Tugboat Races 2013

Posted on September 5, 2013 by | 38 Comments

By Johna Till Johnson
Photos by Vladimir Brezina

DSC_0318 cropped small

Last year, on the spur of the moment, we attended our first-ever Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition (see the writeup, “We’re Off to the (Tugboat) Races!”).

We were stunned, blown away, and delighted by the experience.

So it’s only natural that this year, we were conflicted. On the one hand, we were eager to go again; on the other hand, how could it possibly live up to the previous time?

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Let’s just say… it did.

Not only was the weather perfect (cool and cloudy) but the competition was cast right out of Hollywood: It was clear from the get-go that the real contest in this year’s event would be between the gloriously retro red Resolute and the ultra-modern white Red Hook. Both are gorgeous boats, with stalwart crews. And even though the Resolute won the actual race, the Red Hook picked up a number of awards—including the surprise twist of its captain winning the spinach-eating contest!

Another notable first was this year’s winning mascot—the first-ever donkey in the event. It was Buddy, the Debora Miller‘s mascot, and it placidly munched hay throughout the entire event—on its perch three stories up.

Retelling the narrative from start to finish is beyond the capacity of this blogger. So, let’s go straight to the photos (click on any photo to start a slideshow).

1. The tugs arrive and the fireboat John J. Harvey leads the parade of tugs up the Hudson River:

The tugs arrive from downriver
… and await the start
The fireboat “John J. Harvey” opens the proceedings
A splash of color
The parade up the river begins
The “Resolute”
The “Susan Miller”
The “John J. Harvey” sweeps past
Wait—the “W. O. Decker” is going the wrong way!
… as is the “Seagus”
We get wet
The “Debora Miller”
The “Peter F. Gellatly”
Red against the gray skies
The “John J. Harvey” sends up graceful arcs of water
… as she stands off in the middle of the river
The “W. O. Decker” brings up the rear
… along with the “Seagus”
… two diminutive tugs
The tug parade heads on up the river
… for the start of the race
The tugs turn around
The “Resolute” looks impressive

2. The race!

The tugs line up for the start of the race
The “Lt. Michael P. Murphy” joins in
The “Resolute” and the “Tasman Sea” might be the two tugs to watch
And they are off!
The “Resolute” and the “Hunting Creek” compete
The “Tasman Sea” throws up quite a wave
The “Resolute” forges ahead
… and overtakes the “Hunting Creek”
The “Resolutes” cheer
Behind, the “Hunting Creek” and the “Peter F. Gellatly” compete for second place
The “Tasman Sea” alone
The tugs sweep past to the finish
The fireboat “Three Forty Three” welcomes the finishers (photo by Johna)
The “Tasman Sea” comes up
… the biggest boat in the race
The race is over

3. Nose-to-nose pushing contests:

The “John J. Harvey” poops out
The tugs return to the finish line
A Miller contest: the “Susan Miller” versus the “Catherine C. Miller”
“Red Hook” versus “Resolute”
The “Tasman Sea” looks for victims
Another Miller contest: the “Freddie K. Miller” versus the “Debora Miller”
Downriver, the Statue of Liberty
Maximum effort
The Miller tugs are still at it
The “Peter F. Gallatly” alone
“Red Hook” versus “Hunting Creek”
The two biggest ones: “Resolute” versus the “Tasman Sea”
The “Susan Miller” cruises past
“Red Hook” and the “Debora Miller”, disengaged
Everyone relaxes
The “Debora Miller” comes closer
And what’s this on the top deck?
The business end of “Hunting Creek” (photo by Johna)
All this against the background of the city
Gingerly, the two tiny–and old and fragile–tugs, the “W. O. Decker” and the “Seagus”, nudge each other
Now the “John J. Harvey” can take it easy
… she’s by far the most colorful vessel in the event
The “Susan Miller” heads in
The “Freddie K. Miller”, one final time
They are all waiting their turn to try the line toss (unfortunately not well visible from our boat)

4. The tugs tie up at Pier 84 for the land-based contests:

The tugs tie up
Getting off can be tricky
Heavy machinery
Black gloss
Tug tableau
Friends and family relax on the back decks

5. Spinach-eating contest:

One competitor prepares
… and another
… and a third, tense before the start (it’s a serious business)…
Eat!
Approximately 12 seconds later, Joe is well satisfied with his meal
And he is the winner!

