Erie Canal - 2008 Tugboat Roundup - Waterford, NY - Sept 2008
We arrived in Waterford at the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal in time for the Tenth Annual Tugboat Roundup. Our friend, and fellow American Tug owner, Fred Wehner had entered his tug Tug 44 into the roundup again this year, and had asked us to come with him on his boat for the Tug Parade. How cool is that?? His was the official 'photo boat' - so we got to zip around and see all of the other tugs participating in the roundup. That's Fred and his girlfriend Cathy together with Jeremy in Tug 44's pilot house.
The Tug Parade starts in Waterford. The boats all go through the Federal Lock in Troy on the Hudson river and head south down to the capital city of Albany, where there are dignitaries there to view the tugs. The tugs then turn around and proceed back north to Troy, through the lock again up to Waterford.
The main reason Fred wanted us to come along was to help out in the lock. Being the only fiberglass boat in a lock full of big steel tugs is a bit intimidating, to say the least. As it was, we were 'kissed' in the stern by the green tug 8th Sea (shown in the picture to the left below). Kind of reminds me why we weren't doing this with our boat!
The annual Tugboat Roundup was started in 1999 as a way to preserve and promote the maritime industrial heritage of the New York State Canal System and other adjoining inland waterways. It's attracts a variety of tugs - mostly working boats, but some tug-styled pleasure craft like Fred's Tug 44.
The fuzzy 'Tina Turner' styled rope fender on the front of each tug is called a 'Puddin.' Tugs generally have side fenders made of old tires (like those shown on the Cornell in the photo to the right below) or hand-woven rope fenders (like those shown on the Buffalo in the photo to the left below).
Some tugs have pilot houses that can be raised or lowered. They raise them so that they can see over the top of large barges and lower them to fit under low bridges when needed. One example of this is the Tug Empire shown in the pictures below.
Another example of a tug that can raise or lower her pilot house is the very pretty tug Margo shown below. I think she's much more attractive with her head held high, as in the picture to the left.
There were a few tugs owned and operated by the New York Canal system, such as the Governor Cleveland (shown in the picture to the left below) - and my all time favorite tug - the Urger (shown in the picture to the right below). New York Canal tugs are always painted in the distinctive bright blue and yellow NY Canal Corporation colors.
The Urger was built in 1903 - which makes her 100 years older than Tardis. She is the flagship of the fleet of boats operated by the Canal Corporation on the New York Canal system. At 105 years old, she is one of the oldest commercial vessels in the country still afloat. She originally worked as a shipping and fishing vessel under the name of Henry J. Dornbos, after a prominent Michigan merchant. She was renamed the Urger when she was sold to the New York Canal system in the early 1920s. She was retired from active service in the 1980's.
When the Canal Corporation went looking for a tug to help with a new education program in 1991, the Urger was called back into service. She now serves as the focal point of a program to educate school children and adults about the importance of New York's historic canal system and the role that inland waterways have played, and continue to play, in the lives of people who live and work along them. If you make your way up to the New York Canal system and happen to see the Urger along the way, be sure to stop in and say hello to Capt. Jack and the crew. Tell then the crew of the Tardis sent you.
Tugs of all shapes and sizes turn up for the Roundup every year. The tugs Popeye and Thimble were two tiny tugs on hand this year.
Another tug with a rich history is the W. O. Decker, shown in the photo below. She was built in 1930 by the Russel Dry Dock company in Long Island City as a wooden-hulled steam tug. She was converted to diesel power in the 1940s. The tug was originally named the Russel I and was operated by the Newton Creek Towing Company until 1947, when she was sold to Mary Decker and renamed the W. O. Decker. She was renamed the Susan Dayton in 1968, when when was moved to Bridgeport Connecticut to work moving barges and scows. In 1977, she was purchased by George Matteson to be part of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City. Her name was restored to the W. O. Decker and she is used primarily to move the Museum's larger vessels around the piers.
For some reason, it's traditional for the towns that the tugs pass by on the parade on the Hudson to use their fire department's water cannons to christen the boats as they pass by. One of the tugs in the parade actually had his own water cannon on board (Trilogy - shown in the picture to the left below.)
Locking through Troy lock again after the parade - heading back to Waterford. This time we had a bit of room around us - with a big raft of tugs in front and the Grand Erie behind.
Once through the lock, several of the tugs rafted up while waiting for the rest of the tugs to come through on a second locking.
The next day, the tugs got to participate in the annual 'tug push-off.' Each year, the tugs go 'nose to nose' to see who is the mightiest Tug of them all. A couple of the smaller tugs challenged the mighty tug Cornell to a duel. The tiny steam-powered boat tried to give the Cornell a push - and it looked for awhile like Fred was going to give it a try with Tug 44.
Finally, the Gowanis Bay laid down the gauntlet and provided a serious challenge to the Cornell. Tug 44 stood off, as a referee looking for a 'good clean fight.' They both put a lot of power into the water to try to nudge the other tug backwards.
After the Cornell had their fun with the Gowanis Bay, they had another challenger.
Even the little tugs had their fun - although I really think that Thimble should have stuck with tugs more their own size.
The W. O. Decker going at it with the 8th Sea.
In addition to the tug push-off, there is also a line toss contest where the crews try to toss a line from the deck of the tug onto a piling or cleat on land. This is something that I would really love to be able to do. I took this video of a couple of the guys tossing lines. It seems that the trick is to have a really big eye and to toss the rope sideways, not swinging it over your head like some cowboy in an old B-rated movie. Of course the biggest trick is practice, practice, practice....
The roundup lasts an entire weekend. Many of the tugs are docked along the waterfront in Waterford and welcome visitors to come in and see them. The Urger was docked above the first lock in Waterford - which would not have been a problem until the very large Grande Caribe cruise ship came along. Just because there's a party going on doesn't mean that traffic stops on the Erie.
While most traffic could easily slip past the Urger, the Grand Caribe was so wide that it not only took up the entire lock, but also most of the width of the canal when leaving the lock. That's captain Jack of the Urger and one of the crew heaving on lines to pull the Urger closer to the shore and out of harm's way as the Grande Caribe came out of the lock.
It was close as the ship pulled out of the lock and on its way.
The Roundup has a 'popularity' contest - and we were very happy to see that Fred's Tug 44 was first runner-up. The winner was the very adorable and lovable Thimble.
Uncle Sam even made the trip over from Troy to put in an appearance. (Troy is the hometown of Samuel Wilson (1766-1854) - who would come to be known as Uncle Sam.)
Leaving Waterford and the Erie Canal, we have pointed our boat south for the winter!!
Updated November 15, 2008