Random Tugs 339

“Random Tugs 001” I posted in October 2007, 14 years ago.  The motivation for such a post then, as now, comes from the observation that what passes you by, either on the water, the roadway, or even the sidewalk or hallway, is often just random.  It’s foolish to look for meaning or significance where there is none. So here’s installment 339.

Genesis Glory, 1979, 3900 and 120′ x 34′

Janet D, 2015, 1320, and 67′ x 26′

Sarah D, 1975, 2000, and 90′ x 29′

HMS Justice, 2013, 2000, and 75′ x 30′

Sarah Ann, 2003, 2700, and 78′ x 26′

Charles D. McAllister, 1967, 1800, and 94′ x 29′

Durham . . . I’ve seen her a long time, I believe she’s operated by Ken’s Marine, but I don’t know anything more.

Kodi with Hayward back by the bridge.  Kodi dates back to 1974, under 500, and 43′ x 15′, I think.

L. M. Caddell works near the floating dry docks. The upper wheelhouses at the Reinauer yard in the background, I’d guess Dace, Stephen, and JoAnne III.  I’m sure I’ll be corrected.  I don’t believe the shorter “upper house” to the right is installed on a tugboat.  Now I’m really sure I’ll be corrected.  As for simple specs on the Caddell yard tug . . . sorry.

Coho, 2008, 4000, and 111′ x 36′

All photos, WVD, and happy “fly the official flag day.“

Meditations T

T . . . teamwork.  Not the same idea as teams, which suggests competition.  Teamwork . . . only unites all those people invested in the same project, whether they get along or not.  Like maintaining buoys marking the channel, benefitting people on the water as well as those on land.

Like USACE Hayward responding to reports of hull-puncturing, wheel-destroying debris afloat in the channels.

Like Capt Log getting fuel where it’s needed and when.

Like Baltic Sea and its entire crew–invisible here–reporting to the next job, as

is true of Comet, its dispatchers, and harbor traffic controllers.

Ditto Huki, if that’s the canoe’s name.  I love the outrigger.

As well as Spartan Service

And Morton S. Bouchard IV and Kristin Poling and every other

boat and ship that negotiates passage on 1 or 2.  Like Marjorie B McAllister and Cape Cod.

And Meredith C. Reinauer and all the boat crew as well as shore crew, professional and personal.

And Delaware Bay . . . it can dredge away sand and silt to keep the channel clean ONLY because of its talented and dedicated crew and the efforts of hydrographers who determined what invisible amounts of earth was extraneous.

So who works alone?  Nobody that I know, not even those who sit in their workspace alone like the crane operator solo in the control cabin hundreds of feet above the hoi polloi;  even that solitaire draws a paycheck and follows orders or gives them.  And we belong to all kinds of non-competitive teams simultaneously:  ones that pay for our daily food, drink, and shelter.  Ones that keep us safe in so many contexts.  Ones that make us smile and chase away our blahs and blues.  Ones that intrigue us and keep us curious.  Ones that back us up when we feel vulnerable.  Ones that trim us when we get too brazen or sure.  Even the ones we don’t get along with;  Hudson danced  teamwork steps with Juet, even while lowering Henry, young John Hudson, and eight stalwarts overboard to their deaths on the cold waters of Hudson Bay. I could go on, but you get my point.  I’m reminded of the point.  Teamwork . . . sounds trite . . . but isn’t.

All fotos . . . Will Van Dorp.

Meditations M

M . . . mast.  I love the wikipedia disambiguation pages, where a range of contexts for words like mast or masthead defies expectation.

Cornell sports its mast toward the stern; running lights there convey information about vessel size, type, and activity.

Clearwater, a sloop, has a one mast topping out at about 110 feet.

On City of Water Day, USACE Drift Collection vessel Hayward sports code flags on its mast and a sampling of collected debris on its foredeck.

Pioneer, a schooner, has two masts, the mainmast topped out at just under 77 feet.

Sandy Hook Pilots vessel Yankee has units (besides the radar and GPS) on its mast I can’t identify.

Bunkering tanker Capt Log‘s foremast carries a red flag, signaling fuel.

So does barge DBL 76.  Mast height on Adriatic Sea is 85 feet, if airdraft equals height of the highest mast or antenna.  I fear I might be blurring a definition here.

Volunteer, air draft of 114 feet and pushing DBL 105, meets Turecamo Boys assisting Seven Express out to to sea.

USCG WPB67356 Sailfish, not surprisingly, carries mast gear not readily identified by a civilian like me.

Miriam Moran, assisting with docking, keeps the upper portion of its mast safely lowered where flaring bows cannot damage it.

Masts can signal information but of course sometimes signaling is optional or even undesired.  Masts allow things to be seen, but one has to know what should remain unseen.  An effective mast needs strength, and sometimes that means it is flexible.

Both submarines and whaling ships have masts.  For some good fun, check out this six-minute video of  a struggle between Captain Ahab and Moby Das Boot.

Also, just for fun:  How might you complete this sentence:

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.  Send me your original sentence completions.

Government Boats 8

Hmm . . . a 38′ ZFXO?

with all that speed cruising for mermaids?

Corps of Engineers vessel Hudson has nice lines, but I’m unable to locate much info about about its history or mission.

Cormorant is the DEP skimmer vessel, fishing for floatables. See p. 19 of this great overview of the City’s wastewater process.

It might be irreverent to say this, but COE’s Hayward seemed to use the flag as jib in order to turn on its axis. Tell me I saw that wrong.

Photos, WVD.