Archive for the ‘New York Harbor’ Category
unseen fingers
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– photo by Mitch Waxman
We only have nineteen days left until the end of the world on December 21 when the Mayan Calendar’s 13th b’ak’tun ends, and if you’ve got apocalypse problems, the FDNY Fireboat Three Forty Three is the sort of tool you will need to make it through the storm. I’ve talked a bit about this ship in the past, in the posts “growing ferocity” and “betwixt the horns“.
In another posting describing another model of Fireboat– “The Bravest”, a lecture conducted by an FDNY Harbor Unit commander- Chief James Dalton of the Marine 6 unit– which I had attended was mentioned.
Information passed on in this weeks Maritime Sunday posting is gleaned from the copious hand written notes I scribbled down during that lecture. Any errors will be due to my own confabulation of transmitted fact.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Three Forty Three is 140 feet long, and built for speed. Its flared bow allows it to cut through waves, and has a relationship to the engineering of the past, present, and future models of the Staten Island Ferry– height wise. The Marine Unit works with and utilizes land based fire companies to combat fires, and the boat is designed to accommodate and transport as many as thirty lubbers. The bulkhead is designed to flood and drain itself, which allows the boat to adjust its vertical height.
As seen in the shot above, however, it’s the monitors which amaze.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Monitor is what you call the high pressure water hose nozzle on a fireboat, and Three Forty Three has six. 5,200 gallons per minute, the main one of the fore is capable of 17,500 gpm alone. The monitors at the corners of the boat also serve as a self protection system, and operate as foggers to defeat radiant heat. In addition to water, they can also access and deploy two 1,600 tanks of fire retardant foam. There are also four manifolds which allow conventional fire hoses to be attached to the pumps, and connections are found for FDNY standard three inch and NJ five and twelve inch equipment.
Everything described is remote controlled from the hermetic wheel house.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Below deck is an interagency municipal command center connected to an esoteric series of sensors and electronic systems. Situational awareness is the purpose of a lot of what happens on the lower deck. There is also the engine room, which outputs an inconceivable 8,000 HP to either the pumps or the four sixty inch variable pitch propellers which provide motive actuation. There is also a crane with a man basket and a monitor, and a 17 foot launch for rescues. Additionally, there are capstans which can be used for towing or anchoring at various locations onboard.
A hearty, and awe stricken, Maritime Sunday shout out is sent to the crew of the Three Forty Three, who will surely ride out the Mayan Apocalypse and probably end up saving the world.
groveling obeisance
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– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, a short interval of puffy individual shots is being presented over the holiday weekend. Partially, this is owed to a debilitating back injury suffered last week which has reduced your humble narrator to the uniform of the house bound invalid- sweat pants and bathrobe- the other is that every now and then an individual image presented earlier in the year got swallowed by the post it was published in. To wit, the storied John J. Harvey fireboat upon the Hudson during the Op Sail event in late spring of 2012. A bizarre atmospheric light is captured therein, wherein storm clouds literally opened around the procession of ships and provided a somewhat eerie atmosphere. Those of us in the Working Harbor Committee ascribe such events to the otherworldly abilities of our own Captain Doswell, referring to the phenomena as “The Doswell Effect”.
held colloquy
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– photo by Mitch Waxman
Liberty persists in darkness, and threatening storms, and even on “Black Friday”. This one off shot, captured while onboard a Working Harbor Committee expedition during the summer of 2012, is one of my annular favorites simply for the presence of “crepuscular rays”. That’s the fancy thirteen dollar word way of describing the rays of light filtering down through the clouds.
kaleidoscopic rotation
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– photo by Mitch Waxman
The thanks I give today is to the Audubon Society, for bringing me out to South Brother Island with them when they were doing a count of nesting shorebirds back in the spring, whereupon I was able to capture the image above. Probably my favorite shot of 2012, at least so far, and given the relatively late calendrical date- odds on favorite for this years “best of show”. Not a turkey, rather a night heron, by the way.
engulfing mist
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another victim of Sandy seems to have been the Old Orchard Shoal Lighthouse, which according to Coast Guard reports, has been scoured away from its century long occupation in Great Kills.
Wo.
Lighthouses are amongst the most resilient structures mankind can produce, and this thing reliably weathered the entire 20th century.
I will say it again- Wo.
from workingharbor.wordpress.com
The US Coast Guard has confirmed the total loss of the Old Orchard Shoal Light off Great Kills Beach, Staten Island. The historic structure was swept away by Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My pal Mai Armstrong, known to you Lords and Ladies of the Pentacle as “far eastern correspondent Armstrong”, beat me to the punch on this news.
She has been writing the fantastic Working Harbor Committee blog for a while now, linked to above. She also has shots of the aftermath at the post linked to above.
from wikipedia
Old Orchard Shoal Light was completed and lit on April 25, 1893.
The Fresnel lens was removed in 1950.
Before moving on to Governor’s Island and then finally Coney Island Light, Frank Schubert, said to be the last civilian lighthouse keeper in the United States, was stationed at Old Orchard Shoal Light.
Old Orchard Shoal Light is listed on the National Park Service’s Maritime Heritage Program as Lighthouse to visit [6] and as one of New York’s Historic Light Stations.
On May 29, 2007, the Secretary of the Interior identified Old Orchard Shoal Light Station as surplus under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The property was described as Gedney Channel/Lower New York Bay, 3.5 miles south of New Dorp Beach. Remote 35 ft. conical, 3-story “spark plug” style light (1893) with keeper’s quarters (approx. 1000 SF). Interior lined in brick up to 3rd floor. On 0.72 acre submerged land. Constructed of cast iron on concrete/cast iron caisson. Markings: white upper/black. Protective riprap and breakwater sheltering light’s boat basin. Accessible by boat only.”
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