Archive for the ‘Hudson River’ Category
Hudson River, October 17th, 2010
Hudson River, October 17th, 2010 – photos by Mitch Waxman
A trip from Cold Spring to Manhattan, aboard the John J. Harvey Fireboat.
2010 Great North River Tugboat Race
– photos by Mitch Waxman
Sunday the 5th of September saw the Hudson River boiling with Tugboats, and your humble narrator was onboard the stout Launch 5 (a former NYPD patrol boat- aka the Patrolman Walburger- whose sturdy crew generously hosted me) shooting photos. Check out the flickr slideshow above (which can also be accessed here) and the race results below.
The Race results as released by the Working Harbor Committee:
18th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition – 5 September 2010 Working Harbor Committee
SHIP, Company – TIME- HP – CLASS – FINISH IN CLASS
- Maurania III – McAllister Towing – 5:09 – 4,000- A 1
- Cornell – Lehigh Maritime – 5:15 – 1,800 – A 2 (tie)
- Meagan Ann – Donjon Marine – 5:15 – 2,000 – A 2 (tie)
- Cheyenne – Donjon Marine – 5:25 – 1,800 – A 3
- Atlantic Salver – Donjon Marine – 5:55 – 7,200 – A 4
- Catherine Miller – Miller’s Launch – 6:23 – 1,200 – B 1
- Susan Miller – Miller’s Launch – 6:36 – 1,500 – B 2
- Sea Wolf – Sea Wolf Marine – 6:49 – 1,400 – B 3
- Mary H – Bren Transportation – 6:52 – 900 – B 4
- Vulcan – Derrick Marine – 6:56 – 500 – C 1
- W. O. Decker – Seaport Museum – 7:31 – 285 – C 2
- The Bronx – Robert & Lucy Apuzzo – 7:40 – 220 – C 3
- Shawn Miller – Miller’s Launch – 8:29 – 600 – C 4
- Lt. Michael Murphy – Scott Koen – 8:39 – 180 – C 5
Line Throw-
- Cheyenne 15 seconds
- Maurania III 16 seconds
- Susan Miller 18 seconds
Best Looking Tug- Mary H
Best Vintage Tug- Vulcan (1958)
Little Toot- The Bronx
Best Dressed- Meagan Ann (Pirates)
Best Tattoo- Meagan Ann (Multiple nautical tattoos)
Best Mascot- Maurania III (Chihuahua Maddie McAllister, wearing McAllister hat and
carried by small children)
Team Spirit (tie)- Miller’s Launch (3), Donjon Marine (3)
One of the big K-Sea boats arrived too late to compete.
Winners – Spinach Eating Contest
- Adult: Manny Rebelo (of tug Cornell)
- Child: Roland McAllister
harbor shots
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the start of June, your humble narrator was offered the rare chance to act as… a humble narrator.
Nobody of more august character was available, I supposed, when the Working Harbor Committee asked me if I would be interested in speaking during a Circle Line cruise.
Wow.
from wikipedia
Circumnavigation of Manhattan became possible in 1905 with the construction of the Harlem Ship Canal, the first regularly scheduled trip being the Tourist captained by John Roberts in 1908.
On June 15, 1945 Frank Barry, Joe Moran and other partners merged several sightseeing boats to form the Circle Line operating out of Battery Park.
In 1955 it began operating at its current Pier 83 location. In 1962 it bought the Hudson River Day Line.
In 1981 the two companies split.
In 1988 the 42nd Street company bought World Yachts operating upscale dining cruises from Chelsea Piers. In 1998 the 42nd Street company also launched The Beast, a speedboat ride which takes tourists around the Statue of Liberty and goes 45 mph.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An eerie quiet came over me when the microphone was first passed over, and panic quickly overcame any attempt at “being cool”. Luckily, veteran MC John Doswell of the Working Harbor Committee rescued a drowning man. By the second tour of the day, I managed to catch a little of his “vibe” and followed the narrative he supplied after my disappointing showing on the first tour. While John was speaking I managed to grab a few interesting shots. The fireboat above, for instance, is the FDNY’s newly minted 343 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
from nycfireboat.com
Because of the very real threat of additional terrorist attacks after 9/11/01, the boats will also be capable of protecting firefighters from Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear agents (CBRN). While performing in any of these hostile environments, the crew will be protected in a pressurized area that will also have it’s air supply filtered by special charcoal and HEPA filters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As always, the Empire State Building commands the scene from both the East River…
from wikipedia
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District. It features some of the oldest architecture in downtown Manhattan, and includes the largest concentration of restored early 19th-century commercial buildings in the city. This includes renovated original mercantile buildings, renovated sailing ships, the former Fulton Fish Market, and modern tourist malls featuring food, shopping and nightlife, with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. At the entrance to the Seaport is the Titanic Memorial lighthouse.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
And from the North- or lower Hudson- River. There is a satisfaction to the design of this structure, a governing and massive esthetic that has always drawn me. Center stage is where it belongs, IMHO, with the rest of the skyline of Manhattan descending in bilateral asymmetries around it. Empire State and its nearby rival- the Chrysler Building- are what skyscrapers should look like.
from wikipedia
The building design most closely associated with New York City is the skyscraper, whose introduction and widespread adoption saw New York buildings shift from the low-scale European convention to the vertical rise of business districts.
