TZ Bridgework 2

. . . the tugs, starting with . . .

Prospector,  built in Indiana 1982, 48′ x 6′ and 800 hp; and presumably the right stuff for this job.  Would you guess the location as the Hudson River from the photo immediately below?  Hook Mountain is a beauty that I really need to hike!

But back to Prospector, a name that connotes seeking gold in them thar  .. . places, and this place has truly seen the distribution of gold.

 

Imagine the stories Tarrytown Light could tell of her 130 years standing on the eastern side of the Hudson.

 

The new TZ is usually described in superlatives, here by the builders and here by states folks.

 

I’ve now driven and ridden over the bridge a number of times, but from there, the view is never as good as this.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who did the first post in this series here.

Click here for some views of the TZ Bridge area from eight years ago.

 

 

Super Bull Crane 2

Many thanks to Bjoern Kils of nymediaboat.com for use of this foto.  Check out Bjoern’s website here.

And many thanks to Phil Little for the rest of these shots.  I’m certain Phil won’t object to sharing the text that accompanied these fotos, as it too captures the moment:

“I went to the viewing site today at 8:30 am, and saw the tow pass under the VN Bridge at about 9:00. I checked in with the Thruway person, and had no trouble with acceptance of my Tugster credentials (my honest face!)  The Lauren Foss stopped out in the middle of the bay to drop the wire, and two other tugs took it “on the hip”, arranged along its (boom facing aft) port side, the Weeks Elizabeth at the front and an iced-up unknown tug (Iver Foss?)at the after end position. Lauren Foss stood by like an anxious parent.  It was awesome to see these tugs then guide the Lifter in toward the Cruise Ship dock, and turn it with precision into the near-shore channel, proceeding northwest toward the Weeks yard. It glided along in front of in front of us, not 100 feet away, aboard the royal barge, the mighty King of Cranes!  They swung into the final turn toward Weeks, against the backdrop of the new Freedom Tower and the Statue of Liberty. In the yard, waiting, it looked for all the world like a huge flock of red and white-necked herons were about to welcome this strange new powerful creature who would lead them in plucking prizes out of the Hudson!  What a show!”

As of this writing, I believe the two Foss tugs are refueling, resupplying, and possibly re-crewing . . . in preparation to return to sea for the next job.

Bjoern and Phil . . . thanks much.

Super Bull Crane

It’s referred to now as Left Coast Lifter, I Lift NY, Ichabod Crane, and others.  But I call it arrived and on a glorious if frigid morning.

Touchdown!!

And Lauren Foss is the clear MVP.

Bravo to all the crews and people behind the crews!

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.  More soon.

Here and here  she was at the southernmost arc of the voyage.

Miss Lis’ 56 Days

David Hindin alerted me when this voyage started on November 8 . . . departing San Francisco, sixth boro bound.  I’m very happy to share some folks fotos of Tradewinds Miss Lis‘ arrival at the Narrows this morning.   Many thanks to Peter Michael Patrick Codd, who sent the first two.

Here  . . . as seen from the Brooklyn side.

John Skelson caught these next ones.  Click here for larger versions on his Flickr photostream.

Note a new-to-NY assist tug here . . . Pelham.  I hope someone on Pelham got some good pics.

Many thanks to Peter and John for letting me share their fotos here.

And David . . . while I was driving my way back to NYC through central NJ, he got this record of the last mile of the voyage . . . image thanks to marinetraffic.com

This bargeload is support equipment for the herculean  (oops . . . that’s just a storm?) Left Coast Lifter now heading south from San Francisco to the Panama Canal to work on the Tappan Zee bridge project.    Here’s a link to Tappan Zee Constructors.