Posts Tagged ‘ny harbor’
closer point
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Witness, if you dare, the estimable Anthony L. Miller workboat conducting the employees and contractors of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency across the languid waters of the Newtown Creek. The workboat designation is apt, as this small vessel maintained and operated by the always busy Millers Launch company on Staten Island is purpose driven.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Workboat is a fairly broad class of commercial vessel designation. Omnivorous, these boats will sometimes be utilized to ferry a relief crew or supplies to a waiting vessel. Other times, it will be engaged as a platform from which to conduct and facilitate the designs of a contract charter. Too small for anything but rudimentary towing, these workboats can be seen all over the harbor.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Technically, Anthony L. Miller is a 32 foot “Utility Boom Boat” possessed of a 420 HP engine. It is equipped with a tow bit, is water jet-propelled, has shallow water capabilities, has a davit with electric winch, and an enclosed heated cabin. It has a top speed of 25 knots, and an aluminum hull. A hearty Maritime Sunday shout out is sent to its cast and crew.
Happy New Year
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just a short one today, welcome to 2013. Be back tomorrow with something new.
terrible gateway
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last Maritime Sunday of 2012 brings the estimable Buchanan 1 before you. A 1967 era tug, it is still observed navigating the Harbor of New York and New Jersey even in the dross modernity of 2012. Notice that in the shot above, it wears a different paint job than the shots below.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just the facts: Buchanan 1 was built in 1967. 89.4 length, 12 draft, and 28.1 beam, she weighs 191 Gross Tons, and is actuated by twin screws supplying 2,200 HP. tugboatinformation.com has a bit more of her story, which can be accessed by clicking here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A hearty Maritime Sunday shout out is sent to the crew of the boat, the last time this year that any such message will be sent.
rhythmical promise
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recently, occasion carried me down to Long Island City, where my stated goal was to catch the venerable East River Ferry and attend a meeting in Brooklyn Heights. It is somewhat ironic, to me at least, that the only mass transit pathway between two points on the western tip of Long Island that doesn’t involve transversing Manhattan is to use a ferry service set up to carry folks from the former to the latter. Unfortunately, just as I arrived at the dock, the boat was leaving, which in many ways is a metaphor for my entire life.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was no tragedy, as it offered an opportunity to linger and play around with some of that night photography I was talking about at the start of the week. Manhattan can be quite lovely when viewed from outside of itself, and some effort went into the endeavor. The Empire State Building, a shining beacon of hope erected during the deep despair of the Great Depression, never disappoints.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For some reason, the Freedom Tower will always be the name I call the building at One World Trade Center. Future generations will just call it whatever name they inherit from us, and Freedom Tower reminds me of those early days of the Terror War when terms like “blowback”, “freedom fries”, and “new normal” were coined. I think it’s important to remember that time, and that some symbolism is valuable even for the jaded mindset of modernity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Such ruminations came to end, when the East River Ferry showed up. Their service has really matured in the last year, although the dock at Long Island City is in dire condition. It is temporary, of course, as the Hunters Point South development project surrounds and engulfs all in a shroud of ongoing construction.
radiant energy
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once more doth the angels sing, and the devil weepeth, for the holiday season springs forth upon us. Since most of y’all are either traveling somewhere or busy with final preparations for the annual gorging, lets take it a bit easy this Maritime Sunday, and admire the estimable Captain D tug hauling a dredge down the Kill Van Kull.
Tonight is Festivus, by the way, and I’m accepting donations for the Human Fund. Make the checks out to me, I’ll see that your donations go where they will do the most good.
The Newtown Pentacle 