When I worked on a R/V at sea, on rough days we’d tack a weighted pendulum string over a whiteboard, draw a scale on the board and called it our “Barfometer.”
8 or 9 years ago I was awaiting a barge to load at Girarde Point at the Philly refinery. Was day after a big winter storm. Didn't show up when it was supposed to. Winds after that huge low pressure system were gusting to 65 mph. Wind kept pushing that empty barge right out of the Schuylkill River. Couldn't make the turn. I saw two tugs leave the city dock to help. When they finally docked the capt of that tug was a shaking mess and rightfully so.
Decades ago, in the summer of 1974, I was a Sea Scout and with three other classmates from our high school, we were able to go to sea on the USCG Cutter Tamaroa. We spent a month up and down the Eastern Seaboard and we hit a couple of storms. Fortunately, being from New York City and growing up riding the subways, we all had our "sea legs" already (no lie!) and none of the four of us ever got sick. There was only one time where I was scared and that was when I saw the skipper cross himself; then I realized how serious it was. I was a kid and didn't know any better! The Tam is now off the coast of Virginia, scuttled as a man-made reef. They tried to save her as a museum ship, but were not able to raise the funds. Thanks for the fun video, as always, Tim!
Yesterday I watched a rescue TV show about a tugboat that went down 20 miles offshore, during high seas. After 3 days of searching for survivors, a body recovery diver found one man still alive, trapped in an air pocket. I always try to learn from the experiences of others. Thank you for sharing this.
Great video. I started sailing on tugs at the age of 16 as a galley boy with Wijsmuller in the Netherlands. Long trips for months on end.. towing just about everything that floats. Also a lot of rescues. Then after 30 years I decided it was enough.
Wow Tim thanks! That brings back some memories. Even remembering those cold wet nights with 25' seas and howling wind with many crew under the weather my memories are all good. The majesty of the sea, the intense colors, the relentless cold wet wind, the absolute beauty and power of mother nature always left me in awe. Its like a drug, you know that if you make the slightest mistake or aren't 110% prepared you can die in a heartbeat but it's an unbelievable experience.
Tim, the sea is a truly interesting place - In 1997, we sailed Fiji, NZ, and with a few days of flat calm, then ten days of madness. A memory that is hard to fully explain to others. Beautiful yet beastly all in one. The Tasman and around southern NZ, an area that can be foul but so gloriously beautiful when the seabirds follow. The Petrels and the mighty Albatross. To fly around southern oceans, barely twitching a feather. Magnificent! A sailor might work very hard, but it is a fortunate life. As always - thank you, Tim.
Here at 5:33 fellas, the seas are running 8 to 12 feet. I should know. Lol done it many a time. Buried the bow completely under the water on the, OCEAN STAR OCEAN VOYAGER. 4,900 HP 135 FEET LONG Deep Sea Going Tug. Btw Tim, I wouldn’t like Harbor work because to me, you stay to busy. You know as well as I do, that once you get out past the “Sea-Buoy”, And get your hawser / wire Ran out, you can get settled into a long term rhythm. I always loved that. And, the heavy weather has a beauty all of its own.
Thanks for the video’s Tim. I always enjoy this “Real “ reality TV. Hearing how others make a living. I work in a medical laboratory at night, documentary is my selected choice of entertainment.
That was awesome. My dad and I use to fish in the sea of Cortez. He had an old 21’ cabin boat with a 125 mercury. We’d go out 11 miles and some days it got rough. I’ve been sick a few times. We were like a little cork out there. We’d pull up to an occasional shrimper that was stopped and buy shrimp. Fun times but probably never going back. Last trip was 35 years ago and things have changed. Thanks for sharing your clips. I enjoy them.
Yeah, we don’t go out in that stuff either. Anyone who’s truly seen bad weather offshore takes great delight in not having to do it ever again. Weather forecasts have gotten much better and owners have as well, at least in my world. Thanks for the reminder, though!
When I was young my family owned a shipyard and we built rugs among other things. My grandfather would always say trust your boat it will take you home but then he built them for all weather and seas. We did talk about how ice is a killer though.
What do you take for sea sickness? Strawberry jam snadwiches - they taste just as good on the way up as they did going down. We had one trip on a ferry across the English channel, bright sunshine, windy and rough. Just off the Isle of Wight she found a deep trough. All you could see through the front windows was green, and she kept going down and down... it wasn't that long but it certainly felt like it. She hit the other side with a big shudder and on we went. On another occasion at night we had to heave to because a fishing boat went down. A demonstration of how to roll, piles of plates in the restaurant smashing as well as bottles in the duty free! You are quite right, you don't want to be out there if you can avoid it.
Thank you for watching Martin. Seasickness effects different people in different ways. Some of us rarely feel sick and others get sick at anchor. I have found that when it is really bad, no one has time to be sick and just trys to hang on. CUOTO
OK ... when you are taking spray over the pilot house, you're out in something more than a 'light chop'! That was some excellent footage of the mean greenies submerging the Lido deck. It seems to me one of the hard things would be getting the tow and the tug in some sort of sync so you're not fighting against each other. Excellent footage, thanks.
Excelente point. They call that being "in step with the barge" but most often, if the depths permit, we pay out more wire and the added weight acts as a shock absorber. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
I would carry boxes of frozen food up the ladder from the freezer by waiting for the bow to drop out from under me while I scrambled up the ladder. Had to get the timing right.
I actually just did pop a Dramamine too! I live on a boat and it’s quite windy today so I’m a-rockin’ pretty good!! Lived on here almost a year now and my tummy STILL isn’t used to it!!!
Your comment saying that the bow sits 10-15' above the water line stuck in my mind. Those first two examples of bows, showed just how huge those waves are. The very first bow shot looked like the bow was only even with or just above the waterline. Be careful out there, and thank you for yet another piece of your knowledge. CUOTO!!
Thank you for watching. And remember that the wheelhouse is much higher than the bow. Our hight of eye in our lower house is something like 27 feet. CUOTO
Back in the 80’s I had a bad/good “Jamaica” Cod addiction out of Brielle, NJ about this time of year. I remember a few trips that even the mates were getting sick. “If you’ve never been cold, wet and scared you will never appreciate being warm, dry and safe”
This is a little different than being on a cruise ship at 60 above the sea. On a tug your right in it. Tim, thanks for posting the video. Be safe out there. Edward
Really enjoy your channel. I can relate to tugs. I was on a US Navy Ocean tug that also did salvage. My Dad was on a Navy harbor tug in wwii working in New York Harbor. Neither of us continued the work. I became a Firetruck mechanic.
It has been around fifty years since I sailed blue water in the US NAVY . Some time was on a deep sea salvage tug the USS PRESERVER ARS-4. That ship was short and wide and rolled in a most frightening manner. At the peir. It carried two 35 to anchors on the main deck. The motions were seasick making even for some of the more experienced salts. Another time was on a Destroyer Escort USS COATS out of New Haven, CT. One February, instead of going to Cuba for gunnery practice we went North out of Long Island Sound for Anti-submarine practice a couple of hundred miles East of Halifax, Canada. A WW2 DE is about 220 ft long and 24 ft wide. When it is taking 15 ft plus quartering sea it can develop some interesting motions. Taking the same sea head on will put green water past the foward turret (This may have been on a Destroyer). This ship would bury the bow so deep into a wave you thought you were joining the Submarine Service. This trip was not fun in the sun. Incidentally the heaters in the crew compartments has been removed or broken. Not very warm either. Some exaggeration but not much. This is a sea story.