As of August 2008, New York City has 5,538 highrise buildings,[70] with 50 completed skyscrapers taller than 656 feet (200 m). This is more than any other city in United States, and second in the world behind Hong Kong. New York has architecturally noteworthy buildings in a wide range of styles. These include the Woolworth Building (1913), an early gothic revival skyscraper built with massively scaled gothic detailing able to be read from street level several hundred feet below. The 1916 Zoning Resolution required setback in new buildings, and restricted towers to a percentage of the lot size, to allow sunlight to reach the streets below.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Traffic observed on the Hudson included this tug, the Shannon Dann heading South. 96 feet long, 31 feet high, and blessed with 2 2,400 HP engines- it’s hitched to a Lehigh Cement barge, slipping it past the Marine and Aviation Pier. Shots like these hang on the Empire State building, which says New York City louder than any banner headline could.
from lehighcement.com
Lehigh Cement Company was founded in 1897 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Over the years, through a visionary policy of acquisitions, equipment modernization and productivity improvements, Lehigh Cement Company and its related companies have become leading suppliers of cements and construction materials in the United States and Canada.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also noticed was the Vane Brothers Nanticoke, a 2004 vintage tug nearly 95 feet long with 4,800 HP purring under its hood. Again- no Empire State Building- Meh shot.
from vanebrothers.com
The Vane Brothers Company has served the maritime industry in the Port of Baltimore and the U.S. Eastern Seaboard for more than 100 years. Today, we are comprised of five divisions operating out of the ports of Baltimore, Maryland; Brooklyn, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Norfolk, Virginia.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Chelsea Piers in the fore. By the end of the second tour, I thought that I hit some kind of rhythm and felt better about my performance. Ultimately your humble narrator was able to forget his troubles for a moment, as it was quite a beautiful day.
from wikipedia
Chelsea Piers is a series of historic piers on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City that was a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Titanic.
The piers are currently used by the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex. The new complex includes film and television production facilities, including those for CBS College Sports Network and Food Network, a health club, a day spa, the city’s largest training center for gymnastics, two basketball courts, playing fields for indoor lacrosse and soccer, batting cages, a rock climbing wall and dance studios. In addition there is an AMF Bowling center, a golf club with multi-story driving range, and two full sized ice rinks for skating. It is located in the Chelsea neighborhood, on the northern edge of Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District.
Circumnavigation 1
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The reason that I was in Manhattan on Saturday the 24th of April, rather than wandering about the dystopian hillocks of Western Queens (as usual), was that a friend was gathering a group of photographers and urban explorer types together on- of all things- a tourist boat. Coupons for a discount trip, and the offer of fraternal companionship, drew me to the west side of Manhattan to ride along for the three hour circumnavigation of the Shining City. The boat left from Pier 83, lately known as “the Circle Line” pier, on the Hudson River. That’s the John J. Harvey fireboat, incidentally- for more on the Harvey- click here, and here, and here.
from wikipedia
The Circle Line is the collective name given to two sightseeing ferry operations in Manhattan:
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises at 42nd Street which circles Manhattan from its base at Pier 83 in Manhattan
Circle Line Downtown operates out of Pier 16, South Street Seaport. The company name is Circle Line Harbor Cruises, LLC. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Circle Line Statue of Liberty.
- The two companies split in 1981 from the parent Circle Line company and now have different officers and directors.
- Circumnavigation of Manhattan became possible in 1905 with the construction of the Harlem Ship Canal, the first regularly scheduled trip being the Tourist captained by John Roberts in 1908.
- On June 15, 1945 Frank Barry, Joe Moran and other partners merged several sightseeing boats to form the Circle Line operating out of Battery Park.
- In 1955 it began operating at its current Pier 83 location. In 1962 it bought the Hudson River Day Line.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
River traffic was at a minimum, and the relict gems that dot the coastlines were glittering in the morning sunlight. Pictured above is the Erie-Lackawanna ferry terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey.
check out this fascinating post at Hoboken411.com which details the reconstruction of this historic structure’s clock tower in recent years.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the behemoth tourist ship entered into NY Harbor proper from the Hudson, along came the Marie J. Turecamo tugboat- a 2,250 HP twin screw tug operated by Moran Towing. It was originally built as the Traveller in 1968, by Tangier Marine Transport which operated out of the Main Iron Works facility in Houma, LA.
from morantug.com
Moran is a leading provider of marine towing and transportation services, a 150-year-old corporation that was founded as a small towing company in New York Harbor and grew to preeminence in the industry. The cornerstone of our success has been a long-standing reputation for safe, efficient service, achieved through a combination of first-rate people and outstanding vessels and equipment.
