Switching horses

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Daily observations on the Hudson River as it passes through New York City. The section of the Hudson which passes through New York is historically known as the North River, called this by the Dutch to distinguish it from the Delaware River, which they knew as the South River. This stretch of the Hudson is still often referred to as the North River by local mariners today. All photos by Daniel Katzive unless otherwise attributed. Twitter @dannykatman

Switching horses

Another brutal northwest wind kept recreational boaters off the river and had sailors cancelling plans Thursday. A Dann Marine tug, the Pearl Coast, came down the river with a loaded cement barge from the Lafarge plant in Ravenna, swung around into the ebb tide and dropped anchor north of the boat basin. Shortly after, another Dann tug, the Sapphire Coast, came up from the Lafarge dock in Brooklyn and, for reasons known only to Dann Marine and the crews, swapped places with the Pearl. The Pearl then headed off towards Staten Island while the Sapphire remained parked with the barge, perhaps waiting for less windy conditions before bringing the barge to whichever cement terminal awaits it.

Pearl Coast wrestles its cement barge into the ebb tide to anchor

Pearl and Sapphire swapping positions on the barge

Pearl leaves light after leaving its barge with Sapphire

Meanwhile, the passenger terminal remains busy, with Norwegian Dawn tied up at Pier 88 this morning after arriving from the Dutch Antilles. She is scheduled to sail for Southampton England with stops in Halifax, Iceland, Ireland, Holland, Belgium and France— a two week journey.

Norwegian Dawn getting ready for a trans-Atlantic run

Small tankers crossed paths in the morning, with the DEP’s Hunts Point heading up to load sewage sludge at the North River plant for dewatering at the Passaic Valley Water Commission plant in Newark passing a small bunkering tanker, the Chandra B.