Why do you do this to me? You conjure up so many memories. A friend of mine got a Bayliner pleasure boat. He had a corvette. I had an el Camino with a trailer hitch. He did not. We took the boat out for some fun. I had never driven a trailer before. I had no light hook-ups to the trailer. Miraculously, we made it to the marina and safely down the ramp to launch his boat without a) me loosing the whole rig and car in the bay, and b) him leaving the plug out. We got some good waterskiing in at the marine stadium. We decided to take it out into the ocean, as we were done skiing AS THE WINDS STARTED PICKING UP CREATING SOME CHOP. Hint hint. We put on out the channel. The minute we made it out of the channel, we went for a wild fun ride - for about a minute until we did a 180 and headed for the safety of the marina. Obviously, our boat was not intended for rough open waters. It’s a good thing we didn’t have engine trouble or taken on too much water. Looking on back, I can just see us scratching our heads trying to figure why the engine stalled, if we would get it running before we ended up on the jetty. Ahh young, dum and full of chum.😂 One more for you. I was working at a department store. I never called in sick. But, this day, I was at work burning up with a fever. I was hurting. I left work sick to go home and recover. But, anyone who knows me, knows I didn’t go home. I went up the Malibu coast for about 40 miles. I love driving. But. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I hit the freeways (expressways) headed for home, only to find myself stuck in LA gridlock traffic. Ughhh! Going nowhere fast. I cranked up the heater trying to break my fever or something to help. I finally made it home. My brother told me a friend of his was the caretaker of a yacht. Some powerboat. He wanted to know if I wanted to join them on a harbor cruise. Ughhhhh. Ok. How do I pass up a chance like this? We headed out from Wilmington, calif., across LA & Long Beach harbors, catching a lovely sunset. We cruised on down to Newport Beach marina and pulled up like we were all that and then some. Had some dinner and drinks, then headed back. I’ll never forget the trip. Once I got out on that harbor, in the fresh air with my heavy jacked (middle of summer), I started feeling 100%! Good times! Thanks for another fine video! ✌️🤙
It might be that those that like to see rough seas have never been there, some of us have been there and have seen enough. I rode a barge under tow outside of the inside passage Alaska during a storm we were rolling 35-40degrees for36 hours 1987 our chairs were sliding 10-15feet in the galley. I've seen green water come over a fore peak 30 feet above the boot top on a ship 300 ft long and 90ft wide (16 ft draft), in the Bering Sea while I was on deck checking lashings of flammable welding gasses etc. That after deck awash had to be fun stuff I hope all your WTdoors were solid.
I just read an article on Yahoo News that now you'll have to deal with humpback whales in NY harbor. I suppose that's a good thing that the Hudson River is cleaned up and the whale was looking for food but is still in danger of being hit by boat traffic. Cheers Tim. #CUOTO.
Oh yes. The message boards have been full about that. A couple years ago, the Kills were shut down because a whale was in there. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
AH, The memories, 50 years ago I was on Tugs in the North Sea. All seas were rough and scary to me..Do not blame you for going out in rough seas..CUOTO
Sounds like you were part of the Cajun Invasion, running anchors up there? Around the time the Theriot boats went over. There is an amazing book, available free in pdf format. Google "Cajun Mariners" and you will find it with a bit of digging. It covers all the ground, starting in the 30's, and includes some great insight as to what Bob Alerio got up to in his younger days :)
I remember as a kid watching tugs pulling barges on the Chesapeake. In bad weather, it was nothing like your videos, and I STILL wondered the strain on that wire and what it might take to part it. Apparently nothing the bay could dish up! LOL CUOTO!
Thank goodness for scuppers. This was, as usual, very good. Thank you. What I would like to see is those really big tugs that go out in rough weather to rescue or assist large vessels in distress. They are heroes. TOOT CUOTO.
Thank you for watching John. You might like the book, "The grey seas under" by Farley Moet 8f You are the reading sort. One of my favorites from when ships were made of wood and men were made of iron. CUOTO
Been there done that, have the Tee Shirt! I remember towing across the Gulf of Mexico in 25-30 footers! All that I can say is I'm glad that I did my last 10+ years on Intercon ATB"S!
My Dad was a US Navy SeaBee in the early '50's. He said on their way to the Philippian Islands & to work at Subic Bay the ocean crossing was so bad that everyone was puking & filling 55 gallon drums all around the ship. He wore eye glasses and wad so busy keeping his glasses clean when on watch that he never had time to think about being sick.
I remember when I was in the USMC, returning from a Med cruise on a troop ship, westbound, through the Strait of Gibraltar. Wind was 40 knots, with moderate rain and 15-foot swells. Two buddies and I decided to go to the bow, which was normally 25 feet above the water line. The ship pitched to where the tops of the waves hit just below us. Then one wave hit high enough to splash us. That wave pitched us way up, and we could see the next wave, six feel above us. We grabbed onto some pipes there, and held on. We were under water for about two seconds. We went back below, soaked, to get chewed out by our top sergeant.
40's aren't too bad depending on swell and cross swell but I was in 60'ers and a few that were 130, steel. But I've seen 60kts in a frigging fiberglass sailboat,40' and that required a change of pants/shorts on the way to Oahu from French Polynesia. Cool vids, thanks
Wow Tim that’s crazy!! The demoralizing part to me would be seeing nothing but waves to the horizon knowing that the rest of the day will be a beating. Respect Tim thanks for sharing Cap! II!
I had two wheelhouse windows punched in whilst standing by a platform in the North Sea. That particular platform supply ship whilst she had a bow that was three decks high it was like a knife with not too much flair to the bows. Hence she had a habit of cutting into rather than riding over a wave. We were dodging off the installation that night, waiting on weather (WOW most frequent log entry), I'd just left the bridge and was sat on my bunk taking my trousers off. I felt her go into this wave, knew it was a big one as the light outside my port went green as the wave passed the exterior light on that deck. Trousers back on rushed back to the bridge to be met by a cascade of sea water coming down the bridge stairs. That particular wave also swept all our liferafts over the side and destroyed our rescue boat. The thought we were in the brown stuff did go thru my mind seeing a couple of the by now inflated liferafts trailing behind us until their painters pulled out and they were gone. Anyway long story short; whilst it took out the forr'd bridge controls the after ones still functioned. Although we had lost the auto pilot and gyro compasses, so escorted back to Aberdeen by an AHTS that was in the field with us, the crew got some hand steering exercise in to finish that trip off!
@@TimBatSea Thanks Tim, I did fourteen years in that side of the offshore oil industry. Then just couldn't face another winter of it so went back coasting. At least there we could stay in port if it was howling a gale outside. Keep safe, keep sane and keep afloat Tim.
I am retired Navy. One time when I was on a Spruance class destroyer we got sent to rescue a sailboat because the weather was too bad for the Coast Guard. We had to deliver the boat and it's crew to the Coast Guard.
I fished the Bering sea in the eighties, it's always interesting seeing the weather in different areas. The waves are different, and the winds are always interesting. Have a great day.
Jerry, did you ever come across The All Alaskan a Blue processor 300 ft long an Aliute in a parka on the Stack ,she processed until 1995 or'96wher she caught fire again.
@@artbrownsr it sounds familiar, but I left there in 89 to go mining in the interior, so it's a vague memory. I mostly delivered and dealt with Eastpoint cannery.
@@artbrownsr Art - The All Alaskan had a few stories to tell. I recall seeing her in several locations during the late 70's and 80's. She ran aground on St Paul Island in March of 1987 and after the initial oil clean up I vaguely recall a buddy saying in 1992/93 that his company had a contract to salvage her and get her off the beach. Guess I assumed that they were going to cut her up but now I do not know. After seeing your comment I dug around and found that she caught fire off Cape Sarichef in July of '94 was towed to Dutch and the story ends. The ADF&G database has nothing for her after 1994. So now my best guess is that she was scrapped after the 1994 fire. I ran her Coast Guard hull number but found nothing.
@@denali9449 that is pretty well the story, I was on the first salvage team to take non perishable supplies and most of the equipment off. We left with just the basic ship, engine, and navigation systems that were not of value at the time then another team removed the rest to satisfy Coast Guard and environmental concerns. I left All Alaskan Seafoods in March '94, my brother left the zoo 1week before the fire.
Good morning Tim, thank you for the video, it's amazing how some of the tugboats stern are under water?? In rough seas. Take care and stay safe Tim and hope you're enjoying your holiday/vacation!. # CUOTO 👍😎🇬🇧.
Hey Tim good to see you sunning yourself at home in this crazy time, hope another of my stories doesn't bore you. My friend and I didn't intend aboard our two 1930s boats to set out into rough weather but locking delays at Flushing in Holland put 3 hrs. on out trip to Oostende to attend a classic boat rally. As we came down the coast winds and tide coming down the North Sea kept pushing us towards shore. To counter act this we tacked in motor cruisers. approaching Zeebrugge we decided to seek shelter and a good steak. Other boats that had gone ahead had to circle off Oostende as the harbour was closed due to wind farm heavy maneuvers. So it turned out we were the lucky one's, and just cruised in the next day.
