First Monthly Photos 2019

Believe it or not, I’m way inland and without a camera, and a preference for novelty prompts  a different almost-year-end post together.  Rules I made for myself follow:  go to my archives and select the first photo of something water-related each month of 2019. So if the first photo in my archives for each month is a person or an inland structure, I don’t use it;  instead, I go forward in that month to the first boat or water photo.

For January, it was Susquehanna in a very familiar IMTT on the Bayonne side of the KVK.  She’s currently westbound along the Keys.

February was La Perla, an oyster barge on Peconic Bay.

March was Nathan G on the very southern tip of Manhattan, across from the Colgate clock.  She’s currently working in the sixth boro.

Jonathan C was assisting a box ship out in the wee hours near the start of April.  Right now, she’s in the sixth boro, doing or waiting to do a similar escort.

May began with a NYC oyster boat headed north through the Narrows.

Early June it was Tavropos, in the Stapleton anchorage.  The crude oil tanker is currently off the Tabasco coast of Mexico.  The tanker appeared here previously as Moonlight Venture.

July began with Fishing Creek headed out of the Narrows.  She’s currently near Philly.

In August it was Grande Mariner approaching lock E14.  She’s docked in Narragansett Bay.

In September, actually on September 1, it was Kaye E. Barker southbound across Lake St. Clair with the landmark Renaissance Center ahead.  She’s currently upbound on Lake Huron, possibly getting another load of ore for the season.

October began with me meeting Mrs. Chips bound for the Narrows and point south and ultimately Florida, where she currently is.

November it was Denak Voyager taking on scrap.  That’s the Newark Bay Bridge beyond the ship, and Rebecca Ann lost to the left margin.  Rebecca Ann is currently in the sixth boro, and Denak Voyager has exited the Straits of Gibraltar, heading back to the sixth boro.

And finally, December, it’s a mystery boat for now and an unidentified location. Guess if you like . . . I hope to get back to this photo in 2020.

Maybe tomorrow . . .  last day of the year . . . I’ll do the last photo of each month following the same rules.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Nautic Narrows News 1

Spring and fog coexist a lot, and from there, the gradation from fog to summer haze is somewhat blurred.  Blue-hulled Oyster Catcher, in the foreground, gives clearest indication that this in not a black/white/gray photo.  I’ve searched online fruitlessly to confirm that Oyster Catcher is an NYC DEP vessel.  When

A panoply of vessels converge in the Narrows as the great gray ULCV approaches from many days at sea.

 

I’ve not been paying attention to how many of these ULCVs have multiple bow thrusters.  Anyone know the horsepower on each?

 

 

 

Three 6000s, one 3900, and two brants . . . all converging along with Cosco Faith.

For scale, notice the 25′-to 30′ outboard passing just to the right of the letter O in COSCO.  More to scale, note the size of engineering crew next to this crankshaft.

I waited for a messenger line for the deckhand to send up the towline, but  . . . it happened after they were out of range for me.

All photos here by your faithful observer, Will Van Dorp.

From the Line Locker 5

That’s the locker with miscellaneous lengths of line varying in diameter and material. In the case of this blog, I use this with not-great pictures of (I believe) unusual but interesting “stuff” all from early June 2007. Like this strange craft . . .

 

It’s Oystercatchercharters. Check them out. I’ve seen them in the sixth boro last year and this year as they offer–I suppose–charters along the intracoastal waterway.

I’m not sure who organized this rowing party Sunday, but the Star-Ledger tells this of rowing and paddling off Hoboken. The rowing gig was between Pier A of the Battery and Ellis Island later Sunday.

 

Currently moored between some disused warehouses below the BQE, it looks like a barge but really it’s “floatingpool,” another repurposed vessel. An alternative to this sixth boro swimming venue is the swim marathon around Manhattan coming up on June 16. Read about it here. Cheer on the superswimmers Saturday morning.

 

One breezy midweek morning, I snapped this picture of a new pilot boat approaching the Battery Coast Guard station. Better pic and specs here and here.

So that’s a few days on the water, and what did I miss? Actually . . . a lot: reed boat Abora towed out by Sea Lion, transAtlantic rowboat, Alice in and out, several large cruising schooners and sloops . . . and much much more.

As the subway posters say . . . if you see something (interesting), say something (by email and please send a foto.)