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You’ll excuse this poor quality lede photo once you realize who/what took it: the Statue of Liberty has functioning eyes and watches everything that passes through this sector of the sixth boro. Think about that: she’s big and she witnesses! And yesterday it was raining here, so those are water droplets on the lens.
But the point of this post is the tug with an unusual tow just entering from the right. I know it’s not very clear, but bear with me . . or us. It gets better.
A bit later, Phil Little was at the ready from the cliff across from the Manhattan passenger terminal, but who knew which side of the tow to watch until this point.
A bit later, Luis Melendez, NYC Parks dock master at Dyckman Marina, was on the optimal albeit rainy side of the tow to see schooner Pioneer well defined against the scow.
Here’s a little bit of history if you’re not familiar with Pioneer: she was built in Marcus Hook PA in 1885 as a sand sloop, operating between Delaware Bay and the Delaware River. So think of the photo this way, and I’m paraphrasing someone else here: she was a sand sloop converted to a sand schooner (and other configurations) now made to a sand or aggregate scow and headed upriver pushed by the mighty 1957 Frances. Pioneer was hitching a ride to Albany for engine work.
A few dozen miles later, Kevin Oldenburg was ready to get even clearer pics. It was still rainy but not yet dark.
After she rounded Jones Point,
she was soon visible from the Bear Mountain Overlook along Hwy 202.
That’s Iona Island off the port side and
sand sloop/schooner that Pioneer was, she had clearly a small fraction of capacity when compared to her 21st century scow descendants.
Many thanks to Justin Zizes, Jonathan Boulware, Phil Little, Luis Melendez, Kevin Oldenburg, and the Lady of the Harbor for their contributions–made in rainy December conditions–to this post. By the way, did anyone get photos from W. O. Decker? Anyone else from any other vantage point?
A previous time we had this many collaborators watching traffic was just over a decade ago and involved sailing barges and a mothership named Flinterborg.
Getting back to the Statue of Liberty cam, “girl with no eyes” made a great song, but it could certainly not be said to refer to our Lady of the sixth boro.
Since I mentioned Dyckman Marina, whatever became of Mon Lei, the Chinese junk formerly owned by Robert “believe it or not” Ripley and recently docked up there at the now defunct-La Marina for a few years?
Lady Liberty called me up last night to apologize for the poor quality of photo she delivered and asked why Pioneer had not hitched a ride on a nicer day. I was speechless, because what does one say when the Lady calls you up on your personal number??!@#?
Schooner Ambergris came in from sea in mid-April, but I still don’t know anything more about her. Anyone help?
Dolphin is truly a yacht; it’s also likely a winter yacht down south. Up north, we see vessels like this seasonally. I can’t identify the burgee on the bow.
Schooner Pioneer, launched 1885!!, has never been a yacht, but in its current much-loved state, it operates only in the warmer half of the year and it’s an excursion vessel.
Passing the Hoboken/NJ Transit terminal, that unnamed trawler is truly a yacht coming north for the summer.
Care for a summer evening on a Chicago Grebe-built yacht? Here’s the info on yacht Full Moon departures out of North Cove. If you want a full day’s amusement online, you could investigate these other Grebe-built yachts . . . . Or you could read about this Chicago shipyard and many other topics in this great blog called Industrial History, which I’ve just added to my blogroll.
Sometimes the Erie Canal seems devoid of vessel traffic, but on this day at Lock 17, there were plenty of takers. As I recall, these cruisers were from Texas, Michigan, Florida, and California!
By the boat name and the VHF manner as I overheard it, I can guess the previous employment of this vessel operator.
Yesterday I went to this location to meet a friend over beer and crab cakes, my first there in quite a while . . . . But if you’ve never hung out at Pier 66, you owe to yourself. Advice . . . if you want a seat, go on the off hours! It’s been way too long ago that this gathering happened there.
And although I took this photo in the fall, the reminder is clear: be safe.
All photos and sentiments by Will Van Dorp.
Here was Summer Sail 1; and since that dates from almost two years ago.
Clipper City looks great juxtaposed against the skyline, but
ketch Catriona . . . she has Herreshoff pedigree.
No matter . . . larger schooner or smaller and more intimate ketch,
one is pampered moving by sail in the sixth boro. And that includes the option of sailing aboard the oldest harbor schooner of all . . . Pioneer.
