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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| USS Intrepid freed from thick NYC mud |
| 2006-12-05 |
| NEW YORK - A month after a failed attempt to move the USS Intrepid, the historic aircraft carrier was freed Tuesday from the Hudson River anchorage where it had sat for nearly a quarter of a century. "This old baby is moving," a joyous Intrepid Foundation President Bill White said aboard the vessel. Some crew members cried and gave each other high-fives and hugs. Onlookers ashore cheered. After considerable effort, the aircraft carrier inched haltingly away from its anchorage. Finally, it began moving at about 3 to 4 knots, its pier growing more and more distant. "Move baby, move baby!" the crew and passengers yelled. Then, "We did it, we did it!" In the previous attempt, thick mud had proved too strong for six "tractor tugs" exerting some 30,000 horsepower. Another battle occured this time, too — the blue water was churned dark brown as tugboats strained to inch the giant vessel away from its longtime home. "If she doesn't move, we are going to jump in and push her," a former crew member, 84-year-old Joe Kobert, said on the Intrepid's deck before the behemoth began to move on Tuesday. The smaller boats moved the ship stern first — by its tail-end — into the center of the Hudson River, then nudged the bow until it was parallel with the shore and began heading downstream. The aircraft carrier-turned-museum was being towed, still backward, down the river toward New York Harbor for a five-mile trip to a shipyard in Bayonne, N.J., where it will undergo renovations. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #4 That's the one! Used to be a WWII warship at one point in its life. Anyway, it looks like those tractor tugs can do about 6000HP each, which is almost double what the Salvage Chief has to offer. OOF! Brutes. I wonder what kind of pull they have. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-12-05 18:49 |
| #3 M/V Salvage Chief  Excerpt: As a longtime leader in heavy marine salvage, the name Fred Devine Diving and Salvage Co. carries a lot of weight. In fact, our equipment flagship the M/V "SALVAGE CHIEF" has a 400 ton line pull. Fred Devine designed this unique ship. He knew first hand what was needed from a salvage vessel, and he equipped the SALVAGE CHIEF to handle every possible situation from firefighting to re-floating. |
| Posted by: Mick Dundee 2006-12-05 15:01 |
| #2 Anybody heard of a converted warship called "Salvage Chief"? It works primarily on the west coast of the US. It may be the biggest salvage tug out there. If I remember right, it can exert a 400 ton pull all by its little ol' self! Interesting history. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-12-05 14:01 |
| #1 Hooray! |
| Posted by: mrp 2006-12-05 13:31 |