Maritime Tugboats

Regionally speaking, Andrew, along with 

Roderick and Nancy, could be said to sail in maritime waters.

In the maritime province of Nova Scotia, though, I caught up with Atlantic Towing Limited tugboats Atlantic Oak,

Atlantic Cedar, 

Atlantic Fir, and 

 

Atlantic Elm.  Given their extensive fleet, it seems I need to make my way back here.  Other than returning in October, I’m not sure when that will happen, but now it’s a goal.  

Seeing the Canso Strait, first hand and after being introduced to it by my friend Jack Ronalds,  satisfied a curiosity.

Behold Spitzer Bedford, Spitzer Montreal, and Point Chebucto.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

LL Eastport to Portland

You’ll understand if I say this is a wicked quick post.  Bear with me.  At the appointed hour, albeit Campobello time rather than Eastport time, we cast off and made for sea.

Once away from town, the pilot departed, back for the Eastport station aboard North Sea.

We rounded the light off the top of Campobello as a fishing boat worked the same area.  I wonder what the catch was. 

Making our way SW out of the Bay of Funky Funky Fundy (yes, that was an autocorrect 2X!) and into the Gulf of Maine, we passed Storm Rider.  Note the crewman looking our way between the house and the curtain on the stern deck. Yes, this song came to mind.

At daybreak this morning we took on a Portland pilot from Spring Point.

Ram Island Ledge Light, I presume.

I’ve lots of other lighthouse photos, but as we made fast, we were alongside the Portland McAllister fleet:  l to r, Roderick, Nancy, and Andrew. 

Heading into town for some supplies, I had to photograph this sign.

All photos, wicked fast, any errors because I’m too wicked fast, WVD.

2013 Tug Racing Season

The season comes to the east coast in late summer.  New York’s 2013 sixth boro race is 12 days away, but you can get tickets to watch it from a boat already by clicking here.  Be patient  . . . it may load slowly.

This is NOT a foto from NYC.  Can you guess where you’d see this original OSV design?  OSV here means “offshore (lobster) supplying vessel,”  which I confess are my first love in workboat design, dating from back when I lived in New Hampshire.  All fotos in this post come thanks to Birk Thomas, a force behind this site and its Facebook version, which generates a lot of pics  of workboats from all over.

If you guessed Portland, Maine . . . this is the pre-race lineup for the MS Harborfest.

I’m pretty sure this foto was taken from Andrew McAllister.

And it’s push-off time.

So in New York on September 1, whether you ride the boat or watch from the pier . . . I hope to see you there.

Although the September 1 race in NYC is the 21st annual in the current series, the races date back to before I was born.  See fotos of the vessels from the 1952 race here.  Back then, an international lifeboat race–rowers came from whatever cargo ships were in port at that time–was part of the festivities.

Again, many thanks to Birk Thomas for these fotos.  And if you do Facebook, check out tugboatinformation there.

Convergence 4

Here’s  some of my May 2010 coverage of Fleet Week’s arrival.  So Fleet Week and OpSail 2012 have converged, commingling state-of-the-art with traditional vessels.   Now add  into the mix F/A-18s and Hudson river water pumped through the system of  1931 John J. Harvey.  Doubleclick enlarges fotos.

Leading the fleet is Eagle.

And leading the tall ships is J. S. de Elcano (1927).

The day was blessed with atmospheric light

…and acrobatic and disciplined sailors.

Not as common a name to our ears as Magellan, Elcano was Magellan’s second-in-command and the one who completed “Magellan’s circumnavigation” more than a year after Magellan was killed in 1521.

Vessels included destroyer USS Roosevelt (commissioned 2000),

Gazela (1901), (Get tickets to this weekend’s Gazela theater here.)

USS San Jacinto (commissioned 1988),

and Dewaruci (launched 1953, keel laid 1932).

I wondered what these crew would do if the ominous sky sent thunder and lightning.

Etoile, I believe, was there as were

La Belle Poule (1932),

and Cisne Branco  (2000) and   HCMS Iroquois (1970, 1992).

Crew rode high in the rigging of Cisne Branco.

Cuauhtemoc (commissioned 1982) passed in review with

more crew in the rigging.

Emily Miller made the parade and in the distance, it’s  USS Gonzalez (commissioned 1996).

Click here for info on the namesake for DDG-66.

Appledore 5 crosses JS Shirane (commissioned 1980).

The sailing vessel heeled over is Summerwind (1929) and approaching is James Turecamo  (1969), prepared to handle white hulls.

Pride of Baltimore II is especially significant, given that the rationale for an OpSail event this year is the bicentennial of the war of 1812.   This fact also makes significant the participation by a Canadian and a British vessel in Fleet Week.

And huge flag . . . says it’s Gloria  (commissioned 1968), passing

RFA Argus, container ship turned floating hospital.

Colombian crew –men and women–in the rigging

and on the jibbom put on a colorful show.

Guayas (commissioned 1976)

had skyscraper crew at the very top of the mast.

And finally . .  a return for USS Wasp.   Notice the tug midships port side.  Know it?

I was surprised to learned it was neither Charles D. nor Responder but Roderick (1967) !  Generally, Roderick is not a sixth boro tug.

And here’s another unusual sight, commingling the power of a McAllister and a Moran  assisting Wasp into the berth.

Parade over, Catherine heads back to the dock, as does Pioneer (commissioned 1885!!)

And a final shot for today, TWO French handiworks, Belle Poule and the Statue of Liberty.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.