Thanks to George Schneider 3

George sends me lots of photos of ports I’ve not yet visited, and they’re convincing me to expand my horizons and see some new places. More on that later.

Let’s start in San Diego with Bernardine C, aka Bernie, a unique push boat that Curtin Marine built at their own facility in Long Beach, and her certificates show her as “Hull #1”.  She was completed in 2015.  Note her winch protected under her wheelhouse.  She’s registered at 45′ x 22′ x 5′, and powered by two John Deere Tier-3 engines, rated at 1000 HP.  Full information on her and other Curtin vessels can be found here.

Next tug along is Contender, belonging to Pacific Tug Boat.  She’s a 62′ x 28′ x 8′, built in 1964 (or 69 ?) at some yard in Long Beach, possibly Jones Tug & Barge, and is rated at 1200 HP.  George writes:  “In her previous life, as Rebel II, she and a similar boat, Tuffy II (now Tommy?), took deck barges to resupply Catalina Island on a twice-daily basis. I never knew them to miss a trip due to rough weather.  When another operator took over that franchise in 2016, both tugs were picked up by Pacific Tug Boat.”

Now for some boats George reported on from the Bay area, let’s start with Raccoon, a USACE debris collector that shows a slight resemblance to her origins as a Navy Seaplane Wrecking Derrick.  George:  “Where there were zones for seaplanes to take off and land, there was a need to get the wreckage of one out of the way quickly if one crashed, so those in the air could land before they ran out of fuel. These vessels, called YSDs, or “Mary Anne’s”,  were self-propelled crane vessels to fulfill that need.  To see an example of a YSD with an aircraft on its foredeck, click here.”

Of interest, Raccoon has an updated crane and burns a quite innovative fuel made of soybeans.

Here an image of YSD-64 in the Caroline Islands taken on 5 March 1945.  On her deck is an Avenger.  Click here for another Avenger.

Let’s end with Phyllis T, one of three 50-foot steel push boats built by Inland Boat Co. of Orange Texas in 2001 commissioned by Tudor-Saliba Construction Company for the retrofitting of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.  She is operated by Dutra Dredging and still in use.

Many thanks to George for use of these photos from California.