The historic tug Pegasus and Lehigh Valley Barge No. 79, the latter property of the Waterfront Museum at Red Hook, will be visiting Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park (foot of Atlantic Avenue; to get there, go to the foot of Joralemon Street, cross Furman, turn left and walk one block to the pier entrance), arriving tomorrow and continuing through Tuesday, August 31. A schedule of activities, which includes tours of the barge and free tug rides, is on the Park’s website.
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Runners pound the pavement as M/V Ambassador, a self-unloading dry bulk cargo ship, passes under the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, heading seaward after discharging a cargo of Canadian crushed stone at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Last September, the Dutch frigate HNLMS Tromp (at the far end of the pier in the photo above), along with other NATO warships, docked at Pier 7 near the foot of Atlantic Avenue to allow the crew a few days’ liberty. Earlier today, as Tromp was sailing with other European Union warships off the coast of East Africa, Somali pirates, evidently mistaking her for an unarmed merchant vessel, attempted an attack:
As seen from the Promenade Tuesday morning, ice floes clog the embayment between Piers 3 and 4 as a Moran tug sails into the East River. A New York Water Taxi and a Staten Island ferry are in the background. In the clear air, New Jersey’s Watchung First Mountain is easily visible on the horizon.
The parade of foreign warships visiting Brooklyn continues. As seen from the Promenade this morning, the German air defense frigate Hessen, accompanied by a Moran tug, approaches her berth at Pier 7, near the foot of Atlantic Avenue. Her sister ship, Sachsen, docked at the same pier in May. (more…)
Your correspondent got this photo of the Danish frigate HMDS Thetis from the Brooklyn Bridge this morning. She was approaching Pier 7, at the foot of Atlantic Avenue, where she is now docked. I hope the bars along Atlantic are well stocked with Carlsberg beer. Thetis is visiting New York along with nine other ships from various nations, making up NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group 1.
Tug and Barge Week at Pier 6
Mr. Junkersfeld’s Plea for Pier 4
Karl, Heights history buff extraordinaire, gives us a visual tour of Pier 4, lying below and just to the north of the foot of Montague Street, showing its bustling past as an essential element in a commercial and industrial waterfront, its disuse, decay, and present decrepitude.
Tall Ship to Visit Red Hook
The barkentine Gazela will arrive at Pier 11 (enter at Pioneer and Conover Streets), Red Hook, this Wednesday, August 18, and remain through Monday, August 23. Tours of the ship will be available Thursday from 2-5 pm, Friday from 2-6 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, and Monday from 2-5 pm. A $5 donation is requested for tours, but is not mandatory.
Cabaret Red Light will present two performances of Seven Deadly Seas, one at 8:00 pm and one at 10:00 pm, on Gazela’s deck each evening Thursday through Sunday (Monday is the rain date). The show is described as “an adult thing” because it includes “a modest burlesque” at the close. Tickets are $25, and may be purchased here. (more…)
A Fine Day for a Sail
BHB Photo by C. Scales
Clipper City is a 1984 replica of an 1854 vintage schooner built to haul cargo on the Great Lakes. This is her second summer taking passengers on cruises in New York Harbor, departing from Pier 17 at South Street Seaport. She can often be seen from the Promenade (from which the above photo was taken today) while leaving or approaching her dock.
Cruises on Clipper City can be booked through Manhattan by Sail’s website, which also shows the daily sailing schedule, or by calling 212-619-0907. Fares start at $39 for adults, $35 for seniors, and $17 for children under 12.
Brooklyn Heights History: the Low Family and the China Trade
Will Van Dorp, of Tugster: a Waterblog, has an interesting post about the Heights, focusing on Abiel Abbot Low, who came here from Salem, Massachusetts, owned clipper ships in the China trade, and lived in a large townhouse on Pierrepont Place, next to the Montague Street entrance to the Promenade. The adjoining townhouse to the north, next to what is now the Pierrepont Playground, was the residence of Alexander White, whose fortune came from fur trading.
Tugster: a Waterblog: A. A. Low moved to Brooklyn Heights after spending six years in Canton’s markets dealing with Wu Bingjian aka Howqua. From Brooklyn Heights, Low could observe the goings and comings of his fleet of China clippers over at South Street when it was a seaport in the years between the First and Second Opium Wars.
Low’s son, Seth, named for his grandfather, served as Mayor of Brooklyn, then as President of Columbia College (which moved from midtown Manhattan to Morningside Heights and became Columbia University during his tenure), and then as mayor of New York City following its merger with Brooklyn.
Pier 1 in the Morning
BHB photo by Claude Scales
Former Pier 7 Visitor Repels Somali Pirates
BHB photo by C. Scales
AOL News (Jason Straziuso, AP): NAIROBI, Kenya (March 18) — These Somali pirates picked the wrong ship to hijack. (more…)
Ice Before the Snow
BHB photo by C. Scales
German Navy Re-visits Pier 7
BHB photo by C. Scales
Danes invade Brooklyn
BHB photo by C. Scales
Update: Belgians, Canadians, Dutch, and Norwegians join in! More photos and text after the jump. (more…)
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