Inaugurations

January, once every four years, involves a formality that we mark today.  Inaugurate has a strange derivation, you figure it out.  With this post, I’m in no way intending to divine futures.  Really it’s just sets of photos taken four years apart. 

Ice and lightship yacht Nantucket floated in the harbor in mid January 2009. Do you remember what else was literally in the harbor?

Weeks tugs stood by ready to move a barge underneath the airplane when Weeks 533 lifted the Airbus 320 from harbor waters that had cushioned its fall . . . twelve years ago. 

Next inauguration day, 2013, I watched fishermen drag clams from the bottom of Gravesend Bay.

Rebel, destined not to run much longer, pushed a barge across the Upper Bay with an incomplete WTC beyond.  Many more details had not yet sprouted on the Manhattan skyline.

Mid January 2017 . . . CMA CGM Nerval headed for the port with Thomas J. Brown off its starboard.  Here‘s what I wrote about this photo and others exactly four years ago.

Nerval still needed to make its way under the yet-to-be completed raising of the Bayonne Bridge, assisted by JRT Moran.  This view was quite different in mid January 2017.   As of today, this container ship in on the Mediterranean on a voyage between Turkey and Morocco.

All photos, WVD, taken in mid January at four-year intervals.  Nothing should be read into the choice of photos.  Sorry I have no photos from January 20, 2005, because back then I didn’t take as many photos, and four years before that, I was still using a film camera, took fewer photos in a year than now I do on certain days, and that skyline above was very different.

My inaugural event . . .  cleaning my desk, my office, and my kitchen.   If you’re looking for an activity, something might need cleaning. Laundry?   Yup, work after work.  All inaugurations call for clean ups.

And if you want to buy that lightship yacht above, here‘s the info.

 

Other Peoples Photos 83

This series I use to feature others’ photos that are different from what I typically shoot, different in either location or perspective or subject.  I am very grateful to you, readers,  when you send these photos in.

David Silver sent this in just yesterday, taken in Norfolk.

Down in Norfolk, Mike Vinik and Rhino had just finished a tow there, and stopped by David’s workplace. I visited Vinik No. 6, Mike, and Rhino earlier this year, although it seems several years ago now. In case you’re wondering, Rhino weighs in at a trim 140 pounds.

Xlime promenaded along the East River  in Brooklyn the other day and saw some sights.   She writes:  “I happened upon three Brown tugs this morning – Thomas, who’s always so picturesque and the mighty James and Joyce (a literary pairing) who I’ve seen together twice now bringing reinforcements to the piers project in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I happened to be on Pier 3 this morning when they pulled up. Okay, maybe I doubled back when I realized where they were going. “

I’d never thought about the literary ring of these names. 

 

A few (2013!!) years ago Brad Ickes sent me photos of Cable Queen.   Recently she was hauled out and here are the photos he sent.  Brad writes:  “Queen was just cleaned up, repainted and made pretty again.”

 

Pretty she is, and I still hope some day catching her at work.

 

 

One more here . . . although I found this on youtube . . .  a streaming music/light show on Bannerman’s Island, coming up in a few days.  Tickets are available now. 

And a last one, survey vessel Shearwater was working at the Narrows the other day.  Her track on AIS illustrates what she was doing.

Many thanks to David, xlime, and Brad for use of these photos.

Random Tugs 312

It’s the season.

I wonder if the Kimberly crew has marked other holidays and I missed it.  I did catch the red-clad guy almost a year ago.

Mary H and her barge Patriot is likely headed for Newtown Creek.  The 1981 build, such a clean looking tug, has been working in the sixth boro for 33 years.

We’ve had a spate of foggy days.  Beyond Franklin here, notice the bright lights at Bayonne Shipyard where work proceeds on Mendonca even at night.

The mechanical dredge J. P. Boisseau here gets moved to a new worksite by Sarah Ann, with Brian Nicholas standing by.

A Maersk ship came in recently with a gaggle of assist boats:  l to r, Ava, Ellen, and Matthew. Not visible is Charles D. McAllister, and the visible Thomas J. Brown is not assisting.Yes, Matthew Tibbetts is doing a fair amount of ship assist work these days, and why not. 

