Retro Sixth Boro 53

Alaska has the Iditarod, Quebec City has the ice canoe races, Honobia OK has the Bigfoot 5K and there’s still time to make plans to get there.  And sometimes, the sixth boro (and lots of other waterway cities) has tugboat races.  

Enjoy this smattering of photos from Sept 2, 2012.

As often is the case, the weather was fabulous and a large number of organizations turned out with one or more boats for the race, the pushing, the line toss, the spinach eating, the grudge match maybe, and the beauty contest. 

 

Boats get decked out with almost every flag available.

There’s old school and new school padding .  . or fendering.

Some traveled in formation for the line up.

The Bronx came all the way from . . . da Bronx’ Westchester Creek.

Preliminary heats resulted in finalists to take on the fearsome, the feral, the never forgotten

Pegasus.

In the wake of the class 1 boats, the Hudson had developed some chop for classes 2 and 3.

Note the gent tossing the line has his entire coaching staff and his closest advisors on hand to help him guide the eye over the bollard.

All photos, September 2, 2012, WVD, who hopes NYC’s sixth boro sees a tugboat race in 2023.  If not by power boats, maybe it could be a rowing race in Whitehalls and dories.  . . . Here are the boats in the race back in 1952.   Here are some other tugboats racing in NYC in the 1950s.