Old Years 2022

I’m back and just in time for the last day of the year, which –as explained in previous years— in my Dutch tradition is a reflection day, a time to if not assess then at least recall some of the sights of the past 12 months.  A photo-driven blog makes that simultaneously easy and hard;  easy because there’s a photographic record and not easy because there’s such an extensive photographic record to sift though.

A word about this set of photos:  these are some “seconds” that did not make the final cut for my 2023 tugster calendar.  The actual calendars are still available if you’ve not ordered one;  find the order info here. I’m ordering a bunch myself. 

One windy day last January I caught a Pilot No 1–the old New York–doing drills under the VZ Bridge.  Just recently I met one of the engineers on that boat, a person with epic stories about the sixth boro.

A warm day in February, I caught JRT Moran assisting QM2 into her Red Hook berth. 

March I spent a delightful day on Douglas B. Mackie observing the water side of a Jersey shore beach replenishment project, thanks to the hard-working folks at GLDD. 

April . . .  I caught Jane McAllister heading out;  correct if I’m wrong, but my sense is that soon afterward she made her way down to South America to join the expanding ranks of US-built tugs working on various projects on the south side of the Caribbean. 

As a member of the Canal Society of NYS, I had the opportunity to see Urger up close and sun-warmed on the bank of the Oswego in Lysander NY. 

A clutch of Centerline tugboats waited for their next assignment at the base just east of the Bayonne Bridge.   Note the fully foliated trees beyond them along the KVK.

From the humid heat of western Louisiana and onto the Gulf of Mexico, Legs III–shown 

here spudded up just east of SW Pass, afforded a memorable journey on its way up to the sixth boro.  Thx, Seth. 

Back in the boro, later in August, a Space X rocket recovery boat named Bob–for an astronaut– came through the sixth boro.  More on Bob–the astronaut–here. 

In September, I finally got to my first ever Gloucester schooner race, thanks to Rick Miles of Artemis, the sailboat and not the rocket. 

Icebreaker Polar Circle was in the boro a few days in September as well.  Now it’s up in Canada, one hopes doing what icebreakers are intended to do. US naval logistics vessel Cape Wrath is at the dock in Baltimore ready and waiting a logistics assignment. 

Ticonderoga certainly and Apache possibly are beyond their time working and waiting.  I believe Ticonderoga is at the scrappers in Brownsville. 

Passing the UN building on the East River, veteran Mulberry is currently out of the army and working in the private sector.  I’ve a request:  for some time I’ve seen a tug marked as Scholarie working the waters west of the Cape Cod Canal;  a photo suggested it might be called Schoharie. Anyone help out?

And finally, a photo taken just two days ago while passing through the sixth boro during what can hardly be called “cover of darkness” it’s Capt Joseph E. Pearce on its way to a shipyard on the mighty Rondout to pick up some custom fabrication for a Boston enterprise. Many thanks to the Stasinos brothers for the opportunity.

I’d be remiss in ending this post and this year without mentioning lost friends, preserving a memory of their importance to me personally . . .  Bonnie of frogma–first ever to comment of this blog so many years ago and a companion in many adventures– and Mageb, whose so frequent comments here I already miss. 

I plan to post tomorrow, although I may miss my high noon post time because I hope to post whatever best sunrise 2023 photos I can capture in the morning.  

Happy, safe, and prosperous new year to you all.  I’m posting early today because I want my readers who live much much farther east than the sixth boro to get these wishes before their new trip around the sun begins. Bonne annee!  Gelukkig nieuwjaar!

Sixth Boro Details 14

This will be the last post for a few days . . .   William F. Fallon Jr. at the Statue.

Thomas D. Witte, dredge Delaware, Durham, and some smaller boats in the Upper Bay.

Marjorie B. McAllister with NYNJR 200 on the Brooklyn side. 

Jessica Ann and another RIB appear to be involved in diving ops.  Brrr.

Schuylkill moves a tank barge across the boro.

James William tows a mooring into Erie Basin.

And finally, the ever busy Chandra B heads for the Kills.

All photos recently, WVD, who hopes to be back by week’s end.

 

Sixth Boro Details 12

Here are previous posts in the series.

Look closely at the image of William F. Fallon Jr. below;  something is unusual there.

Note that Bluefin below is juxtaposed with the Whale on shore. The Whale might be an interesting location to visit someday.

Bayonne Drydock has Schuylkill high and dry and Go Discovery along the bulkhead.

Hull design and bridge configuration are unusual.  Who designed this vessel?

Big rocks

await some jetty project, I suppose.  Anyone know where?

See the difference in ladder configuration between Charleston and

Jacksonville?  Both boats are Elizabeth Anne class boats, so why the difference in ladders?

Since 2014, October has been breast cancer awareness month, a tradition begun by Moran. 

Other companies like Kirby and Bouchard joined in previous years as well. 

 

This year so far, Stasinos is the only other company I’ve seen mark awareness of the disease this year.  Have I missed anyone?

Finally, getting back to the Fallon photo that led off this post.  Fallon is a pin boat, and yet, she’s attached to the barge Long Island with push gear.  Does this combination really operate this way?  I’m just curious.

All photos and questions, any errors, WVD.

 

Non-Random Tugs 10

Centerline Logistics is a relatively new name.  Or should that be pronounced “sent her lion”?