Above and below, it’s Pioneer, and below the other schooner is one you won’t see in the sixth boro for a few years . . . Lettie G. Howard. Of course, if you head over to Lake Erie–where I’ll be n a few weeks–you may catch a glimpse, even catch a ride.
And finishing it off, it’s America 2.0.
All photos taken by Will Van Dorp in the past 365 days.
Lest you think Combi-Dock III and Peking–I will get back to them– are the only thing happening in the watery parts of NYC, here’s just a sampling . . . in a series I started last summer.
SBI Macarena –a fairly new bulk carrier– came in past the Brooklynside ramps for the VZ Bridge,
passing Jo Provel on the way out . . .
looking quite large relative to the new NYC ferry.
Tanker New Confidence tested its systems–water and sonic–as Doris Moran arrived.
Where the Wind Blows sails south toward the Narrows, so fast that
I lost track of her, although I admit to being distracted by this squadron passing overhead Elizabeth Anne.
Pioneer–one of South Street Seaport Museum’s schooners–also sailed past and ever went outside
the Narrows, where I’ll pick this up another day.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, waiting for Combi-Dock III action.
Who else greeted Wavertree on the rest of the way home? John J. Harvey is always in on celebrations.
Lettie G. Howard was there,
as was the helicopter. Feehan presented herself on the far side of Rae.
Pioneer accounted for
herself with crew in the crosstrees.
Pioneer and Lettie teamed up at times.
Wire showed up.
New York Harbor School had two boats there, including Privateer and their
newest vessel Virginia Maitland Sachs, about which I’ll post soon.
Melvillian throngs came down to the “extremest limit of land” on Pier 15 and 16, for one reason or another, but who were about to be treated to some excellent ship handling.
Rae took the lead, showing the need for tugboats of all sizes.
The larger tugs pushed and pulled as needed to ease into the slip
until all lines were fast and
and the shoreside work needed doing.
Bravo to all involved. If you want to take part in a toast to Wavertree, you can buy tickets here for the September 29 evening.
If you haven’t read the NYTimes article by James Barron yet, click here.
All photos by Will Van Dorp, who hopes I left no one out and who as before is grateful to the South Street Seaport Museum and the photographers’ boat provided by US Merchant Marine Academy and crewed by a set of dedicated cadets.
Often folks ask how one can learn about the harbor or is there a book about the sixth boro. Volunteering at South Street Seaport Museum is a great way available to all to get access to the water, to learn from like-minded folks, and to start on a journey of reading the harbor and its traffic for yourself. Each volunteer’s journey will be unique, and willing hands make institutions like this museum survive and thrive.
Here was the first time I used this title.
America II looked resplendent bathed in a last burst of late afternoon sun yesterday.
She was one of several sail vessels out; here Pioneer seems headed over to a new loading point.
On a meteorologically different afternoon a few weeks ago, I caught Lettie G. Howard out headed for the Kills. Here was another spring when I caught Lettie under very bare poles.
I saw Topaz briefly only once, so far away she was only a tall mast, but Claude Scales caught this from his daily vantage point. Click here for a close-up of Nantucket WLV-612 from three years ago.
No words . . . no gilding the lily!
Pioneer heads back to the dock.
Anyone know where Mary E is sailing from these days?
Thanks to Claude Scales for use of his Topaz photo. All other photos by Will Van Dorp, who has used the title “autumn sail” much more frequently. And if you have not yet read my article about sailing to Cuba last winter, you can read it here.
For context, let’s look back here. And last year among some of the great photos shared by Harry Thompson, here (scroll) was a crowded harbor photo I really liked.
Last Saturday saw threatening weather; even so, lots of small boats and crowds braved the possibility of rain to see the races.
Vigilance prevailed and I heard of no incidents.
And yes, I paid a lot of attention to the Bath Maine-built 1906 Mary E, but that’s because I haven’t seen her in 9 years . . . obviously I was looking in the wrong places. Click here and scroll for a photo of Mary E in Greenport almost 9 years ago.
Harvey was there. Scroll here for one of my favorite photos of the 1931 Harvey, cutting through the pack at the 2013 tugboat race.
The 1885 Pioneer was there. Click here for a sail I did on Pioneer a few years back.
A raft of small boats clustered yet kept orderly.
