hey rshrew! did Western win?
great to see the old Miki tug GALENE in the scrum…my dad was master on her when she as still towing under the name POLAR SEA
weeeee!
[QUOTE=c.captain;137648]
great to see the old Miki tug GALENE in the scrum…my dad was master on her when she as still towing under the name POLAR SEA
weeeee![/QUOTE]
In the early 80’s, thinking 82, a Miki class tug named Polar Sea towed the WSF ferry KULSHAN from Seattle to Baltimore. KULSHAN was acquired by the USCG and was going to the CG yard in Curtis Creek before assignment as the next Governors Island ferry in NY harbor.
After dropping tow, Polar Sea went up to Broadway and tied up in front of what was then Vane Bros’ offices. I got to be friendly with the crew as I lived in the neighborhood and visited the tug daily.
I know this because I watched Polar Sea enter Baltimore harbor with KULSHAN on the tow wire as I shot a couple of rolls of film from the pilot launch.
Could your father been skipper of Polar Sea at that time?
We did, I ran the Arctic Titan and avg. speed was 14.3 with some left in the tank if I needed it. Boat still had 90k gal of fuel on her too. Was a fun race!
[QUOTE=capnfab;137690]I watched Polar Sea enter Baltimore harbor with KULSHAN on the tow wire as I shot a couple of rolls of film from the pilot launch. Could your father been skipper of Polar Sea at that time?[/QUOTE]
You know that I don’t believe he was master on that voyage but would have to ask him on that. I do know he did many tows on the west coast though from Alaska to Mexico. I believe she was the very last working MikiMiki of the “Forgotten 61”
Here’s one from the wayback machine…POLAR SEA, WESTERN SEA ONE and HAIDA WARRIOR all sitting at Seattle pier 57 sometime in the mid 80’s.
This was the exact time that my dad was skippering all of these boats at one time or the other…
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[QUOTE=c.captain;137698]You know that I don’t believe he was master on that voyage but would have to ask him on that. I do know he did many tows on the west coast though from Alaska to Mexico. I believe she was the very last working MikiMiki of the “Forgotten 63”
Here’s one from the wayback machine…POLAR SEA, WESTERN SEA ONE and HAIDA WARRIOR all sitting at Seattle pier 57 sometime in the mid 80’s.
This was the exact time that my dad was skippering all of these boats at one time or the other…[/QUOTE]
I’ve got some images to upload, but Photobucket isn’t cooperating.
Polar Sea sat at Broadway for a few weeks before shoving off for the West Coast. Light boat.
One of the crew, an assistant engineer/deckhand maybe, married a secretary that worked in Vane Bros’ office. I think she packed up and drove west as her new husband went the long way via tugboat.
As far as I know, Polar Sea was the last wooden hulled tugboat to tow into the harbor.
As soon as I can figure out to get them posted, I’ll have pics.
I hope USCG tug inspection does not prevent the appropriate future use of the remaining old time tugs.
Mid ships close up of tug Polar Sea. I believe that is Capt. John Anderson, Association of Maryland Pilots.
Stern view of tug Polar Sea arriving Baltimore, 81 or 82. I’ll see if the Baltimore Maritime Exchange has a record.
Apologies for the not so great images. I was 15 or 16 years old using a manual camera. Sometimes, I just didn’t get the settings right.
[QUOTE=capnfab;137720]Apologies for the not so great images. I was 15 or 16 years old using a manual camera. Sometimes, I just didn’t get the settings right.[/QUOTE]
Not at all, the slightly grainy images are perfect for the era…they set the time.
btw, asked my old man (can you believe an old man like me still has an old man himself?) and he wasn’t on POLAR SEA for that voyage. All those old Miki tugs were being run by Stabbert Associates back then. I think they were the last operators of those old derelicts…er, I mean classics. They also had an old USCG “buck and a quarter” named the POLAR MERCHANT they towed with.
My dad ran that old piece of shit quite often and is full of sea stories about battling hideous weather off the Oregon coast on her. How he lived to tell those tales is a miracle in itself!
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[QUOTE=rshrew;137696]We did, I ran the Arctic Titan and avg. speed was 14.3 with some left in the tank if I needed it. Boat still had 90k gal of fuel on her too. Was a fun race![/QUOTE]
Congrats. Wish I could have been out there this year for it.