The orange “centerline” is also gradually being added to the fleet.  Andrea was here three years–and sans upper house-– before she became a lion boat;  here was first I saw that part of her logo. 

Name this one?

Lightning has recently returned to the boro.   Named for a horse?   

So here’s the unit pushing Long Island, and getting an assist

from Lightning.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

 

June Thirtyfirst

Happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north, where half my relatives come from.

I barely saw the sixth boro this June, so I had to catch up a bit, adding another day to the month to do so.  Over by the Bayonne Centerline yard, I saw three previously Bouchard boats all wearing or about the wear the lion.  L to r, it’s now Ellen S. Bouchard, Adeline Marie, and William F. Fallon Jr, previously named

Ellen S. Bouchard, Denise A. Bouchard, and J. George Betz

I also noticed a flag flying at what appeared to be half mast. 

 

I wonder if that flag marked the passing of Capt. Brian A. McAllister, long an iconic figure in the all the boros of NYC.  This photo below was taken at the christening of Ava M. McAllister in midJuly 2019.

All photos, WVD.

 

Random Tugs 372

Dana Alexa is another seldom seen tugboat in the sixth boro of NYC;

although painted DonJon blue, she’s now a Breakwater Marine boat, I believe.

It was good to see the 1958 54′ boat with a barge of what appears to be sheet piling.

William F. Fallon Jr. has appeared here several times recently.

Robert IV has worked in the boro for over 30 years.

 

Linda L. Miller originally was called Frog Belly.  I like that name.

And finally, you most likely by now have heard about the barge carrying scrap metals that caught fire on Delaware Bay and you may have wondered how scrap metals could burn.  What follows is a series of photo I took in mid-April of a similar load.

This load was towed by Mackenzie Rose;  the one that caught fire was towed by fleetmate Daisy Mae. Loads like this have been fairly common on the run from the sixth boro to the Delaware River.

Of course an investigation of the fire, which was confined to the barge, will take some time,

but scrapyard fires are fairly common.  Here‘s an unrelated though germane article from the BBC.

All photos, WVD.

Really Random Tugs 49

Call this the seldom-seen version of RRT.  I love that blue and the name on this 1954 tugboat.

Kenny G …. I caught her tied up on the south side of Hudson River Pier 25, but by the time I got back there, Kenny G

had moved tow elsewhere. 

And here are a few maybe never before seen in the sixth boro from Capt. μηδέν, who sends along the next four shots.   Meet the 1981 Marcella G. Gondran, which autocorrect insists incorrectly must be Honduran.

Also from the peripatetic sailor, here’s H. J. Reinauer and Iron Salvor, the latter certainly being an unusual vessel.  I know some stories, but i’d love to learn more about this global nomad. 

 Here’s H. J. with the more familiar Diane B in this framing.   H. J. is a 1979 Jakobson-built tug that appears to be headed to a new life in the very far south. 

This version of Little Toot . . .  is another I’ve not seen in ages.  Often that moniker goes to any much-smaller tugboat. This 61′ x 21′ 1977 tug came from the Blount shipyard.

And to close it out, here’s another shot of William F. Fallon Jr. over by the KV buoy.   The the former J. George Betz from 1995.

Unless attributed to Capt. μηδέν, all photos, WVD.

Denise Rubia Adeline

The other day I was on the OBX near Hatteras, and when I checked who was passing by at sea,  I noticed an Adeline Marie.  I had to look at the image because it was an unfamiliar name.

When I saw this boat along the KVK on Saturday, I wondered who it was, since the lion was there but no name boards.

The stern was smooth.

Later she turned and

lo and behold!  Adeline Marie must be the newest name in the sixth boro.

A few months ago here she was clearly Rubia, and below longer ago before she was Denise.

Here’s another shot of Centerline’s renamed J. George Betz. Betz mostly recently appeared on this blog in these posts, still mostly or entirely in Bouchard red.

And finally, here’s the former Evening Star, now Jordan Rose, and floating. See Evening Star‘s transformation in these posts.

All photos, WVD.

Other Peoples Photos 97

Thanks to Tony A and a new contributor, Ray M, here is more on the dispersal of the Bouchard fleet.  One boat has been renamed William F. Fallon Jr.  Know the boat?  Know the reference?  I’d say William F. Fallon Jr. is the newest name in the sixth boro.

Tony A sent the photo above and below, showing Susan Rose and Anna Rose.  Do you know their previous names?

Ray M got some closer up photos of the stern of Anna Rose yesterday. 

The barge used to be the 2012  B. No. 250.  More on that and her 2019 sister 252 here. 

And how new is the paint on that name?  Well . . . isn’t that masking tape beside the letters?

Many thanks to Tony A and Ray M for use of these photos.

Here’s more on William F. Fallon Jr:  the namesake was a Port Authority manager who died on 9/11.  The vessel used to be J. George Betz and has been purchased by Centerline Logistics.

Susan used to be Evening Breeze and Anna used to be Jane A. Bouchard.

Unrelated:  Greenpeace is in the sixth boro, protesting Russian crude deliveries here, allowed by the sanctions.  Here is a Greenpeace tracker that follows some of the tankers that have departed Russian ports with petro cargo since the attack on Ukraine began.