Here are two more photos of Matthew Tibbetts doing ship assist.

Helen Laraway passed through with a load of scrap.

Poling & Cutler’s Crystal and Evelyn pass in opposite directions.

HMS Justice has eluded my eyes for quite a while, but here she is, with the Centerline Logistics feline on the superstructure.

All photos, WVD.

Random Tugs 311

Behold an entire fleet, and the current boats of a family business operating boats in New York since 1927.

The Brown family boats are distinguished by their color and meticulous condition. 

 

Maybe you can’t tell by their condition, but one of these boats dates from 2015, one from 2002, and one from 1962.  Styling may give it away, if you don’t just already know.

With all this foggy weather fading out the background, the green livery and polychromatic trim really pops out.

 

 

 

Off to work.  In case you don’t know, Thomas is from 1962, and James . . . from 2015.

All photos, WVD.

Retro Sixth Boro 25 b

Followingup from yesterday and “…maybe it’s time for new permutations of truckster, teamster, bikester, autoster, planester, hutster, hikester, storyster, . . . ” let me say you’ve sent in some great ideas which I’ll follow up on in the next few days.

For now, let’s glance back 10 years to April 2010.  Any idea what this is all about?

Indeed, it was the arrival of 343!  Here‘s the post I did on that event.

A perennial harbor towing star is the Thomas J. Brown.  Here‘s the post with these now reposted photos.  What’s amazing to me here is the fact that two scows are being towed on a single hawser attached front starboard side of the lead barge.

Maybe there’s a term for this, other than brilliant?

Currently a tug operates through the harbor with the name Curtis Reinauer. Actually it’s the third boat with that name.  The one depicted below, 1979, the second iteration, is now in West African waters.  The original Curtis was reefed, although I haven’t located where.

APL Japan, with its port of registry as Oakland CA, was built in 1995;  since she appears not to have moved in some months from its anchorage in Gulf of Khambhat, I’m guessing she’s scrapped, although I can’t find evidence of that.

I count 15 containers across on the stern.

And finally, Steve Irwin, the Sea Shepherd boat, was in town in April 2010.  It has since been retired, was slated to be scrapped, but then saved as a museumship and is currently in Williamstown, Victoria in Australia.

The post I did on Irwin back then did not include the photo below, and

although I included the photo below, I did not comment on the ports of registry given, Rotterdam AND Kahnawake.  Now that I recognize what that is, I’m wondering about that relationship.  how many other vessels are Kahnawake registered?  Here‘s part of the story.

All photos here, WVD, taken in April 2010.

Stay healthy.

Tale of Two Tugboats 3

Following on yesterday’s comparison . . . two more tugboats, both active but with entirely different missions . . . I offer for your perusal, key word . . . perusal.

Thomas J. Brown, built 1962 and 60’x 19′ with hull depth of 8′, has a single CAT generating 1000 hp.

Ava M McAllister, christened in 2019 and 100′ x 40′ with a hull depth of 22′, has twin CAT mains generating 6770 hp.

The comparison is ludicrous from a performance perspective;  as I said before, they have entirely different missions.  Some comparisons here would make as little sense as pitting a pro stock race car against a top fuel machine . . .  but those are both drag strip cars.  Here’s another . . . compare a Grand National hydroplane with a Jersey Speed Skiff; they’re both race boats and not landing craft, both well-maintained and precision built for speed within defined parameters.  Likewise, above you’re looking at two tugboats, both of which are working boats in the sixth boro.

All photos, WVD, who’s learned the joys of hand washing.

Here’s another interesting comparison and why I said perusal:  Peru, South America with Peru, Indiana, North America with all the other Perus in the US.

 

 

Sixth Boro Close Ups 4

Here are previous installments, the last of which I did in 2011.

The idea here is just photos.  For identification, there’s text on the images and in the tags.

Morning light enhances the mostly thorough coating of steel with bright paint colors.