A couple of shots from the 1998 races. I was aboard Drew Foss as a guest, my ship down at Terminal 25.
Just getting started. We were out in front for a short while before HUNTER activated the booster rocket.
[ATTACH]3929[/ATTACH] Here is a shot of the start
That’s the fallacy of the whole thing…tugs ain’t supposed to be fast but to pull hard. When you look at the wakes these boats throw you realize how much HP is just going to making alot of water get out of the way. Give me a slow fuel efficient tug with lots of bollard pull any day. That’s what makes a real honest towing vessel that does the job and makes an owner money at the same time. Those Crowley boats are fine vessels but not economical to operate. They came from a time when diesel was less than $300 a ton.
Huge diameter props with lots of pitch geared down turned slow but create thrust! That’s my kind of tug.
one must remember that the Miki’s all were originally constructed during WWII for the US Army Transportation Corps as 125’ class LT’s. 61 all told were built on both east and west coasts. A number served at Normandy during D-Day even!
These wonderful old time tugs made history on the US west coast for half a century after the war ended but all I know of is two survivors, the GALENE and the DOMINION…both now long retired and moored in the Lake Washington Ship Canal. May the pair live on forever!
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Rumor is the dominion is for sale…c-capt charter business? They added on to her lower house and extended it to the aft deck always though so she has lost the classic lines of an original miki.
actually, the c.captain is at this very moment working on the conversion of another certain very classic vessel to become an Alaskan charter yacht. Sorry can’t go into details, but if it takes, it will be something very unique in the world.
They added on to her lower house and extended it to the aft deck always though so she has lost the classic lines of an original miki.
did they do it in wood, steel or aluminum? Does it at all match the original cabin lines or just a box like so many other conversions? Don’t get to Seattle as much anymore so don’t know what is happening to all the great old timers down there. I am sick that the JOHN COBB is just rotting away at the Maritime Center like she is.
Simply CRIMINAL! She needs to go to NW Seaport and stay there where she will be loved instead of ignored where she is now!
The POLAR MERCHANT looks familiar - was that a old WWII sub chaser? I remember a tug up in Alaska around '93 that looked a lot like it.
I can’t say for sure but I think they replicated the original house to keep the same look I will try and remember to sneak a peak this week when I am down that way and, Confirm
[QUOTE=salt’n steel;137750]The POLAR MERCHANT looks familiar - was that a old WWII sub chaser? I remember a tug up in Alaska around '93 that looked a lot like it.[/QUOTE]
You must be thinking of the AIRSNIPE which belongs to Kent Halverson son of the founder of Boyer Towing, the late Boyer Halverson. It sits just north of Ketchikan on Tongass Channel
The POLAR MERCHANT was an ex USCG 125’ patrol cutter from the prohibition days affectionately known as a “Buck and a Quarter”
great old vessels…all of em!
Speaking of the prohibition era revenue cutters, what became of the POLAR STAR? Capt.Ernie is long gone, but what happened to the boat?
[QUOTE=tugsailor;137766]Speaking of the prohibition era revenue cutters, what became of the POLAR STAR? Capt.Ernie is long gone, but what happened to the boat?[/QUOTE]
I recall Northland selling her about 10 or 12 years ago for a very low price but think she is now long gone as well. She is certainly not around the Sound. There was another 125’ cutter at Fisherman’s terminal for a longtime which had been set up to do research which I also know is gone but there is still the old PACIFIC HUNTER over by the Locks still.
In fact, she is for sale even.
Does anyone recall which “Buck and a Quarter” it was that sat at Jacobsen’s Terminal all through the 80’s and much of the 90’s? I remember walking down the float dock many times to gaze upon her with many fine plans to put her back to sea as my home all of course never realized. I recall someone getting her and building a whole new house on the hull which was butt ugly and broke my heart. The fact that she was so original was what impressed me so much.
There is ex USCGC ALERTsitting in Portland, OR now as a preservation project which by their website sounds to be very underfunded but I still applaud those men and their efforts.
Saw a pic of the polar star on Flickr from a year ago she was rotting away down the the Columbia river somewhere waiting to be fixed into a dream project.