Tim, I put 8 years in the Coast Guard and have seen the fury of the North Atlantic in Feb.-Mar. 2 words Hold On! I'm glad you don't have to face the heavy wx any more. We used to have a saying that it wasn't really rough unless there were white caps in the mayonnaise bowl!!
Thanks, Capt Tim. The sea, like the sky, is unforgiving. I notice your tug is in Boston, and surely such open water to get there from NY harbor can get pretty dicey.
Sometimes it happens, I have traveled 16Km at sea and then entering the harbour spent the next 6Km punching greenies (water over the deck). A friend of mine was on a 65m tug in the Med towing a barge and they hit a storm and at 75% power spent 2 days going backwards at 1.5 knots.
Been out there with 50k barrels on the wire in 10' seas which seems to be the limit most boat will go to. Took some getting use to when I started, but totally safe with a good skipper. Lots of thing you DON'T DO in those conditions-but straight pull is fine
Tim I could tell you stories about being on the USS Kitty Hawk CV 63 during the storms in the East China Sea. The waves were breaking up and over the bow of the USS KittyHawk and a bow is 75 feet above water. The cameras were set so we were able to watch them from her sleeping birth but the waves were horrendous and many of times I was walking on the bulkheads during that storm. Sadly it all changed that Dec. evening with the explosion and fire happened. Take care Tim. Until next time CUOTO
Good video. Most don't appreciate how rough it can get out there. How about doing a comparison between the tugs of the Atlantic and those used in the Mississippi. Why they are different in design. Having spent many years on the Hudson with the need to make the tight turns I think I know the answer, but have never seen a comparison in books or movies. Many thanks for your time making your videos. They are always great.
Yes it cannot give the reality of a big sea on a small screen. I was once doing an inspection job while the tug was going to Sicily. As we came out of the shelter of the land it was a full 8 on the nose. In the bunk that evening I was leaving the bunk as we came off the top of the wave. As I climbed up to the wheel house using one hand on the hand rail I thought I was not doing too well on the nimble movement stakes... But when I saw the mate with two hands on one handrail I felt a lot better and my “sea-legs” were not showing me up. The next morning I was taking photos as spray and green stuff was coming over the bow. I turned and took some of the after deck.. The Captain knew the capabilities of his vessel and as I was watching he took her off auto and spun her 360 deg. Confidence and a sight to remember. There is no getting away from the movement of a ship in heavy weather, once experienced never forgotten. Nice work bringing back memories.. Thanks. Alan CUOTO
Thank you for watching Alan. Yes, in a headsea, you find yourself almost weightless as the boat drops off a sea, only to be followed by feeling like you weigh 1000 pounds as the boat rises up on the next sea. CUOTO
I've seen 15 foot waves on Lake Ontario. I watched the big ships exit The St. Lawrence seaway and into open water at the Tibbits Point Lighthouse and the waves have almost no affect on a monster 1,000 foot ore boat compared to the crazy people on jet skies and pleasure craft dareing enough to venture out.
better you than me. one of the advantages of a submarine. rogue waves, you name it. my motto is " in the water, in the food chain". lots of skydives but you won't find me surfing. you guys have a lot in common with aircraft pilots and their operations i'm noticing.
No need to be out there when it is that rough. Sometimes we get caught on it plus the camera don’t pick up the actual size of the seas. Another great video Captain.
Capt Tim great video where you were filming your intro didn’t look the New York or Jersey looked more like Puerto Rico at least you get to relax where it’s warm keep up the hard work 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I imagine it must be a bit difficult to fall asleep in your bunk with the ship being tossed around like a cork. I see videos like this and know I made the right decision to join the Army instead of the Navy years ago. I've visited the USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin, and I had a co-worker who served on the New Jersey during the time it was active in Vietnam. He said they went thru a some heavy seas during a storm and the ship would get tossed around like that. I can't imagine a huge, heavy battleship being tossed around like a cork. Must be a bit scary,
@@TimBatSea Do you have any stories you could share with us on video about being in a bad storm that you were scared or thought "God, just let us make it thru this". That would make good content.
There are many that don't feel a thing, until they do. But most of us,(i don't get green or throw up) don't feel great as the weather deteriorates. But I have never sailed with anyone that has spent there life at see and didn't at one time or another, not feel their best. CUOTO
Pretty hairy stuff out there, reminds me of my short trips out of the Wareham River across the CC Canal Canal channel over to Bassett's Island for some beach time on my old 18' runabout. The morning is a nice ride but coming back was usually brutal with a south wind kicking up most every afternoon.
Thank you for watching Mike. Just a little reminder. We only have one rule on here. We try very hard not to mention by name, tugs, companies or customers. But yes. It was nasty on the east end of the CCC, so we are holding up until morning when it should lay down a bit. CUOTO
Great video. How about one of your maneuvers from the deckhands perspective? Show us how they talk the captain or pilot in or out of tight area. Thanks
Thank you for watching Mike. The most I can get out of my deckhands is their voices over the radio. They aren't as enthusiastic about being filmed as I wish. CUOTO
Loved the footage! It's exciting to watch boats on high seas but I found it punishing and not so much fun in 10 foot seas in a 27' aluminum sports fishing boat off the coast of Southeast Alaska. Thanks, Tim.
Hi TimBatSea, great footage, maybe add a few more strategically placed scuppers to expel the sea water piling up on the stern, that's what I find distressing given the tug's low freeboard at the stern. CUOTO
Thank you for watching Raoul. Actually, the freeing ports are sized by a formula and checked by ABS and the USCG. Remember that the tug is sealed up tight and we want to be as low and heavy as possible. CUOTO
I was on the Barney Turecamo (just christened out of the shipyard in LA), doing 3 week hitches running Blue Circle Cement from the mill up the river in Ravena between Jacksonville and Boston and points in between, when the North Cape ran up on Moonstone Beach. A couple of years later decking for Reinauer my mate was with Elkof at the time. And while the NTSB never made a determination as to the cause, he said they knew that the fidley fire was caused by dryer lint, and there was talk how an unsecured locker had tipped over in the rough seas becoming lodged against the companionway door from the galley. Because of this situation the only access was from the deck which put the made the fire supression controls just outside the galley door out of reach. Add to that the fire pump controls were also not accessible in the engine room due to the smoke as well as no Scott Packs on board. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news and do you possess any scuttlebutt? Sorry in advance for the wallpaper. I hope the pdf link works [Edit: it doesn't. But copy and paste into Google search brings you right there] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Cape_oil_spill The North Cape oil spill took place on Friday, January 19, 1996, when the tank barge North Cape and the tug Scandia grounded on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, after the tug caught fire in its engine room during a winter storm. An estimated 828,000 gallons of home heating oil was spilled. Oil spread throughout a large area of Block Island Sound, including Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, resulting in the closure of a 250-square-mile (650 km2) area of the Sound for fishing. *NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD - MAR-98/03* *MARINE ACCIDENT REPORT FIRE ABOARD THE TUG SCANDIA AND THE SUBSEQUENT GROUNDING OF THE TUG AND THE TANK BARGE NORTH CAPE ON MOONSTONE BEACH, SOUTH KINGSTON, RHODE ISLAND - JANUARY 19, 1996* scandia_northcape.pdf *Gallery: In 1996, the North Cape barge spilled oil on Rhode Island beaches - **providencejournal.com** - Providence, RI* www.providencejournal.com/photogallery/PJ/20180119/NEWS/119009999/PH/1 Thursday was the anniversary of the North Cape oil spill of Jan. 18, 1996. Twenty-two years ago, a winter storm drove the barge North Cape onto Moonstone Beach, where it spilled 828,000 gallons of home heating oil that killed thousands of shore birds and littered the beaches ankle deep with millions of dead lobsters. *Oil Tanker Spill Leaves Rhode Island with an Ecological Disaster* www.allthingspass.com/uploads/html-78OilTankerSpill-RI.htm
