Tugboats hold a fascination not only for
anyone who has worked aboard a vessel or around a harbor but for many
land-bound folks as well. There is something about their chunky, powerful
build and their risky but vital work that excites our interest and
admiration. These are the boats that get things done, the boats that keep
the world's commerce moving, for today's massive tankers and freighters
would be helpless in port without tugboats to maneuver them. Tugs and
their intrepid crews move our products, remove our trash, fight harbor
fires, pilot other vessels into and out of port, perform salvage and
rescue operations... and anything else they are called upon to handle.
The captains and crews of the tugboats are
justifiably proud of what they do, and they have some great stories to
tell about the ships and barges they tow or push; the harbors, storms,
tides, and dangerous passages they must negotiate; the unions; the pilots;
the different designs and capabilities of their boats; and the way the
boats and their livelihood are irrevocably changing.
Virginia Thorndike is the author of Maine
Lobsterboats, How We Got There from Here, Windjammer Watching on
the Coast of Maine, and the Arctic Schooner Bowdoin. She lives in
Morrill, Maine.
