Second Lives 33

The photo below is from May 2011, a really long time ago, I concluded after looking through the archives.  I believe that is the first time Sassafras appeared in tugster, and if she were a land vehicle, I’d want to check then odometer . . .

as I saw her yesterday, appearing also for the first time here . .  . George Holland. 

Sassafras became George Holland way back in 2019, but since she’s not in the photo archives, I just didn’t get a photo of her until yesterday.

It’s only paint and ink showing ownership, but different paint gives a whole new look, 

just a fog versus sunshine does.

Welcome George Holland. 

All photos, WVD.

Retro Sixth Boro 41

These photos I took back in September 2011.

This boat became Bouchard Boys and is now in Red Hook waiting to be repainted as Stasinos Boys.  She’s 100′ x 31′ and 3900 hp.

North Sea has had many owners;  currently she’s Sause Brothers North Sea out of Portland OR.   She’s 120′ x 34′ vessel with 4200 hp moving her.

Growler used to be one of my favorites during the years I went to the Hudson River tugboat races.  She’s changed hands several times recently and last I saw her she was in the Arthur Kill.  She’s a 1962 Jacksonville-built WYTL, as the others, 64′ x 19′ powered by a 300 single Cat D-375 V8, or once was.

How about another shot of another attempt . . .  with Maurania III and Ross Sea looking on.

Since coming off the ways in 1979, Miriam Moran has worked in the sixth boro of New York under that name.  From my outsider’s perspective, she has paid off handsomely.  At 99′ x 32′ and with 3000 hp, she has just assisted Seabourn Sojourn into the passenger terminal.

Sassafras then was three years old;  she’s since been sold out of the Vane fleet and now wears colors of Norfolk Tug as George Holland, at 90′ x 32′ and 3000 hp.

Thornton Bros. here was just a few years away from the scrapper;  she began life as John E. Matton at the shipyard in Cohoes in 1958.  Her long run is profiled in a tugster post  here. The “shipyard” link is a couple hours’ good history reading, including a surprise about a well-known naval architect who once worked for Matton.

As part of the 10-year commemoration of 9/11, USS New York came back to the sixth boro after having made her inaugural visit here two years before.  The yellow/brown water reveals the aftermath of Hurricane Irene that gorged all the streams upriver.   USS New York has a FB page here.  Escorting her here is Ellen McAllister.

Yacht Black Knight made an appearance passing the tip of Manhattan while passing from the Sound to the North River in mid-month after theb hurricane. She’s a 1968 product of Goudy & Stevens, an East Boothbay ME yard that has done a wide variety of vessels.

I’ve got a few dozen pics from this month in the archives, but let’s call this the end of this post;  all photos, WVD.

 

 

Retro Sixth Boro 26 b

Ten years ago . . .  it seems like a lifetime sometimes.  Minerva Joanna is still afloat, albeit at anchor along with dozens of other tankers off Lomie, Togo.  Laura K Moran, currently working in Savannah.

Mel E. Lemmerhirt is now Evelyn Cutler, currently anchored off the Palisades.

Cosco Panama is now called Minerva and working among the islands of Indonesia. She was a 2005 Blohm & Voss build, with capacity of 2702 teu.  She’s NOT to be confused with Cosco Shipping Panama, at 9443 teu.

Escort was still calling in the sixth boro. Now I understand she’s working in southern NJ, but I’ve not seen her in much at all since 2010.

Sassafras has left the Vane fleet; now she’s George Holland of Norfolk tugs, and again, not around here.

Colleen McAllister . . . she’s in the Great Lakes, although I’m not sure she’s working.

Maurania III is busy, now in Wilmington  NC.

I never did learn the name of this boat, not the manufacturer, but it has simple beautiful lines in wood.  Is it still around?  For sale?

And sailing . . .  I don’t think this’ll be happening this month in the sixth boro, given the number of passengers.

We’ll hold it up here.

All photos, WVD, who has begun going out by private transportation.   It really is somewhat odd to walk around this way, but it makes sense to me.

Random Tugs 190

Today’s spotlight’s is Emerald Coast, Long Island, Tangier Island, Sassafras, and Brooklyn . . .

 

 

 

Hats off–No

keep hats and gloves on– but bravo to the folks who safely move

our fuel.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Random Tugs 168

Summertime and the living is easy . . . and Sassafras is bringing fuel to MSC Marianna.

JRT Moran is preparing to assist MSC Busan out of its berth

Another section of Rockefeller University’s River Campus is shipping in aboard Witte 1401 moved by Emily Ann, 

passing Zachery and Jason Reinauer and

and Dean.

Crystal Cutler moves Patricia E. Poling westbound . . .

Brendan Turecamo assists MSC Busan back out

on its way

to Norfolk.

All photos taken yesterday by Will Van Dorp, who is leaving the area for a while.  Details tomorrow.