6. And finally, the one we’d all been waiting for—the tattoo competition!

Strutting their stuff—the competition begins
The lady judges start their work
Nautically-themed tattoos are preferred
Another competitor comes forward
… and yet another
All this requires VERY careful examination
… and documentation
The judges confer
A last-minute attempt at bribery
And we have a winner!!

That’s it, folks—it’s all over, until next year!

All over for this year

The official race and competition results are here.

Many other photographers, present on shore, on attending boats, and on some of the tugs themselves, have also posted great photos and videos of the event. Here are some of them:

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38 responses to “Tugboat Races 2013”

  1. Julie McCou | September 5, 2013 at 12:08 pm | Reply

    I think my companions and I might have been among the sneaky kayakers. We cut our day trip short due to weather forecast and got to Pier 80 around 1130, at which point NYPD and CG Aux required us to paddle in the middle if the river to ensure we were well away from the tugs.

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    • Johna Till Johnson | September 5, 2013 at 3:39 pm | Reply

      Julie, were you in the yellow sit-on-tops?

      Or did you come up later in the boats with the white hulls? (Party of 3) I spent a long time trying to figure out who might have been out there.

      Pretty sure we saw you…

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      • Julie McCoy | September 5, 2013 at 7:21 pm | Reply

        Probably the latter. Party of three, all white hulls. My boat has a dark blue deck and red seam, another had a yellow desk, and the third had a light blue deck. Apparently we missed the really good stuff, though we caught some tug wake earlier when we crossed from Hoboken.

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  2. gfatula | September 5, 2013 at 12:17 pm | Reply

    Wow! Wow! Wow!
    Were you in your boats? Where did you watch from? Next year it is a very likely date!
    Great pics as usual. Thanks for making me feel like I was there.

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    • Johna Till Johnson | September 5, 2013 at 3:41 pm | Reply

      Thanks so much! We watched from the Circle Line (which runs a special 2-hour cruise). They won’t let kayaks too close, as Julie notes above. Thanks for reading, and posting.

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  3. Working Harbor Committee | September 5, 2013 at 12:31 pm | Reply

    WOW! Fantastic shots! You really captured the excitement of the whole day. Thank you both for such a lovely write-up and collection of amazing photos of WHC’s 21st running of the Tugboat Race! We do this every Labor Day Sunday, we hope to see you next year for the 22nd running!

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  5. Gayle Alstrom | September 5, 2013 at 1:18 pm | Reply

    That sounds and looks like a lot of fun!

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  6. ilargia64 | September 5, 2013 at 4:19 pm | Reply

    God!!!! What a crazy day!!!! So funny and different!!! :)

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  7. IsobelandCat | September 5, 2013 at 4:23 pm | Reply

    Not sure about the spinach eating contest and the tattoos, but the boat pix are great. I love the way the red is so vibrant against the foggy grey and white. It works extremely well.

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  8. adinparadise | September 5, 2013 at 5:13 pm | Reply

    Wonderful pics, Vlad, and thanks for the excellent commentary, Johna. It looks like a very exciting day indeed. :)

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  9. andykidd | September 5, 2013 at 8:18 pm | Reply

    Thanks for these, what a day !

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  10. Teepee12 | September 5, 2013 at 10:39 pm | Reply

    It must be that I read Tuggy the Tugboat too many times, but I just love tugs. They are the totally cool little boats that could. GREAT pictures that bring back almost forgotten memories.

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  11. Scotch Jameson | September 6, 2013 at 1:36 am | Reply

    God this looks like so much fun. I wish I could get on a plane and time machine thingamabob and catch this in person. Thanks for the post!

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  12. Photography Journal Blog | September 6, 2013 at 7:58 am | Reply

    That looks like a lot of fun!

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  13. Opalla | September 6, 2013 at 8:15 am | Reply

    Looks like a really fun event… and tug boats are cute. :)

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  16. kristelsaintcyr | September 9, 2013 at 9:36 am | Reply

    Magnifique reportage ! Les photos si saisissantes, dans des gerbes d’eau, font ressentir toute l’excitation de la course.

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Comments are most welcome!