Category: Uncategorized
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Weekend update
Beautiful spring weather, though still chilly on the water Saturday. Activity is picking up, with more recreational boaters and dinner cruises starting up, and a steady flow of barges heading to the dredging operation at Pier 88/90. The newly commissioned cutter Clarence Suthphin, which we photographed yesterday on Pier 86 (see yesterday’s post), headed out…
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Sutphins happening on Pier 86
The newly commissioned Coast Guard 154’ Fast Response Cutter the Clarence Suthphin Jr. is tied up at the end of Pier 86, the pier which houses the Intrepid Museum. The Sutphin’s commissioning ceremony was apparently yesterday and it is soon heading for Bahrain, one of six such cutters which support the US Central Command in…
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Practice makes perfect
Coast Guard Sector New York’s four 29’ response boats were back in the river Thursday, drilling similarly to what we observed almost exactly a month ago (see Drill Baby Drill). Once again, two boats had their forward machine guns mounted. FDNY’s 140’ Marine 1 fire boat was also practicing on the river (or perhaps just…
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Back to the river
Clearing skies and warmer temperatures saw activity on the river continue to pick up. The knot of tugs anchored in the river broke up, with only Stephen Reinauer remaining. What looked to me like a juvenile bald eagle passed over Pier i in the early hours, being harassed by a crow. The eagle was followed…
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Windy Easter
Dropping temperatures, whipping winds, and the Easter holiday kept activity to a minimum on Sunday. Vane Brothers Wye River came through with an empty-looking barge arriving from Boston via the Cape Cod Canal and heading straight for Albany without picking up cargo in Jersey. This is a somewhat unusual movement, though perhaps the barge is…
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Hello from the other side
The weekend has brought perfect spring temperatures, though with a steady wind coming in from the south keeping things choppy during ebb tides, especially on Friday. A trip to New Jersey can provide a Western perspective on the North River. Below, the Haggerty Girls pushes an empty tanker barge from Albany under the George Washington…
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Farewell Friesland
The Dutch naval patrol ship visiting at the south side of Pier 88 made an early departure with an assist from a McCallister tug. By the end of the day she was motoring east at 15 knots, signaling a return to the Netherlands on AIS after spending the past 3 months on patrol in the…
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The story of Teresa
When we published our article The barges (and other big boats) in your backyard in the West Side Rag a few weeks ago, a number readers indicated they wanted to know more about the tug/barge combination that was anchored in the river at around 94th Street for many weeks on end. It seems some residents…
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Spring at last (again)
Rainy skies in the morning gave way to a glorious afternoon with temperatures in the 70s. The fire boat William Feehan was back in the river doing what looked like recovery drills off Pier i, with a man in the water and a life ring. Later, the NYPD’s 62’ harbor launch the P.O. Harry R…
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Still cold
It does not feel like spring yet, with temperatures below 50 and tough northwest wind. The anchorages looked strangely empty Sunday morning with the Teresa having left us, though Curtis Reinauer would arrive and anchor in the afternoon. The Vane Brothers’ Fort McHenry pushed a loaded barge from Linden NJ heading upriver in the morning.…
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Vale Teresa!
Teresa has left the building. The tug/barge combination that has been anchored in the North River for several months pulled up its hook at around midday and headed to sea, currently moving south down the Jersey Shore with no clear destination signaled on AIS. The reasons for the Teresa’s extended residence were never completely clear,…
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Spring at last?
Thursday ended with heavy rain, fog and lightening, but skies cleared Friday and temperatures rose. There was a lot of activity on the river, both commercial and recreational and I was able to get on the river myself for the first time in months, though not with much time for photography. I was happy to…
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More rain
A low pressure system has camped out over New York, sucking in moisture and rain for a second day. There was a bit of northbound traffic worth noting in the morning. The Janice Ann Reinauer came through with a loaded barge from Bayonne heading to Newburgh. Captain Dann came through pulling a large Weeks Marine…
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Some less frequent visitors
Northeast winds and intermittent rain arrived on Wednesday and anchorages have filled up again somewhat ahead of more bad weather tomorrow, though with AT/Bs less frequently seen on the North River. Cape Lookout arrived early with an empty barge from Providence and dropped anchor at around 70th Street and was later joined by Adeline Marie…
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Home alone
Lots of activity on the river Tuesday as winds calmed and temperatures were at least stable. The tug Teresa, which has been anchored with its barge in the river for several months now amid operational/legal complications, made a morning departure, uncoupling from its barge and heading down to a fuel dock on the Arthur Kill…
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Heading back to work
Northeast winds brought periodic rain to the river on Sunday. The big Reinauer jamboree in the North River broke up, with Haggerty Girls making an early departure and heading for the company dock in Staten Island, Kristy Ann making a morning run down to the IMTT Terminal in Bayonne, and Dean also heading in that…
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Staying the weekend
The anchorages filled up ahead of the bad weather Thursday night and four Reinauer AT/Bs remained at anchor as the skies cleared Saturday, with the Curtis, Kristy Ann and Hagerty Girls South of the bridge and the Dean north of the bridge. The Dann Brothers’ Carolina Coast came through in the morning, towing an empty…
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The barge in your backyard
For some time I have been wanting to write an explainer article for my neighbors about the barges and tugs we see anchored along the Hudson every day. Thousands of people observe these vessels daily but most have very little idea what they are and what they do. Thanks to the West Side Rag, an…
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North of North
A trip 30 miles up the Hudson on Wednesday to Verplanck, NY, beyond the limits of the North River, found some familiar vessels. The Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay, which passed us heading north on Tuesday, was anchored near the top of Haverstraw Bay. Sitting across the river at Stony Point is an old fire…
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Look up!
Temperatures crept back above freezing on Tuesday but the biting northwest wind continued to blow keeping recreational activity on the river to a minimum and even commercial traffic was rather light. Most of the action Tuesday was in the air. A pair of Air Force C130 transports made two loops up the river. They were…
North River Notes 