Tag: hoppers
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Fish on!

There is more than striped bass in the North River. On Friday morning, a regular named Louis caught a nice looking catfish with a waited hook and bunker as bate. Later, a trip off the River to the Rockaways via NYC Ferry provided an opportunity to observe activity in the Upper and Lower Bays.
Daniel Katzive
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Need help?

The wing surfer was back on the North River off Riverside Park South for a second day, despite continued high winds. But this time he must have appeared to be having difficulty, because someone called for help on his behalf. The Harbor Patrol boat came up from the cruise terminal and so did Marine 1’s…
Daniel Katzive
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Cooling down

The weekend passed with fairly typical traffic, with cement and possibly ethanol notable cargos as we transition away from heating oil season and head into summer driving. The cruise terminal was also busy, with Norwegian Getaway and Gem in town Saturday and Prima visiting Sunday. After a work week which featured record April temperatures in…
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Spring training

Summer-like temperatures and longer days are drawing more and more recreational traffic back to the North River. The water remains cold and provides a bit of air conditioning for those on shore, but first responders also seem to be getting more active as they prepare for a busy summer. Thursday saw an FDNY and Newark…
Daniel Katzive
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Flying through April

The first few days of the new week have seen fairly light traffic during periods of NRN observation. Cement barges continue to be active. Early spring would typically be associated with a pick-up in construction activity consistent with this, though one might have thought the warm winter would dampen the seasonality somewhat. Temperatures continue to…
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In transit

Helping to transit Hudson River Community Sailing J80s from Viking Boatyard in Verplanck to Pier 66 in Chelsea provided a great opportunity to observe traffic north of the North River for a change. Traffic was moderate over the weekend, with an upbound bulker and downbound tanker the most notable observations.
Daniel Katzive
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Going back for more sugar

Thursday brought typical ATB and tanker barge traffic, as well as the departure of the large sugar barge Knot Refined heading back to Florida. Temperatures climbed sharply and a layer of haze covered the North River for most of the day before burning off in late afternoon.
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Returning light

Traffic on the North River remained heavy Wednesday after a busy Tuesday. Most observed barges were returning empty from deliveries elsewhere, but a foreign flagged tanker did move upriver heading for Albany with refined product from Montreal. This is the fourth presumed foreign oil products cargo observed by NRN over the past month or so,…
Daniel Katzive
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Tuesday traffic

After a slow start to the month, Tuesday brought some notable traffic to the North River, including some overseas cargos heading upstate on foreign flagged vessels. Pier 88 was also busy as the city’s Economic Development Corporation assembled some working boats from the Harbor for what seemed to be a career day for local students.…
Daniel Katzive
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The Calm After the Storm Before the Storm

North River anchorages filled up Friday night and Saturday morning as a weather system moved through on the first day of April. Saturday afternoon brought gorgeous dry and warm conditions, but this was expected to fuel renewed significant deterioration as a cold front comes through in the evening and a gale warning was in effect.
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Power move

Thursday afternoon saw the Dutch flagged cargo ship Floretgracht come down the North River from Albany on the way out to sea. The vessel had arrived earlier in the week from Northern Europe carrying steel cable spools according to the Port of Albany’s Twitter feed. The spools are for the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a…
Daniel Katzive
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Winter is still with us

North River anchorages filled up again Sunday as 25 knot winds swept the Harbor and temperatures dived on the penultimate day of astronomical winter.
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Oil and sugar as the winter fades
Days continue to start chilly in mid-March and the River remains a source of cold, but by late Saturday the temperatures were climbing into the low 50s and flowers and trees are beginning to bloom. Traffic on the River was fairly light, and recreational boaters remain scarce as their boats are not yet in the…
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Dual Power

Friday saw a small tanker moving up the North River, Albany bound and notable for a number of reasons: 1) this is the second oil products tanker from Northern Europe to come through in two days, but the first two such cargos this year;2) the Mia Desgagnes is a dual LNG/oil powered ship, the first…
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Clearing up and clearing out

The North River anchorages cleared out Thursday as winds abated and temperatures climbed. The highlight of the day in terms of traffic was a foreign flagged tanker heading north for Albany, arriving from Europe and likely carrying a cargo of refined products, the first presumed European products cargo observed by NRN this year.
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Beware the Ides

Skies cleared Wednesday but the winds remained elevated, gusting above 40 knots with gale warnings in effect all day. Tanker barges were moving around the River but through cargo seemed rather light.
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Mid-March Nor’easter

Storms have rolled through the New York area as we reach the middle of March, with a wintery mix on Friday followed by a nor’easter arriving Monday evening. By Tuesday afternoon, winds had shifted around to the northwest and were gusting above 40 knots, with gale warnings going into effect. Heavy snow accumulated on the…
Daniel Katzive
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You don’t need a weather vane…

A whipping northwest wind made it feel like winter again on Tuesday. Robbins Reef recorded gusts over 40 knots and a small craft warning was in effect for the harbor. River traffic slowed a bit after a frenetic start to the week but tanker barges began to accumulate at the anchorages again. Activity this week…
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Philadelphia Story and the voyage of the Baylander

Wye River arrived on the North River Monday with a loaded looking tank barge on the wire. This towing configuration is not usually seen on the River other than for tugs coming from or heading directly to sea, and, indeed, in this case, Wye River’s AIS showed it arriving from Philadelphia. This is another pattern…
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Return to work

The sun rose Saturday morning on a crowded North River anchorage, as tug and barge combinations took shelter from the overnight gale conditions. Robbins Reef recorded a gust over 40 knots Friday night, but conditions improved Saturday with clearing skies and reducing winds even as temperatures dropped a bit. Tugs in the River headed out…