*Tugboat Scandia* www.tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=1003 Built in 1966, by St. Louis Ship of St. Louis, Missouri (hull #2536) as the Helen McAllister for McAllister Brothers Towing Company of New York, New York. In 1983, while towing a barge into Portland, Maine. The tug was "tripped" and sunk. She was later raised, and salvaged. In 1984, she was acquired by the Eklof Marine Corporation of Staten Island, New York. Where she was renamed as the Scandia. On Friday January 19th, 1996 the Scandia suffered an engine room fire while towing the unmanned barge North Cape. 4.5 miles off Point Judith, Rhode Island. About 0830, the tug grounded with the towing hawser remaining intact. When the Scandia grounded on Moonstone Beach on the Rhode Island coastline. Nearly all of her combustible interior, from the fidley grating upward through the galley, crew accommodations, and wheelhouse, was consumed by fire. *The fire on the originated near the center of the engine room fidley grating. However, the cause of the fire was never precisely determined.* All six crew members abandoned the tug amid ten foot waves, and twenty-five knot winds. The barge grounded at about 1800 on the rocks off of Nebraska Shoal, near Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. With the tug declared a constructive total loss, she was salvaged by the DonJon Marine Company of Hillside, New Jersey. The DonJon Marine Company refurbished the tug, and placed her into service. Where she was renamed as the Witte III. In 1997, the tug was acquired by Captain Arthur Fournier of the Portland Tugboat and Shipdocking Company of Portland, Maine. Where she was renamed as the Fournier Girls. In 2001, the Portland Tugboat and Shipdocking Company was acquired by the McAllister Towing and Transportation Company of New York, New York. Where the tug retained her name. Powered by a single, EMD 20-645-E5 diesel engine. With a Falk reduction gear, at a ratio of 6.552:1. Her propeller is fitted in a kort nozzle, with a flanking rudder. For a rated 4,000 horsepower. The tug's capacities are 48,000 gallons of fuel oil, 700 gallons of lube oil and 1,500 gallons of potable water. The tug is outfitted with a 3(in) diameter fire monitor, rated at 500 Gallons Per Minute. Her towing gear consisted of a Markey Single Drum towing winch was equipped with 2,500(ft) of 2.25(in) towing wire. However, in 2011 her towing machine and "texas" bar was removed. Vessel Name: FOURNIER GIRLSUSCG Doc. No.: 0517785Vessel Service: TOWING VESSELIMO Number: 06921359Trade Indicator: Coastwise Unrestricted, RegistryCall Sign: WDD4563Hull Material: STEELHull Number: 2536Ship Builder: ST. LOUIS SHIPYear Built: 1968Length: 111.5Hailing Port: WILMINGTON, DE. Hull Depth: 10.5 Hull Breadth: 30 Gross Tonnage: 198 Net Tonnage: 135 Owner: MCALLISTER TOWING AND TRANSPORTATION CO INC 17 BATTERY PLACE NEW YORK, NY 10004 Previous Vessel Names: Helen McAllister, Witte III, Scandia Previous Vessel Owners: McAllister Bros. Towing Co., Eklof Marine Corp., DonJon Marine Inc, Portland Tugboat and Shipdocking Co., MCALLISTER TOWING AND TRANSPORTATION CO INC
Oh yes. I remember that that day and we even drive down and saw the Scandia high and dry on the beach. Very sad, and if you watch my other videos, you will often hear me reference the incident. (Video we are on fire). Dryer lint was what had heard as well and is one of the most common source of fire on a Tugboat. CUOTO
How bad does it need to get before you get out of the notch? ATBs here on the east coast of Canada don't usually find themselves in this kinda weather, but if they do they seem to always stay in the notch.
Thank you for watching. Our push gear is quite a bit more tender than the pins on an ATB. We can take 3 or 4 feet on the nose but not much more the a couple on the side. CUOTO
When I worked on a R/V at sea, on rough days we’d tack a weighted pendulum string over a whiteboard, draw a scale on the board and called it our “Barfometer.”
Lol. That's great! Thank you for watching John. CUOTO
Same as we did in the US Navy. Lol.
Patent the idea; every boat needs one!
8 or 9 years ago I was awaiting a barge to load at Girarde Point at the Philly refinery. Was day after a big winter storm. Didn't show up when it was supposed to. Winds after that huge low pressure system were gusting to 65 mph. Wind kept pushing that empty barge right out of the Schuylkill River. Couldn't make the turn. I saw two tugs leave the city dock to help. When they finally docked the capt of that tug was a shaking mess and rightfully so.
Outch. No bueno. Thank you for watching Daniel. We have all had days we'd rather forget. CUOTO
Decades ago, in the summer of 1974, I was a Sea Scout and with three other classmates from our high school, we were able to go to sea on the USCG Cutter Tamaroa. We spent a month up and down the Eastern Seaboard and we hit a couple of storms. Fortunately, being from New York City and growing up riding the subways, we all had our "sea legs" already (no lie!) and none of the four of us ever got sick. There was only one time where I was scared and that was when I saw the skipper cross himself; then I realized how serious it was. I was a kid and didn't know any better! The Tam is now off the coast of Virginia, scuttled as a man-made reef. They tried to save her as a museum ship, but were not able to raise the funds. Thanks for the fun video, as always, Tim!
Thank you very much for watching. That is so cool you guys were able to do that. CUOTO
You go way out of your way to make us happy and happy I am. Thank you. And like
Thank you very much for watching and supporting the channel Gary. CUOTO
Yesterday I watched a rescue TV show about a tugboat that went down 20 miles offshore, during high seas. After 3 days of searching for survivors, a body recovery diver found one man still alive, trapped in an air pocket. I always try to learn from the experiences of others. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for watching. Those are amazing stories best read and not lived. CUOTO
Great video. I started sailing on tugs at the age of 16 as a galley boy with Wijsmuller in the Netherlands. Long trips for months on end.. towing just about everything that floats. Also a lot of rescues. Then after 30 years I decided it was enough.
Thank you very much for watching and welcome to the channel. CUOTO
Wow Tim thanks! That brings back some memories. Even remembering those cold wet nights with 25' seas and howling wind with many crew under the weather my memories are all good. The majesty of the sea, the intense colors, the relentless cold wet wind, the absolute beauty and power of mother nature always left me in awe. Its like a drug, you know that if you make the slightest mistake or aren't 110% prepared you can die in a heartbeat but it's an unbelievable experience.
Beautifully stated! Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Well said.
Tim, the sea is a truly interesting place - In 1997, we sailed Fiji, NZ, and with a few days of flat calm, then ten days of madness. A memory that is hard to fully explain to others. Beautiful yet beastly all in one. The Tasman and around southern NZ, an area that can be foul but so gloriously beautiful when the seabirds follow. The Petrels and the mighty Albatross. To fly around southern oceans, barely twitching a feather. Magnificent!
A sailor might work very hard, but it is a fortunate life. As always - thank you, Tim.
Thank you very much for watching and welcome to the channel. What a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing. CUOTO
Merry Christmas and let’s all have a Healthy and New Year to you and your Crew
Thank you very much. And the same to you and your crew. CUOTO
Here at 5:33 fellas, the seas are running 8 to 12 feet. I should know. Lol done it many a time. Buried the bow completely under the water on the, OCEAN STAR OCEAN VOYAGER. 4,900 HP 135 FEET LONG Deep Sea Going Tug. Btw Tim, I wouldn’t like Harbor work because to me, you stay to busy. You know as well as I do, that once you get out past the “Sea-Buoy”, And get your hawser / wire
Ran out, you can get settled into a long term rhythm. I always loved that. And, the heavy weather has a beauty all of its own.
Agreed with all of that! 100%! Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Thanks for the video’s Tim. I always enjoy this “Real “ reality TV. Hearing how others make a living. I work in a medical laboratory at night, documentary is my selected choice of entertainment.
Welcome to the channel Don. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Same 🥰 I don’t even watch tv lol only “real” stuff. So UA-cam is my jam 😍
That was awesome. My dad and I use to fish in the sea of Cortez. He had an old 21’ cabin boat with a 125 mercury. We’d go out 11 miles and some days it got rough. I’ve been sick a few times. We were like a little cork out there. We’d pull up to an occasional shrimper that was stopped and buy shrimp. Fun times but probably never going back. Last trip was 35 years ago and things have changed.
Thanks for sharing your clips. I enjoy them.
Thank you very much for watching. CUOTO
Yeah, we don’t go out in that stuff either. Anyone who’s truly seen bad weather offshore takes great delight in not having to do it ever again. Weather forecasts have gotten much better and owners have as well, at least in my world. Thanks for the reminder, though!
Thank you for watching Tony. CUOTO
When I was young my family owned a shipyard and we built rugs among other things. My grandfather would always say trust your boat it will take you home but then he built them for all weather and seas. We did talk about how ice is a killer though.
