Small Craft 8

Here was 7 in the series.

ABC-1 is a harbor supply boat, restocking the larder and spare parts lockers while load shifting happens in port.  Click here to see her high and dry a few years back.

BB 163 . . . is a still used antique, up on the Canal that connects the Great Lakes with the sixth boro.  Some day, when it’s warmer, I hope to learn much more about these BBs, buoy boats.  I’ll do more on BB 163 later.   For now, I can’t look at this and NOT see the flag of Colombia or Ecuador.

Gabby has been featured here many times.

Miller Boys is a crew boat.

But really the focus here is the line boats operated by Ken’s Marine.

It might be 5 above zero or 5 below 100 F, these crews are shuttling lines from ship to shore, negotiating with crews on a vessel as well as crews on shore.

Note the ship line handler chief watching the line boat and signaling to his crew to pay out line.

Once the line boat gets to the shoreline, the shore crew takes over.  Given the ice I know is on those rocks, this is a job requiring concentration and sure-footedness as well as  strength.

Once lines are on, the line boat stands off until they get snugged.  Then there are lots more lines to get on.

“All fast” needs to be done quickly and thoroughly.  Not long after this vessel was snug, two container ships passed between Medi Osaka on this side and UACC Masafi on the other side, creating tremendous lateral pressure on all vessels, straining the lines.

But all fast is all fast.  Bravo, guys.

All Fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Congestion 2

Here was the first time I used this title, which clearly needs to be used again.

Let me start here at 13:38.  Note from far to near, or black hull to black hull . . . Cartagena, Four Sky with Lee T Moran, Red Hook, and Genco Knight.

Twin Tube slides through the opening between Bow Kiso and Genco Knight.

Even the bow of Genco Knight is crowded as their vessel prepares to dock and resupply the salt depot.

Kimberly Turecamo works the bulk carrier’s stern as Evening Star passes with B. No. 250.

Add McAllister Girls in the foreground and Ellen McAllister in the distance against the blue hull, which will appear a bit later.

McCrews heads westbound and Four Sky now seems to be doing the same.

Are you out of breath yet?  Only 10 minutes has elapsed.

Linehandler 1 cruises blithely through it, supremely self-assured.

Cheyenne adds color.

Another line handler boat scouts out the set up . . . as a new blue hull arrives from the west, as

. .  . does Charles D. McAllister.

Crew on the blue hull–Nord Observer–stows lines as they head for tropical heat, escorted

by Catherine Turecamo although

at the turn on the Con Hook range they meet Mare Pacific heading in with Joan Turecamo and Margaret  Moran.  At this point . . .

14:12 . . .  the mergansers decided to hightail it . . . or at least follow their crests.  And I hadn’t even turned around yet to see the congestion on land behind me.

All these photos in a very short time by Will Van Dorp.

My thanks to Brian DeForest and Atlantic Salt, whom Genco Knight was arriving to restock.

Here was a post about a dense traffic day as well as a busy day.

Outbound 4

Wow . . . it’s been six years exactly since I last used this title.   Here’s Friday morning before work, and

by Saturday Mare Pacific has moved to the deepwater anchorage until the flood spins her outbound.

Noises of heavy chain directed my attention here, and I noticed the angle and scope had changed.

Exhaust from the stack and swirls out behind the wheel caused these developments and

then . . . as chain rattled, this weighing was not unexpected.

Nor was this rinse water to dislodge

clods of sixth boro bottom.

With no perceptible engine noise (I was about a quarter mile away), Mare Pacific eased out, if only to re-anchor and hang with Silver Soul, High Enterprise, and others off Long Beach, NY.  Where she will load her next lake of rock juice remains to be seen.   See her previous stops here.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.