The 1935 Enticer . . . well, enticed, spectators as a platform.
as did a range of people movers.
including the 1983 Arabella.
The captain of the heavyweight out there, the 2014 Eric McAllister, treaded lightly through the crowd.
Of course, out in the mist along the Jersey side there are more heavyweights, a Moran tug and its huge NCL gem.
And as for my ride, Monday morning it was earning money going for a load of scrap.
Another tall old ship that might have been present–the 1928 Bivalve NJ-based A. J. Meerwald had other missions to perform.
All photos by will Van Dorp. And for photos of some of the people on the boro who were working during the race, check out NYMediaBoat’s blog post.
Here was part 1. Thanks much for the comments. My conclusion is that most but not all were taken at the 1986 centennial celebration of our lady of the harbor. I am still seeking a photo of the canal tug Grand Erie, ex-USACE Chartiers, launched in 1951, at the event.
Barque Simón Bolívar, it would be good to see her back in the sixth boro again. At this point, she was less than a decade old. This past summer, she called in various ports in the Caribbean.
Any help here anyone?
USS Iowa BB-61 served as the reviewing stand for the event. Click here for scans of the day and here for video. Can anyone identify the tug alongside the battleship starting at about 2:10?
Barque Eagle of course. Can anyone identify the tugs in this photo?
It’s schooner Pioneer in the background.
The red-hulled vessel at the foot of the tower . . is that stick lighter Ollie, now rotting away in VerPlanck? See the end of this post. Anyone know the USCG tug?
These look like the morning-after spent fireworks shells. What did it say in front of “industry” here? And here ends the photos supplied by Harry Thompson.
And here, as a note that I should do a post soon about Ollie . . . is one of the photos I took of her in 2010. I saw her earlier in 2015, and it’ was even sadder by five years than this one. Anyone have good pics of Ollie in her day?
Thanks very much, Harry, for getting this show going.
There’s winter sail, spring sail, and autumn sail. And today I’m just staying inside culling photos. Since moving by wind has been around for millennia, Pioneer is a relatively modern vessel.
Pioneer, 1885
This vessel below can be “insanely fast.” I took this photos and ones that follow back on May 11, 2015 in Morris Canal.
Lending Club 2, 2015
Here’s another sixth boro regular, the largest NYC-based schooner. See her here in winter maintenance.
Check out these special sails on Clipper City.
Here LC2‘s just finished the 635 nm run in less than 24 hours.
From Seth Tane on the Columbia River, it’s HMCS Oriole, US-built in 1921.
I’d love to see the interior of Lending Club 2, but my guess is . . . spartan.
Also from back in May . . . it’s Wavertree in the last feet of its transit for a major makeover, Thomas J. Brown sliding her over.
Here’s another shot of L’Hermione entering the Upper Bay for the first time.
And what do you make of this?
Maybe more on that last photo tomorrow.
Except for the photo by Seth Tane, all photos by Will Van Dorp.
“Really random” posts tend to be far-flung, so let’s start out with this photo by Jed, who has contributed many photos recently. Then there’s JED, who has contributed photos starting from 2008. The boat dates from 1975.
From Jan Oosterboer via Fred Trooster, here’s the 1955 tug Argus along with
Orion (1961), and
Sirius (1966). It appears that Sirius–like Orion and Brendan Turecamo–also has a wheelhouse that can be raised.
For the scale of the “tow” here, scroll down and
behold–Thialf, with a combined lifting capacity of over 14,000 tons!! Click here to see the view down from Thialf’s deck AND be sure to read the comments that follow. Here are a few other heavy-lifters including Saipem 7000.
Heading back to NYC but as the South Street Seaport Museum area of the sixth boro of NYC looked in 1985, from a secret salt, it’s the 1939 USCGC WYT-93, Raritan! The two vessels around her are, of course 1885 schooner Pioneer and 1908 lightship Ambrose. Click here for a list of specifics and missions on Raritan, but one of her operations was against M/V Sarah of Radio NewYork International. M/V Sarah was eventually blown up for a movie stunt.
And rounding this post out . . . from Elizabeth, in Alameda, it’s the 1943 YT-181 Mazapeta.
In the distance is T-AKR-1001 GTS Admiral W. M. Callaghan, an MSC RORO named for a significant USN officer.
Credit for each of these photos is as attributed. Thanks to you all.
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