As we reported last week, this past weekend was the 16th Annual Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition organized by the Working Harbor Committee, and once again it failed to disappoint. The competition went on without a hitch with a total of 29 participating. Looks like it was a beautiful summer day on the Hudson seems like a good time was had all around.
Unofficial results announced Sunday state that Ross Sea won the race but we are still waiting on official results to be released which might not be until later this week. Bernard Ente of the Working Harbor Committee tells us:
Results will take a few days to tabulate. Every boat runs against the clock as well as a handicap for size/weight/power. Some captains are playfully objecting to the unofficial results announced yesterday. Bragging rights in the harbor are important! So we have to wait for the official papers.
Bernard is also the photographer for the Working Harbor Committee and provided us with these great photos and video below. Enjoy!
Tugs Catherine C Miller and Susan Miller proudly wave the red, white and blue on the Hudson.
Tug Dorothy Elizabeth powers through the water. Even the New York Fire Department showed up to put on a show for onlookers.
Tugs race down the harbor for bragging rights for the year ahead.
Dorothy Elizabeth and Pegasus square up for the bow to bow push, a crowd favorite. [Continue Reading →]
We have just received some more information from the Working Harbor Committee on this weekends 16th Annual New York Tugboat Race and sounds like it is really shaping up to be a great event with lot’s of fun things to watch. We did post an entry on the competition last week, but just to reiterate on what it is in case you missed it I have provided this brief description:
The New York Tugboat Race is an annual contest held every August in the Hudson River for working tugboats. The contest includes competitions such as a 1 nautical mile race, a line throwing contest and the exciting bow to bow pushing contest. The race is organized by the Working Harbor Committee, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to spreading the word about the rich history, current vitality and future potential of the New York/New Jersey Harbor.
The following was submitted to us by the Working Harbor Committee’s Bernard Ente, Steering Committee Member. He tells us:
We have 22 tugs in the event as of last night (Thursday).
The newest of the tugs is Andrew McAllister, a 95-foot, 6,000-horsepower tractor tug making her New York Harbor debut. She is said to be the boat to beat.
Pegasus will be returning to harbor service after a five-year restoration. Now a fully operating museum vessel, Pegasus will be helmed by her long-time captain, Pamela Hepburn, one of the first women tugboat captains in U.S.
Other competitors will include the South Street Seaport Museum’s 47-foot W.O. Decker, 107 year-old Urger, the flagship of the New York State Canal System, and several modern working tugs operated by Reinauer Transportation, K-Sea Transportation, Vinik Marine, Henry Marine Service, Bren Transportation, Miller’s Tugs and Barges and the U.S. Coast Guard.
We should be receiving the entire parade roster shortly and will post it in an update as soon as we have it. For now, we look forward to Sunday’s event and receiving photos and stories from our readers that can be submitted to tips@gcaptain.com.
“They get to show off their stuff,” that was the response NYC Harbor Committee Chairman, Captain Doswell, gave the New York Times in response to the question “Why the tug captains enjoy the race so much?” He followed the statement up with this statement: “Just as state fairs have tractor pulls, we have the bow-to-bow pushing challenge, 2 boats meet, and at a signal one tries to push the other”
We missed the event but do have some amazing pictures to show you. Many thanks to the NYC tugboat companies that participated.
The FDNY was on hand to kick off the event with an impressive water show, spraying their fire monitors into the East River.
Get your engines ready. The tugs line up at the starting line just South of the George Washington Bridge in preparation for their one mile sprint down the Hudson River.
Dorothy Elizabeth v. two Miller Launch tugs (Susan Miller and Catherine Miller) at once with Time-Warner towers and Hearst Tower in background… Tugster
One day a year, the tugboat industry dresses up its hardworking vessels and parades them before judges, showing off fresh paint jobs, displaying horsepower in nose-to-nose pushing competitions and a one-mile sprint up the Hudson. Tug operators play rodeo cowboys, demonstrating their skill by roping a cleat from a moving vessel coming toward a dock.
And those are the earnest categories. Equally coveted are the trophies for best tugboat pet and best dressed crew, best crewmember tattoo (that can be legally displayed) and best mascot.
The event’s lightheartedness in no way means it is not taken seriously. Reinauer compares it to a tractor pull, and anyone who’s ever been through the middle of the country knows how the heartland loves its diesel. He wouldn’t be surprised if a crewmember had gotten a tattoo specifically for the competition. “I don’t know that for a fact, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Some of the tattoos are really ornate and pretty unique.” Keep Reading…
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