Random Tugs 388

Even on overcast days, the sixth boro aka NY harbor offers sights.  It’s long been so;  here’s much abridged paragraphs 3-5 Chapter 1 of Moby Dick:

[People] stand … fixed in ocean reveries. Some leaning … some seated … some looking over the bulwarks of ships from China… [some] pacing straight for the water…  Nothing will content them but the extremest limit of the land… They must get just as nigh the water as they possibly can without falling in. And there they stand…  infallibly [move] to water…  Why did the poor poet of Tennessee, upon suddenly receiving two handfuls of silver, deliberate whether to buy him a coat, which he sadly needed, or invest his money in a pedestrian trip to Rockaway Beach? Why is almost every robust healthy [youth] with a robust healthy soul… at some time or other crazy to go to sea? Why upon your first voyage as a passenger, did you yourself feel such a mystical vibration, when first told that you and your ship were now out of sight of land? Why did the old Persians hold the sea holy? Why did the Greeks give it a separate deity, brother of Jove? Surely all this is not without meaning…. we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans … the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all.”

OK, so that might be over the top, but I find at least as much entertainment along the water as in all the other places in NYC.  Maybe that makes me a hermit, but that’s irrelevant.  Can you name these boats?  

At less than 10 miles an hour, trade comes in, commerce of all sort goes on. 

different hour different goods, 

different tasks, 

different energies

and errands 

by different 

companies . .  .

All photos, WVD.

And in order, Jonathan C Moran, Meaghan Marie, Ellen McAllister, Andrea, Schuylkill, Rowan R McAllister, Thomas D Witte, Susan Miller.

 

Random Tugs 380

Lightning is here and has been for at least four years, and Thunder is on its way.

From 2014 and therefore two years newer than Lightning, Adeline Marie, previously Denise A. Bouchard, was heading over to the Industry Day on Wednesday. I caught a few photos of her as Rubia in between her original and her latest livery. 

The 2006 Kristin Poling first came to the sixth boro as the 5000 hp 111′ x 36′ Chesapeake.   Here was my first good view of her as a Poling/Cutler tugboat.

Atlantic Enterprise has been keeping busy with runs with dredge spoils from the North River passenger terminal out to the dump site aka HARS.   For a day’s worth of reading, click here for a July 2022 report on HARS. 

The 1981 Susan Miller pushes a small deck barge through congested waters here. She’s been working in the boro for as long as I’ve been doing this blog. 

The 1968 Marie J. Turecamo has worked in the Moran livery for over 20 years. 

Scale is clear from this side-by-side photo of the 2007 Saint Emilion (105′ x 38′ and 4800 hp) and the 1982 McCormack Boys ( 74′ x 26′ and 1200 hp), both hauled out over at Bayonne Dry Dock. 

The 2007 Normandy (79′ x 27′ and 1900 hp) has been in the boro since 2015. 

The 1981 Navigator (64′ x 24′ and 1200 hp)  has to be one among the busiest boats in the harbor and the region.

The 1975 Mary Emma (100′ x 31′ and 3900 hp) has worked under this livery since 2021.  I caught her transformation here about a year ago. 

All photos and any errors, WVD, who thanks you for continuing to read this blog. 

Newest Hull in the Sixth Boro 12

How about a new day, a new month, a new year, and a new hull in the sixth boro!  Can you recognize the profiles sans color?

As it passes Norton Point inbound, you begin to make out the color.

Once well inside Gravesend Bay–that’s the west end of Coney Island in the background–the colors increase in their vividness.

Here is the moment when the new ferry,

Sandy Ground, actually enters the Upper Bay portion of the boro, where she will work, if ferry JFK is her model, until the year 2078!!  That’s 56 years from now, and I’ve no clue what the sixth boro will look like–or what vessels will traffic it– 56 years from now.  Here‘s more context on Sandy Ground, Staten Island.