 

Excessively Windy 3

Here are previous posts with references to wind.  Sunday and Monday were windy but commerce went right on.

 

The weight of these units is manifested by the smooth ride in the harbor chop.  Offshore it would be a different matter in the swells.

I wouldn’t call it spindrift, so maybe

it’s just spray?

All photos last weekend by Will Van Dorp.

And here, thanks to Aleksandr Mariy and unrelated but interesting, it’s Black Douglas, in its many forms.  And if you like that, you’ll love Roosevelt, especially that photo off Newburgh NY.

And finally, thanks to Isaac Pennock, who caught Dylan Cooper down bound passing Detroit on a run between Green Bay and Montreal.

Random Tugs 167

Given the history and range of projects of Elsbeth II, you might imagine how thrilled I was to see her for the first time yesterday.  And she has to be among a small set of working vessels based in North America with brightwork!  She truly fits under the category exotic.

 

I saw this tugboat six years ago in the Delaware River, but Sarah D looks spanking new  in NYS Marine Highway colors.

Happy flag day.  Do you know the significance of this date?

OSG Courageous, she’s one large tugboat and an infrequent

visitor in this port.  I can’t quite make out the barge name. Of course, she’s not as colossal as her big sister –OSG Vision–who spent some time here . . . four (!!) years ago.

Sassafras is a fixture in the sixth boro, but she rarely looks as good as she does when many shore dwellers in the other boros are just waking up.  Here she

lies alongside Petali Lady.

Mister Jim here is lightering (?) bulker Antigoni B, who seems to have since headed upriver.

 

And since this is called random tugs, let me throw in two photos from the Digital collections of the New york State archives . . . SS Brazil entering the sixth boro on May 31, 1951.  What the photo makes very clear to me is how much traffic in the harbor has changed in 65 years.   Can anyone identify the six tugboats from at least three different companies here?  I can’t.

Here the party passes a quite different looking Governors Island.

All photos except for the last two by Will Van Dorp.  These last two come from a treasure trove aka Digital Collections of the New York State Archives. 

Unrelated:  If you’re free Saturday, it’s the annual mermaid migration on Coney Island.

 

Meeting the Fleet 2016

This collage of orange and blue indicates that something unusual approaches . . .

0846 hr . . .

0904

 

 

Atlantic Salvor might have been headed out on a long range mission, but

at this point, I realized this mission would begin in the Lower Bay of the sixth boro along with

lots of other vessels, although

 

something new this year was the escort of four commercial tugs:  Sassafras, Miriam Moran, 

Atlantic Salvor, and Normandy.   1150.    I was happy to find someone to talk to.

It’s fleet week NYC.  Welcome all.

It’s USS DDG 96,

HMCS D 282,

WMEC 911,

HMCS MM 700,

HMCS MM 708,

LHD 5,

DDG 99,

and LSD 43.

At 1216, Eric McAllister joins the welcome party . . .

 

 

WLM 552.

An E-2 flew by too.

 

The message on the port wheel well ((?) amused me.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

Here was last year’s arrival.

 

Random Tugs 163

I considered calling this “random vessels,” since I haven’t used that title in a while, but here is a tighter focus for a few days:  tugboats.  Here I also randomize the backgrounds and seek out some vessels infrequently seen.  Like the rare and exotic  Shelby Rose and

Jay Michael and Vicki M and

Patricia with her racing stripes up against the gantry arms.

Wye River and James E. Brown here cross the south end of Newark Bay, where

Sandmaster has been tied up for (?) nearly a year now.

Sassafras did a circle in Erie Basin recently, and

 

Thomas, the Weeks tug, strode into town, picked up a barge and headed straight for Texas!  The first time I saw Thomas was January 2009.  Remember what memorable event splashed into the Hudson around the middle of that month?

 

Buchanan 12 here is light and seen from almost her prop wash.  I hadn’t noticed the Boston registry before.

Quantico Creek stays local a lot, but Severn I don’t see much.

Here’s Tangier Island behind . .  yes, Gerardi’s Farmers Market. 

 

OK . . . that’s it for today.  All photos by Will Van Dorp.  More random tugs tomorrow.

 

Random Tugs 157

Prayers for and condolences to families/friends of Specialist crew.  Here’s a photo I took of the boat back in 2007.

 

Here was Janet D pushing crane barge Jared Walter the other day.

 

Another crane barge, this one pushed by Quenames, which I never seen pushing anything but a petroleum barge.

 

Tugboat Sassafras moving Doubleskin 30 into IMTT, and then going over to Brooklyn light.

 

And finally, it’s Harry McNeal and Miss Julia  . .. again moving crane barges.

Last one for today . . . it’s JRT Moran, and those do not look like deckhands on the bow.  I’m just wondering.

The container ship being assisted is Northern Justice.

 

No matter what you do, be careful out there.  Here’s the latest USCG report I could find.