Thank you for watching John. CUOTO
What do you take for sea sickness? Strawberry jam snadwiches - they taste just as good on the way up as they did going down. We had one trip on a ferry across the English channel, bright sunshine, windy and rough. Just off the Isle of Wight she found a deep trough. All you could see through the front windows was green, and she kept going down and down... it wasn't that long but it certainly felt like it. She hit the other side with a big shudder and on we went. On another occasion at night we had to heave to because a fishing boat went down. A demonstration of how to roll, piles of plates in the restaurant smashing as well as bottles in the duty free! You are quite right, you don't want to be out there if you can avoid it.
Thank you for watching Martin. Seasickness effects different people in different ways. Some of us rarely feel sick and others get sick at anchor. I have found that when it is really bad, no one has time to be sick and just trys to hang on. CUOTO
OK ... when you are taking spray over the pilot house, you're out in something more than a 'light chop'! That was some excellent footage of the mean greenies submerging the Lido deck. It seems to me one of the hard things would be getting the tow and the tug in some sort of sync so you're not fighting against each other. Excellent footage, thanks.
Excelente point. They call that being "in step with the barge" but most often, if the depths permit, we pay out more wire and the added weight acts as a shock absorber. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
I did a bit of this on a "tin can" and took pics. Your so right " you have to be there".🤠
Thank you for watching Bob, and Thank you for your service. CUOTO
Spent some time in the anti-gravity locker forward....
I would carry boxes of frozen food up the ladder from the freezer by waiting for the bow to drop out from under me while I scrambled up the ladder. Had to get the timing right.
I actually just did pop a Dramamine too! I live on a boat and it’s quite windy today so I’m a-rockin’ pretty good!! Lived on here almost a year now and my tummy STILL isn’t used to it!!!
Thank you for watching Christina. You'll feel better as soon as your feet hit the dock. CUOTO
Your comment saying that the bow sits 10-15' above the water line stuck in my mind. Those first two examples of bows, showed just how huge those waves are. The very first bow shot looked like the bow was only even with or just above the waterline. Be careful out there, and thank you for yet another piece of your knowledge. CUOTO!!
Thank you for watching. And remember that the wheelhouse is much higher than the bow. Our hight of eye in our lower house is something like 27 feet. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea Jeeeeezzzzz,... 27 feet, and the windows were soaked.
Back in the 80’s I had a bad/good “Jamaica” Cod addiction out of Brielle, NJ about this time of year. I remember a few trips that even the mates were getting sick. “If you’ve never been cold, wet and scared you will never appreciate being warm, dry and safe”
Lol. Very true. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
This is a little different than being on a cruise ship at 60 above the sea. On a tug your right in it. Tim, thanks for posting the video. Be safe out there. Edward
Thank you for watching the Edward. CUOTO
Im glad to hear you generally don't go out in bad weather.
That is the plan! Thank you for watching Vee. CUOTO
Thank you Tim Merry Christmas, to you and all the family on board and on shore.
Thank you very much Marie. And the same to you and your family. CUOTO
Really enjoy your channel. I can relate to tugs. I was on a US Navy Ocean tug that also did salvage. My Dad was on a Navy harbor tug in wwii working in New York Harbor. Neither of us continued the work. I became a Firetruck mechanic.
Thank you for watching Dan. CUOTO
It has been around fifty years since I sailed blue water in the US NAVY . Some time was on a deep sea salvage tug the USS PRESERVER ARS-4. That ship was short and wide and rolled in a most frightening manner. At the peir. It carried two 35 to anchors on the main deck. The motions were seasick making even for some of the more experienced salts.
Another time was on a Destroyer Escort USS COATS out of New Haven, CT. One February, instead of going to Cuba for gunnery practice we went North out of Long Island Sound for Anti-submarine practice a couple of hundred miles East of Halifax, Canada. A WW2 DE is about 220 ft long and 24 ft wide. When it is taking 15 ft plus quartering sea it can develop some interesting motions. Taking the same sea head on will put green water past the foward turret (This may have been on a Destroyer). This ship would bury the bow so deep into a wave you thought you were joining the Submarine Service.
This trip was not fun in the sun. Incidentally the heaters in the crew compartments has been removed or broken. Not very warm either.
Some exaggeration but not much. This is a sea story.
LOL Understood. Sailors have been known to color the past. LOL. Thank you for watching and for your service. CUOTO
Why do you do this to me? You conjure up so many memories. A friend of mine got a Bayliner pleasure boat. He had a corvette. I had an el Camino with a trailer hitch. He did not. We took the boat out for some fun. I had never driven a trailer before. I had no light hook-ups to the trailer. Miraculously, we made it to the marina and safely down the ramp to launch his boat without a) me loosing the whole rig and car in the bay, and b) him leaving the plug out. We got some good waterskiing in at the marine stadium. We decided to take it out into the ocean, as we were done skiing AS THE WINDS STARTED PICKING UP CREATING SOME CHOP. Hint hint. We put on out the channel. The minute we made it out of the channel, we went for a wild fun ride - for about a minute until we did a 180 and headed for the safety of the marina. Obviously, our boat was not intended for rough open waters. It’s a good thing we didn’t have engine trouble or taken on too much water. Looking on back, I can just see us scratching our heads trying to figure why the engine stalled, if we would get it running before we ended up on the jetty. Ahh young, dum and full of chum.😂
One more for you. I was working at a department store. I never called in sick. But, this day, I was at work burning up with a fever. I was hurting. I left work sick to go home and recover. But, anyone who knows me, knows I didn’t go home. I went up the Malibu coast for about 40 miles. I love driving. But. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I hit the freeways (expressways) headed for home, only to find myself stuck in LA gridlock traffic. Ughhh! Going nowhere fast. I cranked up the heater trying to break my fever or something to help. I finally made it home. My brother told me a friend of his was the caretaker of a yacht. Some powerboat. He wanted to know if I wanted to join them on a harbor cruise. Ughhhhh. Ok. How do I pass up a chance like this? We headed out from Wilmington, calif., across LA & Long Beach harbors, catching a lovely sunset. We cruised on down to Newport Beach marina and pulled up like we were all that and then some. Had some dinner and drinks, then headed back. I’ll never forget the trip. Once I got out on that harbor, in the fresh air with my heavy jacked (middle of summer), I started feeling 100%! Good times! Thanks for another fine video! ✌️🤙
Thank you for watching Perry. Always love your stories. CUOTO
It might be that those that like to see rough seas have never been there, some of us have been there and have seen enough. I rode a barge under tow outside of the inside passage Alaska during a storm we were rolling 35-40degrees for36 hours 1987 our chairs were sliding 10-15feet in the galley. I've seen green water come over a fore peak 30 feet above the boot top on a ship 300 ft long and 90ft wide (16 ft draft), in the Bering Sea while I was on deck checking lashings of flammable welding gasses etc.
That after deck awash had to be fun stuff I hope all your WTdoors were solid.
Thank you for watching Art. Better to be in than out. CUOTO
Keep smashing them waves! Its a lot more fun to watch it on a screen than experience it for 16 hours lol
Or for three weeks! Lol. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Fuck yeah but dont u miss it?
Thank you, fair winds and following seas
CUOTO
People who have responsibility for other people's lives and property have exactly your approach to ''adventure', whatever field they work in.
Thank you for watching Phil. CUOTO
I just read an article on Yahoo News that now you'll have to deal with humpback whales in NY harbor. I suppose that's a good thing that the Hudson River is cleaned up and the whale was looking for food but is still in danger of being hit by boat traffic. Cheers Tim. #CUOTO.
Oh yes. The message boards have been full about that. A couple years ago, the Kills were shut down because a whale was in there. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
AH, The memories, 50 years ago I was on Tugs in the North Sea. All seas were rough and scary to me..Do not blame you for going out in rough seas..CUOTO
Thank you for watching James. CUOTO
Sounds like you were part of the Cajun Invasion, running anchors up there? Around the time the Theriot boats went over.
There is an amazing book, available free in pdf format.
Google "Cajun Mariners" and you will find it with a bit of digging.
It covers all the ground, starting in the 30's, and includes some great insight as to what Bob Alerio got up to in his younger days :)
Holy Mackerel!! Maersk Container Ship.. OK...Tug..NO.
Thank you Tim and happy holidays to all. You are brave men.
