Pier 84, Manhattan, September 4, 2011 - Nine tugboats competed in the '19th Annual Running of the Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition' sponsored by the Working Harbor Committee - a kind of drag race of tugboats in addition to other contests. After the 10am race to the finish line at Pier 84, other activities included the shove (where 2 tugs face-off against each other nose-to-nose), the rope toss (throwing a rope to a bollard on the pier where the fastest wins), spinach-eating contest and trophy awards for the winners of the race, best tattoo, best mascot and awarding of the raffle which consisted of framed tugboat photos.
New York Harbor is a shadow of what it was decades ago. The biggest drop in tugboat activity occurred when ship containerization reduced traffic levels way below what was considered the norm.
One other ceremony was held - commemoration of those associated with this event. For me, the most notable was that of Bernie Ente, one heck of a photographer that was there for me with advice and also got me to photograph these tugboats in the first place. Bernie was omni-present when it came to railfan photography in the New York region. Bernie set-up photo-ops at the NY Cross Harbor Railroad carfloat near the Bush Terminals. Alas, the carfloat is no longer used and Bernie is no longer with us. May he rest in peace.
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