 

 

 

 

Next stop Belford for Midnight.  Too bad I don’t live closer to the Seafood Co-op there.

All photos by Will Van Dorp . . .

Random Tugs 277

Today it’s all light, technically.  Other than that, this set is all sizes, all ages, all powers, and all shapes.

Let’s start with  Gabby L., built in 2007 (?), 25.9′ x 13.7′, and rated as 660 hp.

Comparing that, check out Genesis Vigilant, which I first met as Michigan Service, (same order of numbers) 1981, 89′ x 28′, and 3000 hp.

Emily Ann, ex-Solomon Sea, ex-Brandon Roehrig and ex-Diane Roehrig, 1964, 89′ x 28′, and also 3000 hp.

Sea Fox, 2012, 69′ x 24′, and 1400 hp.

Joyce D. Brown, 2002, 78′ x 26′, and 2600 hp.

Fleetmate Thomas J. Brown, 1962, 61′ x 19′, and 1000 hp.

As I said before, technically light but about to engage the Seaspan ship, Jonathan C, 2016, 89′ x 38′, and 6000 hp.

And since we started out with Gabby L, let’s end there also, but you may have to look carefully to the left of the VZ bridge towers . . . . to spot her.  As I said before . . . all shapes and sizes, but they all work a niche in the sixth boro.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Thomas J. Brown 2

Thomas J. Brown came off the ways in 1962 as Thomas J. Brown.  Here‘s part 1 of this post, from almost a decade ago, and here are many photos since . . .

1962 is the same vintage as this truck, then newly arrived as a grounds truck for a Queens cemetery.  John Glenn went to space for the first time.  The Seattle Space Needle was completed.  And Thomas J. Brown came to the sixth boro.

The Watchtower is now the welcome sign, although the Lady still stands and that arch in the distance still has the same curve.

The Brooklyn Heights piers were active back then as piers, not playing fields.

Only some of the architectural icons existed on the Manhattan skyline when this iconic tugboat came to town.

The icon appearing over the passenger terminal existed in no one’s imagination, and containerization and the cranes to handle containers were on no drawing boards.

The Municipal Building and the Brooklyn Bridge, icons of the day, were already past the half century mark.   Cable Queen, already 10 years old, made the front page of the newspaper in almost exactly the same position. 

 

Thomas J. Brown has certainly worked around these waters for a long time, as Thomas J. Brown.

I’d love to see photos of the sixth boro and the other vessels of the harbor from her first year.   That year was the first for this WYTL, as well. Does anyone know how that restoration is going?  A Kristy Ann Reinauer was built, although she was then called Interstate Transporter–which sounds somewhat like a space vehicle–and but she’s already razor blades.

The vessel locally known today as Empire State VI was launched.  A young Johnny Cash was alive and singing about “Big River.”  Here‘s a much older one singing the same song, and that river is still whisking time away.

All photos of this icon among icons by Will Van Dorp, who puts these other facts about 1962 out there. By the way, that year, the first Walmart AND the first K-Mart opened, and their paths have truly diverged.

And here it is . . . almost last call for votes, polling for the calendar pages.

Random Tugs 268

Back in the sixth boro . . . it’s a head-on shot of Thomas J. Brown, with multiple icons of the harbor behind her.

Mister T pushes some loaded barges out east beneath the 59th Street Bridge in the photo below,

and tows twice as many empties westbound in the next photo.

Mary Turecamo shifts deck cargo barge New York from Red Hook over toward the other container ports of NYC/NJ, keeping a good number of trucks off the roads and bridges.

Meredith C. Reinauer moves RTC 150 out in the direction of the Sound.

Philadelphia pushes fuel barge Double Skin 503 into the Kills, over to where Ellen McAllister assists Genesis Liberty out of her IMTT berth.

Then Genesis Liberty moves GM 11105 around and outbound.

Robert Burton, usually pushing compacted garbage barges, the other day was doing

rock scow duty.

And rounding out this post, Ava M. McAllister, still in her first half year of working in the sixth boro, heads out to escort in a vessel just in from sea.

All photos recently by Will Van Dorp.