Happy Holidays to you as well Nancy. CUOTO
I remember as a kid watching tugs pulling barges on the Chesapeake. In bad weather, it was nothing like your videos, and I STILL wondered the strain on that wire and what it might take to part it. Apparently nothing the bay could dish up! LOL CUOTO!
Oh if only that were true. I know a few guys that have "parted wires" in both the Chesapeake and Delaware. Thank you very much for watching. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea Wow!!
Thank goodness for scuppers. This was, as usual, very good. Thank you.
What I would like to see is those really big tugs that go out in rough weather to rescue or assist large vessels in distress. They are heroes. TOOT CUOTO.
Thank you for watching John. You might like the book, "The grey seas under" by Farley Moet 8f You are the reading sort. One of my favorites from when ships were made of wood and men were made of iron. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea Wonderful book.
I enjoy watching where you guys go on marine traffic
Thank you for watching Steven. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea are you on the elk river right now
Very interesting, glad I don't get a full dose of that every day! Thanks for posting, Captain! CUOTO
Thank you for watching Randy. CUOTO
Been there done that, have the Tee Shirt! I remember towing across the Gulf of Mexico in 25-30 footers! All that I can say is I'm glad that I did my last 10+ years on Intercon ATB"S!
Good call. Thank you for watching. ATBs are what you want to be on if you are cought out in the stink. CUOTO
lol I Bet you are. Plus, your older now. It’s not as much fun getting bounced around past 50 as it wasn’t bad in your 20s / 30s.
A lot of this footage is how I feel when the lake gets choppy while I’m in my 12ft Jon boat lol
Lol. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
My Dad was a US Navy SeaBee in the early '50's. He said on their way to the Philippian Islands & to work at Subic Bay the ocean crossing was so bad that everyone was puking & filling 55 gallon drums all around the ship. He wore eye glasses and wad so busy keeping his glasses clean when on watch that he never had time to think about being sick.
Oh man, that's horrible. Thank you for watching Doug. I hope to never have to be out in anything like that. CUOTO
I remember when I was in the USMC, returning from a Med cruise on a troop ship, westbound, through the Strait of Gibraltar. Wind was 40 knots, with moderate rain and 15-foot swells. Two buddies and I decided to go to the bow, which was normally 25 feet above the water line. The ship pitched to where the tops of the waves hit just below us. Then one wave hit high enough to splash us. That wave pitched us way up, and we could see the next wave, six feel above us. We grabbed onto some pipes there, and held on. We were under water for about two seconds. We went back below, soaked, to get chewed out by our top sergeant.
Lol. Great story! Thank you for watching Sam! CUOTO
Great Video, Thanks for putting it together. Shows you the power of the seas. Don't mess with mother nature!!
Thank you for watching Wayne. CUOTO
Wow great video Tim Thanks for sharing
Thank you for watching Michael. CUOTO
40's aren't too bad depending on swell and cross swell but I was in 60'ers and a few that were 130, steel. But I've seen 60kts in a frigging fiberglass sailboat,40' and that required a change of pants/shorts on the way to Oahu from French Polynesia. Cool vids, thanks
Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Wow Tim that’s crazy!! The demoralizing part to me would be seeing nothing but waves to the horizon knowing that the rest of the day will be a beating. Respect Tim thanks for sharing Cap! II!
Thank you for watching Robert and welcome to the channel. CUOTO
Each great captain makes the great decision to stay away from great troubles where he needs his great skills to get away from. CUOTO!
True. Same applies to woman..... LOL Thank you for watching. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea You bet! 😄👍
I had two wheelhouse windows punched in whilst standing by a platform in the North Sea.
That particular platform supply ship whilst she had a bow that was three decks high it was like a knife with not too much flair to the bows. Hence she had a habit of cutting into rather than riding over a wave. We were dodging off the installation that night, waiting on weather (WOW most frequent log entry), I'd just left the bridge and was sat on my bunk taking my trousers off. I felt her go into this wave, knew it was a big one as the light outside my port went green as the wave passed the exterior light on that deck. Trousers back on rushed back to the bridge to be met by a cascade of sea water coming down the bridge stairs.
That particular wave also swept all our liferafts over the side and destroyed our rescue boat. The thought we were in the brown stuff did go thru my mind seeing a couple of the by now inflated liferafts trailing behind us until their painters pulled out and they were gone.
Anyway long story short; whilst it took out the forr'd bridge controls the after ones still functioned. Although we had lost the auto pilot and gyro compasses, so escorted back to Aberdeen by an AHTS that was in the field with us, the crew got some hand steering exercise in to finish that trip off!
Ricky. That sucks! I have always heard stories of windows getting knocked out, but thankfully I have never experienced it. Stay safe my brother. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea Thanks Tim, I did fourteen years in that side of the offshore oil industry. Then just couldn't face another winter of it so went back coasting. At least there we could stay in port if it was howling a gale outside. Keep safe, keep sane and keep afloat Tim.
I am retired Navy. One time when I was on a Spruance class destroyer we got sent to rescue a sailboat because the weather was too bad for the Coast Guard. We had to deliver the boat and it's crew to the Coast Guard.
Thank you for watching Chris. If you are new to the channel, Welcome. Please consider subscribing. I try to post new content every Tuesday. CUOTO
Being far from shore is tough. In those conditions it's something else. Hard to believe they didn't have weather forecasting at one point.
Thank you for watching. Weather forecasting has come a long way, but it still takes 5 days to get across the guff and things can change. CUOTO
I’d rather be in here wishin’ I was out there than out there wishin’ I was in here......
I used to paraglide, and we used to say, better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground
Thank you for watching. Great quote, both of you! CUOTO
@@BigBadLoneWolf That’s funny cause I learned that saying from a 92 yr old PILOT..... I just modified it to my own needs by switching out for up
@@privateer177666 It is definitely used in aviation circles...
I fished the Bering sea in the eighties, it's always interesting seeing the weather in different areas. The waves are different, and the winds are always interesting. Have a great day.
Thank you for watching Jerry. Yes, too find the waves different in different areas. The GOM has much different seas than the east coast. CUOTO
Jerry, did you ever come across The All Alaskan a Blue processor 300 ft long an Aliute in a parka on the Stack ,she processed until 1995 or'96wher she caught fire again.
@@artbrownsr it sounds familiar, but I left there in 89 to go mining in the interior, so it's a vague memory. I mostly delivered and dealt with Eastpoint cannery.
@@artbrownsr Art - The All Alaskan had a few stories to tell. I recall seeing her in several locations during the late 70's and 80's. She ran aground on St Paul Island in March of 1987 and after the initial oil clean up I vaguely recall a buddy saying in 1992/93 that his company had a contract to salvage her and get her off the beach. Guess I assumed that they were going to cut her up but now I do not know. After seeing your comment I dug around and found that she caught fire off Cape Sarichef in July of '94 was towed to Dutch and the story ends. The ADF&G database has nothing for her after 1994. So now my best guess is that she was scrapped after the 1994 fire. I ran her Coast Guard hull number but found nothing.
@@denali9449 that is pretty well the story, I was on the first salvage team to take non perishable supplies and most of the equipment off. We left with just the basic ship, engine, and navigation systems that were not of value at the time then another team removed the rest to satisfy Coast Guard and environmental concerns. I left All Alaskan Seafoods in March '94, my brother left the zoo 1week before the fire.
This one popped up on my feed. Thanks Cap’n. Brought back memories from the Alaska and the Gulf days. I’m smiling now😂👍🏻
Thank you very much for watching Doc! CUOTO
Good morning Tim, thank you for the video, it's amazing how some of the tugboats stern are under water?? In rough seas. Take care and stay safe Tim and hope you're enjoying your holiday/vacation!. # CUOTO 👍😎🇬🇧.
Good morning Wayne. It's not always that bad, lol. But yes, they are designed to be low in the water. CUOTO
That was Awesome ! You just keep your A$$ tied up on days like that! Thanks for sharing Tim! CUOTO! 😎⚓
Thank you for watching Rick. Oh yes. My days of taking a beating are now as few as possible! CUOTO
Hey Tim good to see you sunning yourself at home in this crazy time, hope another of my stories doesn't bore you.
