s a make-over in the works for her.   If she moves again, I’d love to see some photos.

 

Here’s my photo of W. O. Decker, docked at Caddell Dry Dock, being worked on  . . . or waiting for Wavertree to make her promenade back to South Street.

From Jason LaDue, here’s a good view of the underbelly of Grouper, frequently referred to in this blog.  Such belly will be visible until the pool level of the Erie Canal is brought back up for the start of the season.  Jason’s also a frequent contributor.

Now here’s an oldie but goodie from the other JED.  It shows Labrador Sea and Taurus, significant because now that Taurus is being phased out, Labrador Sea–which had worked on the Mississippi and Gulf for the past few years, has moved back up here into Taurus‘ place, I’m told.   And they’re in K-Sea colors.

And I said “and more” in the title?  Here’s the more, a new dock book from Tony Acabono.  If it’s your business to know where berth 60 is in Port Elizabeth in relation to berth 61 in Port Newark, you might want to check it out.

Many thanks to the secrets salts and the not-so-secret ones for sending along these photos.

 

Labrador Sea

Study this foto of Labrador Sea I took in October 2007, when this blog approached its first birthday.  For the record, vessel was launched as Sea Bull in 2002, in Rhode Island.  (Digression:  Belated Happy Year of the Ox!!)  See Sea Bull here.

Now check this foto of Labrador Sea taken on a 60-degree day in February 2009.

The 07 and 09 shots were taken in virtually the same location.

She puffed out for pins and stretched upward.

Might more evolution follow?

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Unrelated:  Henry’s latest transmission from Amsterdam 1609’s just in.  Read it here.

Random Tugs 32

Eileen McAllister and McAllister Responder pass Bel Taylor.

Labrador Sea eastbound past MOT and upriver for some ice-breaking noise.

Laura K Moran trails London Express,  headed for Newark Bay.

The red tanker Northern Bell (I thought only “southern bells” existed) get passed by a white mystery tug, the indomitable Clyde, and Moran’s Cape Cod.  Anyone know the white tug just ahead of the “truckable” Clyde?

More sixth boro tugs, randomly aggregated, soon.  I need to catch up.

Unrelated:  Just as fellow-bloggers and I keep an “eye,” a curious and fascinated eye, on the sixth boro and other places, Richard Clark–fellow former resident of New Hampshire–keeps his eye on a bay in Nova Scotia that produces something that just might be present in my residence and your s. . . sheet rock or wallboard transported by the likes of A. V. Kastner. See his blog here.

Photos, WVD.

Random Tugs 30

Stapleton Service (ex-New Haven, 1966) assists at dawn. She was in the distance in the “Crazy Patterns” post.

Labrador Sea (ex-Sea Bull built 2002) passing Tauranga Star, possibly offloading bananas from Ecuador,

Robert IV (1971) southbound on Arthur Kill past the wheels of the Howland Hook cranes.

Janice Ann Reinauer (1966) pushes oil eastbound as the setting sun illuminates Bayonne cranes,

And Harry McNeal (1965) pushing  a construction barge eastbound.

Photos, WVD. .