Once she was inside the VZ Bridge, I ran from South Beach, where I got the photos above, to Fort Wadsworth, and caught Margaret Moran sidling up to Sarah Dann.

I first thought the final portion of the tow would be Margaret‘s, but I was wrong; 

while Susan Miller provided a close-up platform, Margaret then delivered

crew to the new ferry, and

lines came across from Doris Moran, the tailboat for the last several miles to Caddell‘s , where the protective gear will be removed and the ferry prepped for service. 

 

By this hour, the fog had cleared just enough that the iconic skyline of Brooklyn and Manhattan was blotted out, giving the illusion that the tow is still at sea. 

All photos December 31 morning by WVD, who likes illusions and unreality sometimes.

Healthy, harmonious, hard-working, hearty 2022 from all of us at tugster tower.

And if you’re not going on a First Hike today, check out Trevor’s Seapixonline from New Zealand and beyond.  Tell him tugster suggested it.

For some other high profile tows done by Sarah Dann recently, click here.

 

Government Boats 57

I have to go back over 14 years to find the previous appearance of Tybee on this blog.  Is she still based in Woods Hole?  Has she been here and I just missed it?  I can’t say.  I would say she rolls . . .

The groupbrain internet says she’s still based in Woods Hole, all except earlier this week. 

 

SSG Michael H. Ollis continues her training runs in the Upper Bay.  I’m eager to catch my first ride aboard her.

At least when her sisters show up, crews will be trained, having done their orientations aka Familiarization 101 aboard Ollis. Anyone know ETA of next of the class?

And finally, I was thrilled to catch Susan Miller and Gabby escorting retired FDNY Alfred E. Smith to another berth.  I forgot to follow up, so I don’t know where Smith is currently located.  Anyone help?

I was fortunate to catch her with backgrounds Pier A and

the Colgate Clock. 

All photos, WVD.

Unrelated:  I’m planning a post on the 1946 Matton-built tugboat that carried the following names:  Margaret Matton, Fort Lauderdale, Evening Light, Hudson, and Chyanne Rose.  As Hudson, she worked for Reinauer/BTT from 1978 until 2005.  She came up recently in a conversation about running oil up the Passaic as far as Wallington, and I’d love to collect stories.  Please help out with stories and photos if you can.

 

Random Tugs 355

Happy 31st, aka Halloween, World Savings Day, Day of Seven Billion, National Candy Apple Day, Annual visit a cemetery or graveyard day . . . and more.  If you need suggestions for a graveyard, consider this one.  And just yesterday, I learned of this one and this one.  Who knew?!!?  Want to revisit a tugster ghost post?

For this post, there’s a quiz.  The first part is … name the oldest and newest boat here.  The second part … identify the only two boats here NOT built in Louisiana.  Of course, building is one thing, and designing is another.

All photos taken this October.  Susan Miller,

Miriam Moran and Pegasus,

Andrea,

Gregg McAllister,

Robert IV,

Buchanan 12,

Navigator,

Robert Burton,

Shawn Miller,

Pearl Coast,

Miss Ila,

Mary Turecamo,

and the always seasonal Kimberly Turecamo.

There you have it . . . And I’ll give the answers tomorrow.

And my question is . . .  who is Miss Ila‘s namesake and what do you call that shade of red?

Random Tugs 337

Because the name and focus of this blog is tugster, you’d expect to see a lot of tugboats, both within the confines of New York harbor, aka the REAL sixth boro, and I hope you are satisfied that you find a plethora of tugboats in installments of this blog.  So here’s Random Tugs #337, post 4877, and the tugboat is Foxy 3 moving an aggregate scow.

In the foreground, it’s Crystal Cutler;  off in the distance it’s Normandy.

Diane B here heads east with a cargo in John Blanche.  I did an article on this unit some years back.

Joyce D. Brown pushes an empty scow east.  Notice anything on the scow that identifies it?  See the end of this post.

James E. Brown passed sister Joyce D. that morning in the Kills.