My friend and I didn't intend aboard our two 1930s boats to set out into rough weather but locking delays at Flushing in Holland put 3 hrs. on out trip to Oostende to attend a classic boat rally. As we came down the coast winds and tide coming down the North Sea kept pushing us towards shore. To counter act this we tacked in motor cruisers. approaching Zeebrugge we decided to seek shelter and a good steak. Other boats that had gone ahead had to circle off Oostende as the harbour was closed due to wind farm heavy maneuvers. So it turned out we were the lucky one's, and just cruised in the next day.
Thank you for watching. Yes, better to boat tomorrow than be beaten up today. CUOTO
Tim, I put 8 years in the Coast Guard and have seen the fury of the North Atlantic in Feb.-Mar.
2 words Hold On! I'm glad you don't have to face the heavy wx any more. We used to have a saying that it wasn't really rough unless there were white caps in the mayonnaise bowl!!
😂😂😂 That's great! I might have to steal that from you. 😂 Thank you very much for watching Jon.. CUOTO
May you always have fair winds and calm seas.
Thank you very much for watching Steve! CUOTO
Thanks, Capt Tim. The sea, like the sky, is unforgiving. I notice your tug is in Boston, and surely such open water to get there from NY harbor can get pretty dicey.
We are actually anchored up west of the CCC waiting on WX to subside. (I know, we are pussies) LOL. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Been there done that got the tshirt and still didnt spill my tea haha good video mate
Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Nice Location dosent look like the cold North east, Pleasant carribean island ! Great videos sir
Thank you Ed. The opening shot was at my home in Puerto Rico. CUOTO
Thank you! From Panama 🇵🇦
Thank you for watching Lito. Please consider subscribing. I try to post new content every Tuesday. CUOTO
Sometimes it happens, I have traveled 16Km at sea and then entering the harbour spent the next 6Km punching greenies (water over the deck). A friend of mine was on a 65m tug in the Med towing a barge and they hit a storm and at 75% power spent 2 days going backwards at 1.5 knots.
Thank you for watching Sean. Yes it happens. CUOTO
Been out there with 50k barrels on the wire in 10' seas which seems to be the limit most boat will go to. Took some getting use to when I started, but totally safe with a good skipper. Lots of thing you DON'T DO in those conditions-but straight pull is fine
Thank you very much for watching and welcome to the channel Will. CUOTO
excellent video thank you tim
Thank you James. CUOTO
Mein der boaten gurgle floggen!
Another excellent video!
Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Tim I could tell you stories about being on the USS Kitty Hawk CV 63 during the storms in the East China Sea. The waves were breaking up and over the bow of the USS KittyHawk and a bow is 75 feet above water. The cameras were set so we were able to watch them from her sleeping birth but the waves were horrendous and many of times I was walking on the bulkheads during that storm. Sadly it all changed that Dec. evening with the explosion and fire happened. Take care Tim. Until next time CUOTO
Outch! Terrible ending to your story. Lol. Thank you for watching George. CUOTO
Used to operate a lobster boat in the Gulf of Maine... looks familiar. Land folk have no idea.
Thank you for watching Ian. CUOTO
Good video. Most don't appreciate how rough it can get out there. How about doing a comparison between the tugs of the Atlantic and those used in the Mississippi. Why they are different in design. Having spent many years on the Hudson with the need to make the tight turns I think I know the answer, but have never seen a comparison in books or movies. Many thanks for your time making your videos. They are always great.
Great idea Charley. I may get with a river pushboat guy and we could talk about it together. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Thanks for this. I had wondered about how you made the call when to go out. This is fascinating and terrifying.
Thank you for watching Bryan. CUOTO
It would be wild to see the Kills, or the Sound like that. Enjoy your southern hideaway. Thanks Tim
Thank you for watching William. CUOTO
Brings me back to Alaskan waters ! 👍👍🤛🤛
Thank you for watching Phil. CUOTO
Yes it cannot give the reality of a big sea on a small screen. I was once doing an inspection job while the tug was going to Sicily. As we came out of the shelter of the land it was a full 8 on the nose. In the bunk that evening I was leaving the bunk as we came off the top of the wave. As I climbed up to the wheel house using one hand on the hand rail I thought I was not doing too well on the nimble movement stakes... But when I saw the mate with two hands on one handrail I felt a lot better and my “sea-legs” were not showing me up.
The next morning I was taking photos as spray and green stuff was coming over the bow. I turned and took some of the after deck.. The Captain knew the capabilities of his vessel and as I was watching he took her off auto and spun her 360 deg. Confidence and a sight to remember. There is no getting away from the movement of a ship in heavy weather, once experienced never forgotten. Nice work bringing back memories.. Thanks. Alan CUOTO
Thank you for watching Alan. Yes, in a headsea, you find yourself almost weightless as the boat drops off a sea, only to be followed by feeling like you weigh 1000 pounds as the boat rises up on the next sea. CUOTO
Just another day at the office...😁. Thank you for uploading, cuoto!
Thank you for watching. CUOTO
I've seen 15 foot waves on Lake Ontario. I watched the big ships exit The St. Lawrence seaway and into open water at the Tibbits Point Lighthouse and the waves have almost no affect on a monster 1,000 foot ore boat compared to the crazy people on jet skies and pleasure craft dareing enough to venture out.
Thank you for watching. CUOTO
Great footage, thanks Tim. Merry Christmas to you and family...
Thank you very much Rob and the same to you and your family as well. CUOTO
better you than me. one of the advantages of a submarine. rogue waves, you name it. my motto is " in the water, in the food chain". lots of skydives but you won't find me surfing. you guys have a lot in common with aircraft pilots and their operations i'm noticing.
Thank you for watching! No. pilots get all the hot chicks. We get what's left over. LOL CUOTO
love how you added the classic Seinfeld clip!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂 Had to. 😂 Thank you for watching. CUOTO
No need to be out there when it is that rough. Sometimes we get caught on it plus the camera don’t pick up the actual size of the seas. Another great video Captain.
Thank you very much for watching Anderson. CUOTO
Capt Tim great video where you were filming your intro didn’t look the New York or Jersey looked more like Puerto Rico at least you get to relax where it’s warm keep up the hard work 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you for watching Angel. Yes, I live in Puerto Rico. CUOTO
Gives a whole new meaning to "decks awash"!
Thank you for watching. CUOTO
This is exactly what decks awash means
Great video, thank you!
Thank you for watching and welcome to the channel Mike. CUOTO
I imagine it must be a bit difficult to fall asleep in your bunk with the ship being tossed around like a cork. I see videos like this and know I made the right decision to join the Army instead of the Navy years ago. I've visited the USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin, and I had a co-worker who served on the New Jersey during the time it was active in Vietnam. He said they went thru a some heavy seas during a storm and the ship would get tossed around like that. I can't imagine a huge, heavy battleship being tossed around like a cork. Must be a bit scary,
Thank you for watching. It's bad enough having to deal with heavy weather, but at least, for the most part, no one is shooting at us. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea Do you have any stories you could share with us on video about being in a bad storm that you were scared or thought "God, just let us make it thru this". That would make good content.
@@kman-mi7su i suppose I can. I have tried very hard to forget most of them, but they still live in my nightmares. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea In a weird way, it might help to share them. Get them out of the way I guess.
that should hold us for a while thanks Tim
Thank you Garth. CUOTO
Never got sick not once in 22 years , skipper said I was a mutant ! Lol !
There are many that don't feel a thing, until they do. But most of us,(i don't get green or throw up) don't feel great as the weather deteriorates. But I have never sailed with anyone that has spent there life at see and didn't at one time or another, not feel their best. CUOTO
Glad my days on the ocean are over. Rough weather breaks up the monotony but calm seas are so much nicer.
Oh yes! Agreed! Thank you for watching Jerome. CUOTO
Thank you..no way in hell would I be out there in that weather ....great video...have a safe and enjoyable holiday season
Thank you very much Adam. Same to you and your family. CUOTO
Pretty hairy stuff out there, reminds me of my short trips out of the Wareham River across the CC Canal Canal channel over to Bassett's Island for some beach time on my old 18' runabout. The morning is a nice ride but coming back was usually brutal with a south wind kicking up most every afternoon.
Thank you for watching Mike. Just a little reminder. We only have one rule on here. We try very hard not to mention by name, tugs, companies or customers. But yes. It was nasty on the east end of the CCC, so we are holding up until morning when it should lay down a bit. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea My apologies, edited the previous response.
