Retro Sixth Boro 13

April 2009 . . . a decade ago but it’s still palpable and present.

How could I not remember the morning before work I stood on the Elizabethport dock wishing the punch-in clock mechanism would slow to a pace slower than McAllister Responder and McAllister Sisters helping Eagle Boston ooze toward her Linden berth . . .   Some who don’t take many photos might not be able to fathom how those moments stick to the memory.

Or the unmistakeable Norwegian Sea light and going for fuel near IMTT .  . at dawn;  it’s unforgettable.   I was hoping there’d no delays on the rest of my way to work that morning.

Another day, I took lunch break in Elizabethport, thrilled that Laura K and Margaret were escorting Seoul Express away from Howland Hook . . ..  backing her down.

And here’s one . . . I recall my pain this morning as I walked north along HRP, conflicted between the hurt of betrayal and the chill of being under-dressed, since I’d crept out early on a Saturday morning thinking that sun in April translated into warmth ..  . and the throaty sound of Melvin E. Lemmerhirt distracted me from all those things.

Also from that dock in Elizabethport, I watched Rosemary McAllister and Responder ease Hyundai Voyager boat toward the dock in Howland Hook . . .

The scene here is harder to recall, but from l to r, it’s Nathan E. Stewart, New River, and –the uniquely named– Gramma Lee T Moran . . .!

In April 2009, I commuted into work early a lot,so that I could catch the likes of this . . . John Reinauer moving a barge southbound on the Arthur Kill… not knowing that a few years later, that equipment would travel across to the South Atlantic.

Scott Turecamo . . .  this is the only photo in this “oldies” set that could have been taken in 2019 as easily as in 2009, except I’d have to photoshop in the current Manhattan skyline in the distance . . .

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who hopes he’s still fit to add to the archives in 2029 . . .

Random Ships 10

Ralph E. Bouchard and B. No. 230 move in the direction of Explorer of the Seas.  Not apparent from this foto . . . Explorer was at that moment reversing its way into the the Bayonne passenger terminal, backing into a parking spot if you will.

Compliments of Bernie Ente of Working Harbor Committee, Hoegh Africa moves seaward through the KVK, overtaken by  . . .  she who’s been alleged as my “crush-du-jour,” Emma Miller.  Well, Alice has spurned me for just so long,  that part of me that always seeks “my other half” has decided that 700′ loa bulk carriers like Alice might just not be my long-lost other half.  Maybe Emma is more my type.

To get serious, Bernie has some fantastic “hidden harbor tours” planned, including four sunset tours and –what I get most excited about– a circumnavigation of Staten Island.  Click here to reserve your spot(s) while they last.

Nathan E. Stewart emerges from behind New River, an American-built tanker from Avondale Industries, 1997.

Emma again?   Nope.  It’s her sister Sunny Williams passing Histria Tiger, Romanian, proving that not all blues are created equal.  I’m partial to the lube tanker’s blue.  To digress into thoughts of love, I’ve never had a crush on someone with an identical twin.  I wonder how that would work.  Here, I feel something for Emma different from Sunny.  Hmm?   Such strange wiring I must have in me.

Parting shot . . . stern of Chemical Pioneer, a very unusual ship to bear New York as its port of registry, escorted to sea by Rosemary McAllister, who arrived in the sixth boro almost a year ago.

All shots, except Bernie’s, taken today by  . . . Will Van Dorp.

Unrelated:  Henry’s logpage is up although the watercolors keep getting washed away by the stormy north Sea.