Franklin Reinauer that morning may or may not have been under control of the author of a tugboat captain who shared his tales a few years back.  I will stay mum. Off to the left, that’s Capt. Brian A. McAllister.

HMS Liberty muscled a barge full of bunkers to deliver to a thirsty ship over in New Jersey.

Centerline operates both Liberty above and HMS Justice below.

Susan Miller moves some material and equipment over to the project just west of the St. George ferry terminal.

Brendan Turecamo heads over to the next and the next and the next job.

Bruce A. McAllister assists a container ship into port.

Bergen Point came off the ways at Blount Shipbuilding way back in 1958.

So that scow Joyce was pushing above is called Maria and

this logo says it was once in the Disch fleet, now sold off in many directions.

All photos, WVD.

Steamer Lilac Sighted

It’s been a while since Lilac appeared here, but this illusion of the steamer under way on her own power was thrilling.  I’m not adept enough at photo manipulation to add the right measure of smoke from her stack.  

And yes, the prime mover here is Michael Miller, with Susan nearby as well.  .

Like a vessel steaming in from another era,

 

it was great to see Lilac under way. 

All photos, WVD, who is unaware of the length of her duration at Caddells.

Photos of her engine can be seen here.

Retro Sixth Boro NYC Tugboat Races 2

I’ll devote a whole post once again to the 2012 races, since I have a  lot of photos.  What I did was look for the most dramatic or interesting photos and, in some cases, re-edited them.  What I didn’t do is go back through the 2012 posts, but you can here if you want.

Again, you can identify these, or I’ll help you if you can’t.  I call this the pre-race cluster, with some even pointing upstream, as if Yonkers would be the finish line.

The cluster continues as more boats arrive.

And then there’s the burn-out, or in this case . . .  froth-out as two Cat D-399s crank out over 2200 hp.

The pack spreads out quickly.  This was almost 60 seconds into the race.  If this were a terrestrial drag race, the contest would already be over and the smoke clearer.

I’m not sure I’d want to be in a kayak, particularly a double, as all this wake translates into wave motion.

A full five minutes into the race, Quantico Creek‘s two Cat 3512 3000 hp power plants take her past the finish line with sturm und drang . . .

Seven minutes into the race . . . they’re still coming.

At the 19-minute mark, the race is over, but the bulls appear to have scores to settle . . .

and next thing you know . . . it’s tugboat rugby!

Tomorrow . . .  how about returning to 2013.

All photos, WVD.

 

Cranes: Weeks 533

Weeks 533 has credibility: she lifted the USAir Flight 1549 Airbus A320 out of the Hudson back almost 11 years ago and more.  So the other day when I was on my way to “yon” and saw her “hither” and she was working with Susan Miller, I decided to linger and inquire.

That’s when I noticed the pier 11 Wall Street float was partially submerged, and a heavy lift crew was aboard securing cables.

Besides that crew, one tug and Susan Miller, even the Green Lady was craning her neck overtop the ferry and over in my direction, paying attention.

 

When I managed to board a conveyance and get to the middle of the East River . . .

I saw there were actually four tugs involved,  two Dann tugs and another Miller tug.

Once the landing barge was lifted over the spuds and large pumps installed–I think that’s what I saw–Susan Miller whisked the barge away to be repaired, rehabbed.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who calls this another feat for Weeks 533.

Lots more tugster cranes here.

Diller Island

I walked along the Hudson and past the Vessel the other day because it was flat and scenic.   I also wanted to see what progress was happening at Pier 55, aka on Diller Island.

Beneath, from small boats  .  . . these workers attended to several of the 132 pots that make up the island.

Michael Miller stood by Weeks 526, as

at this moment did  Shawn Miller.

 

Meanwhile, coming upriver was another Weeks crane, the 533,  with Susan Miller on port bow and

Elizabeth supplying power.

 

 

At a certain moment, Shawn departed the 526 and headed over to the Weeks 533

to assist.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who recently saw Weeks and Miller tugs working on 533 here.