@@mikeboutin5084 not s problem. CUOTO
Great video. How about one of your maneuvers from the deckhands perspective? Show us how they talk the captain or pilot in or out of tight area. Thanks
Thank you for watching Mike. The most I can get out of my deckhands is their voices over the radio. They aren't as enthusiastic about being filmed as I wish. CUOTO
Sheesh... Can't even imagine the stress dealing with all that.. :/
Thank you for watching Mark. CUOTO
Loved the footage! It's exciting to watch boats on high seas but I found it punishing and not so much fun in 10 foot seas in a 27' aluminum sports fishing boat off the coast of Southeast Alaska. Thanks, Tim.
Thank you for watching and -please consider subscribing. I try to post new content every Tuesday. CUOTO
@@TimBatSea Thank you, Tim. I have been subscribed for many months.
@@gratefulot360 Thank you very much!
Hi TimBatSea, great footage, maybe add a few more strategically placed
scuppers to expel the sea water piling up on the stern, that's what I find distressing given
the tug's low freeboard at the stern. CUOTO
Thank you for watching Raoul. Actually, the freeing ports are sized by a formula and checked by ABS and the USCG. Remember that the tug is sealed up tight and we want to be as low and heavy as possible. CUOTO
That must be the "Revenge of the Gowanus Canal"😂
LOL That is a funny one!!! Thank you for watching Nicholas. CUOTO
Well that’s ONE way to wash the decks. 👍
Thank you for watching and welcome to the channel. Please consider subscribing. CUOTO
I was on the Barney Turecamo (just christened out of the shipyard in LA), doing 3 week hitches running Blue Circle Cement from the mill up the river in Ravena between Jacksonville and Boston and points in between, when the North Cape ran up on Moonstone Beach.
A couple of years later decking for Reinauer my mate was with Elkof at the time.
And while the NTSB never made a determination as to the cause, he said they knew that the fidley fire was caused by dryer lint, and there was talk how an unsecured locker had tipped over in the rough seas becoming lodged against the companionway door from the galley. Because of this situation the only access was from the deck which put the made the fire supression controls just outside the galley door out of reach. Add to that the fire pump controls were also not accessible in the engine room due to the smoke as well as no Scott Packs on board.
Do you remember where you were when you heard the news and do you possess any scuttlebutt?
Sorry in advance for the wallpaper. I hope the pdf link works
[Edit: it doesn't. But copy and paste into Google search brings you right there]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Cape_oil_spill
The North Cape oil spill took place on Friday, January 19, 1996, when the tank barge North Cape and the tug Scandia grounded on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, after the tug caught fire in its engine room during a winter storm.
An estimated 828,000 gallons of home heating oil was spilled. Oil spread throughout a large area of Block Island Sound, including Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, resulting in the closure of a 250-square-mile (650 km2) area of the Sound for fishing.
*NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
BOARD - MAR-98/03*
*MARINE ACCIDENT REPORT
FIRE ABOARD THE TUG SCANDIA AND THE SUBSEQUENT GROUNDING OF THE TUG AND THE TANK BARGE NORTH CAPE ON MOONSTONE
BEACH, SOUTH KINGSTON, RHODE ISLAND - JANUARY 19, 1996*
scandia_northcape.pdf
*Gallery: In 1996, the North Cape barge spilled oil on Rhode Island beaches - **providencejournal.com** - Providence, RI*
www.providencejournal.com/photogallery/PJ/20180119/NEWS/119009999/PH/1
Thursday was the anniversary of the North Cape oil spill of Jan. 18, 1996. Twenty-two years ago, a winter storm drove the barge North Cape onto Moonstone Beach, where it spilled 828,000 gallons of home heating oil that killed thousands of shore birds and littered the beaches ankle deep with millions of dead lobsters.
*Oil Tanker Spill Leaves Rhode Island with an Ecological Disaster*
www.allthingspass.com/uploads/html-78OilTankerSpill-RI.htm
*Tugboat Scandia*
www.tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=1003
Built in 1966, by St. Louis Ship of St. Louis, Missouri (hull #2536) as the Helen McAllister for McAllister Brothers Towing Company of New York, New York.
In 1983, while towing a barge into Portland, Maine. The tug was "tripped" and sunk. She was later raised, and salvaged.
In 1984, she was acquired by the Eklof Marine Corporation of Staten Island, New York. Where she was renamed as the Scandia.
On Friday January 19th, 1996 the Scandia suffered an engine room fire while towing the unmanned barge North Cape. 4.5 miles off Point Judith, Rhode Island.
About 0830, the tug grounded with the towing hawser remaining intact. When the Scandia grounded on Moonstone Beach on the Rhode Island coastline. Nearly all of her combustible interior, from the fidley grating upward through the galley, crew accommodations, and wheelhouse, was consumed by fire.
*The fire on the originated near the center of the engine room fidley grating. However, the cause of the fire was never precisely determined.*
All six crew members abandoned the tug amid ten foot waves, and twenty-five knot winds. The barge grounded at about 1800 on the rocks off of Nebraska Shoal, near Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. With the tug declared a constructive total loss, she was salvaged by the DonJon Marine Company of Hillside, New Jersey.
The DonJon Marine Company refurbished the tug, and placed her into service. Where she was renamed as the Witte III.
In 1997, the tug was acquired by Captain Arthur Fournier of the Portland Tugboat and Shipdocking Company of Portland, Maine. Where she was renamed as the Fournier Girls.
In 2001, the Portland Tugboat and Shipdocking Company was acquired by the McAllister Towing and Transportation Company of New York, New York. Where the tug retained her name.
Powered by a single, EMD 20-645-E5 diesel engine. With a Falk reduction gear, at a ratio of 6.552:1. Her propeller is fitted in a kort nozzle, with a flanking rudder. For a rated 4,000 horsepower.
The tug's capacities are 48,000 gallons of fuel oil, 700 gallons of lube oil and 1,500 gallons of potable water.
The tug is outfitted with a 3(in) diameter fire monitor, rated at 500 Gallons Per Minute. Her towing gear consisted of a Markey Single Drum towing winch was equipped with 2,500(ft) of 2.25(in) towing wire. However, in 2011 her towing machine and "texas" bar was removed.
Vessel Name: FOURNIER GIRLSUSCG Doc. No.: 0517785Vessel Service: TOWING VESSELIMO Number: 06921359Trade Indicator: Coastwise Unrestricted, RegistryCall Sign: WDD4563Hull Material: STEELHull Number: 2536Ship Builder: ST. LOUIS SHIPYear Built: 1968Length: 111.5Hailing Port: WILMINGTON, DE.
Hull Depth: 10.5
Hull Breadth: 30
Gross Tonnage: 198
Net Tonnage: 135
Owner:
MCALLISTER TOWING AND TRANSPORTATION CO INC
17 BATTERY PLACE
NEW YORK, NY 10004
Previous Vessel Names:
Helen McAllister, Witte III, Scandia
Previous Vessel Owners:
McAllister Bros. Towing Co.,
Eklof Marine Corp.,
DonJon Marine Inc,
Portland Tugboat and Shipdocking Co., MCALLISTER TOWING AND TRANSPORTATION CO INC
Oh yes. I remember that that day and we even drive down and saw the Scandia high and dry on the beach. Very sad, and if you watch my other videos, you will often hear me reference the incident. (Video we are on fire). Dryer lint was what had heard as well and is one of the most common source of fire on a Tugboat. CUOTO
Terrific, Tim. Thanks.
Thank you for watching and welcome to the channel. CUOTO
I would have chewed a pound of bonine and still vomited a gallon. My hats are off to you guys ....
Lol. Thank you for watching Jason. CUOTO
You betcha I subscribed to this channel!!
Thank you very much for watching Garland. CUOTO
How bad does it need to get before you get out of the notch? ATBs here on the east coast of Canada don't usually find themselves in this kinda weather, but if they do they seem to always stay in the notch.
Thank you for watching. Our push gear is quite a bit more tender than the pins on an ATB. We can take 3 or 4 feet on the nose but not much more the a couple on the side. CUOTO
Excellent footage, think I will stay a retired seafarer, love being an arm-chair sailor!
Lol. Good for you Todd. Thank you for watching. CUOTO
That was like watching Steve McQueen's car chase in "Bullit" :)
Lol. Thank you for watching David! CUOTO