Vane Brothers 2

According to the family history here, they started with schooners and currently, besides oil, they push water and do more.  Monday I caught Susquehanna standing by along the KVK as container vessel Zim Shenzhen hurried for its assignation in Port Elizabeth.

The following four pics come from Jim Demske, who’s worked for Vane for over twenty years as Captain and is now Port Captain in charge of “New Tug Construction.”   Elk River entered service mid-summer 2009, just a little over six months after Sassafras did.

Seabart sends along a link to the 23 August issue of Tugs Towing & Offshore Newsletter with a short piece about the Charles Burton launch:  see page 4/12 of this link.  Charles Burton is sibling to Elk River and Sassafras.

Compare wheelhouse of a Sassafras class with

that of Vane Brothers largest class–Brandywine.  Click on boatnerd’s site here for pics of Brandywine’s first splash in early 2006 at Marinette Marine in cold  Wisconsin.  These folks also built the Molinari class Staten Island ferries.

More Brandywine and its mate Double Skin 141 here, loa 480′ and capacity of 145,000 barrels, also built in Wisconsin.

Jeff Anzevino took the next two fotos, Potomac of the Patapsco class, operating in the icy

Hudson north of Poughkeepsie.

Like the lead foto, I took this one.  In this case,  Patapsco thrusts forward and divides Hudson water in the Great North River race in 2007.  Beyond Patapsco are Lucy Reinauer and Nathan E. Stewart.  The two cruise ships mostly visible are Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Dawn.

Again, special thanks to Jim and Jeff for use of these pictures.

Meditations Z

Z . . . the end.   Of the alphabet but not the blog.  This A through Z set of meditations–with one medication slipped in on Q day–happened quite by chance.  If I am moved to repeat the series, Z could be ZULU time, z-drive or Zuider Zee.  Or Zachery Reinauer (Cohoes, NY-built and ex-Mobil 1 and Tioga)  . . .

or Zim San Francisco,

one of more than 40 vessels operated by Zim Integrated Services.  Again below is Zim San Francisco and McAllister Sisters.

Or Zhen Hua 10, one of many differing only in the number suffix.

Or Zim Qingdao or

Or Zim Shenzhen.

Or Zim Virginia . . . here following Mary Gellatly.

But actually I’m reflecting on something different . . .  non-tangible.  Zulu tango, my invented term for

“zero tolerance,” a term which is way overused.  Zulu tango (“zebra tango”  . ..  some striped equines doing a sultry dance snout à snout  . . . would be more fun to imagine) or ZT gets my complete support in some areas, like operating any large or lethal machine under “the influence.”  But then ZT gets overused . . . like in the case of the “end of the pocket knife.”  It reminds me of the time I was almost arrested as I entered the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian just after sailing:  when they ran my backpack through the scanner, they found my boat “tool” and spike, which I’d forgotten was there.

So here’s my list of  ZT acts:  no postponing projects, no assuming outcomes, no ducking disagreement, no enabling chaos, no hobbling myself, no losing sight of priorities . . . .and I guess I might as well say . . . no excessive zebra tango.    Thank you for bearing with me in this series of meditations.  Time to move on, although I’m happy to hear your association(s) with different letters of the alphabet in this vein.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Meditations J

J . . . jaded. Jaded I am sometimes after being jostled and jerked around, about to be jettisoned into the likes of Newtown Creek.  Like the joke is on me because I’ve given and given more and have’t gotten any.  Done the same things so long I can’t tell if I’m doing them or just dreaming.  It’s rained so long I’ve forgotten what the sun looks like.  I swig some wine and it tastes like water.  I make a lunch, but can’t take more than two bites.  Jaded, humdrum.  Kind of like the Staten Island ferry that ever only shuttles back and forth, back and forth between St George Staten Island and Whitehall Manhattan.

Then a friend tells me he saw the Staten Island ferry up the East River.  Another friend swears she saw it gallivanting up the North River.  Can’t be, I think.  So this morning I see a strange distant vessel east bound on the KVK.

I think . . . that color I know, and

the shape is about right, but  . ..  It turns out this ferry Michael Cosgrove runs on the Long Island Sound.

Once the spell is broken, my eyes are opened.  Bow watch on Zim Shenzhen is a freckle-faced red-headed boy, and

on Turkon Furth is a young woman.  And up on the bridge

is another.  What if –my jaded spell broken –I found myself seeing the unexpected with every glance!

And so many mariners were women that a man on a ship would draw  attention.

Anyhow, the impact of seeing Michael Cosgrove was that I turned . . . from jaded to almost jolly.  Seaweed on rocks turned glossy jade green, and even the water rats, scurrying around their habitat looked a shiny, healthy, happy nuanced gray.  I still had to go to work, but at least for a spell, I felt better.  Stopping by the river on the way to work . . . always a good idea.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.  Remember . .  click on fotos to expand them now.

Most likely “H” comes tomorrow.