Over the course of its history Moran has steadily expanded and diversified, and today offers a versatile range of services stemming from its core capabilities in ship docking, contract towing, LNG activities and marine transportation. Our tug fleet serves the most ports of any operator in the eastern United States, and services LNG terminals along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and the West Coast of Mexico. The Moran barge fleet serves the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, the Great Lakes, the inland waters of the U.S. eastern seaboard, and the Gulf of Mexico. We also provide worldwide marine transportation services, including operations in the Caribbean and periodic voyages to South America and overseas waters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Playing at the serious business of being a tourist is no easy job. The Circle Line narration points out interesting features observed along its route, making frequent mention of “the sights they came to see”. An image of the Statue of Liberty is a popular and desired memory for visitors to the Shining City to acquire, and I couldn’t let it pass without a cursory shot. The events of September 11, 2001 received repeated mention in the script as well.
from wikipedia
The statue is made of a sheathing of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel (originally puddled iron) with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf (originally made of copper and later altered to hold glass panes). It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151 ft (46 m) tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft (93 m) tall.
Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States.[11] For many years it was one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants and visitors after ocean voyages from around the world.
The statue is the central part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, administered by the National Park Service. The National Monument also includes Ellis Island.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Speaking of 911, one of the newer Coast Guard patrol boats was busily speeding by. This is a “response boat small” I believe, and it was quick and seemed ready to become deadly at any moment.
from uscg.mil
Response Boat-Small (RB-S) was developed in a direct response to the need for additional Homeland Security assets in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Defender-class boats were procured under an emergency acquisition authority.
With a contract option for up to 700 standard response boats, the Defender-class acquisition is one of the largest boat buys of its type in the world.
The 100 boat Defender A -class (RB-HS) fleet began arriving at units in May 2002 and continued through August 2003. After several configuration changes, most notably a longer cabin and shock mitigating rear seats, the Defender B-class RB-S boats were born.
This fleet was first delivered to the field in October 2003, and there are currently 457 Defender-class boats in operation assigned to the Coast Guard’s Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST), Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT), Marine Safety Units (MSU), and Small Boat Stations throughout the Coast Guard.
Mission Capability:
With an overall length of 25 feet, two 225 horsepower outboard engines, unique turning radius, and gun mounts both forward and aft, the Defender-class boats are the ultimate waterborne assets for conducting high speed maneuvering tactics in a small deployable package. This is evidenced by the fact that several Defender-class boats are already in operation at other Homeland Security Department agencies, as well as foreign military services for homeland security missions.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the Circle Line crossed into the East River, nearing the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, however, a ship that’s familiar to long time readers of this Newtown pentacle appeared- the M/V Red Hook.
from wnyc.org
When the city invited a select few reporters aboard the Sludge Boat Red Hook, we figured it would reek, naturally enough. But, despite all that human waste and other organic cargo sloshing about, the boat smells just fine.
This is a nice, clean, next-generation sludge vessel: 350 feet long, cruising speed 10 knots. Inside the cabin, it’s all fancy gadgets, everywhere.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Red Hook is actually one of the newer Sludge Boats in the City’s fleet, built to modern specifications and environmental regulations.
from ny1.com
The $30 million boat, named Red Hook, is the latest addition to the marine fleet.
It will cart tons of sludge every day to waste water treatment plants. The plant on Wards Island processes about 200 million gallons a day of waste water; the sludge is the solid part of that waste.
“They are removing more of the solids from the water, we’re returning cleaner water to the harbor, but producing more sludge, and that’s a good news thing. But it also requires us to increase our capacity,” said acting DEP Commissioner Steven Lawitts. “This one is higher capacity. It has a capacity for 150,000 cubic feet of sludge, so it’s about 50 percent larger than previous boats.”
The Red Hook was built over a period of three years by a manufacturing company in Texas.
Hudson River
Another of those crazy days, I was invited to ride along on the yacht Manhattan recently, as it made its journey home to Scarano Boatbuilders in Albany for a checkup and scheduled maintenance. The day was unfortunately misty, but the slideshow will show you what I saw. There’s a couple of sequences in here which will get the full treatment- Esopus Island for instance- but that’s way off in the future. Right now, check out a trip from Manhattan to Albany via the Hudson River.
The Newtown Pentacle 