Historic fireboat given new look
WATERFORD, N.Y. » The retired fireboat John J. Harvey made an appearance at the 19th annual Waterford Tugboat Roundup.
The annual event recognizes a Tug of the Year, and this year Harvey received the honor. Days away from the anniversary of 9/11, it’s fitting spectators had a chance to tour the tugboat.
“Every year the Tug Boat round up is around 9/11 and the Harvey played an important role in the response to 9/11,” said Chris Callaghan. “The Harvey initially responded like many, many boats in New York Harbor did by taking people from lower Manhattan across the river to New Jersey.”
Harvey then pumped water for 80 straight hours.
The three-day event, which ends Sunday, first came to the town of Waterford in 1999 as a one-day event. Callaghan said the subsequent expansion of the event has been gradual.
“There were like six boats. They came up the Hudson. They probably came up from Troy. This was before the [Waterford Harbor Visitor Center] building was here. We were operating out of an office trailer at the end of Third Street,” said Callaghan. “We had some music. I don’t even know if we had any vendors at that point. It was very well-received. We had a really good crowd.”
It’s grown into a community-wide celebration, with a fireworks display Saturday night, pony rides, vendors and more.
Nearly 30 boats are attending the event, ranging from historic to modern tugs, workboats, fireboats, crew boats and tenders. The largest tug boats arrived from nearby. The Blue Dolphin came from Boston. Others were trailered from throughout New York state and New England. One trailered up from Florida. A handful made the trip up from New York City.
Harvey, situated alongside the USS Slater at the foot of the State St., featured a new paint job.
This historic fireboat itself became a palette for Tauba Auerbach, an artist commissioned by the Public Art Fund and 14-18 Now Exhibition. The rendering of the Harvey shows contradictory directions of whites and reds, emulating the ‘dazzle designs’ applied to ships during World War I to confuse U- boats in firing torpedoes. The U-boat captain determined the timing of the torpedo based on lining up a split screen in his periscope. The ‘dazzle’ camouflage design made lining up the split screen nearly impossible. A similar paint scheme exists on the USS Slater, a destroyer escort permanently docked on the
Hudson River in downtown Albany, according to a news release.
Officials said the artist behind the Dazzle paint job, Tauba Auerbach, works with various mediums, including photography, sculpture and language. With a personal penchant for history, she drew from an understanding of the WWI camouflage and an inspiration from rhythmic designs found in the wake patters of boats moving through the water.
The Harvey will be exhibiting this work through mid-May, 2019. After the exhibition closes, the Harvey will be restored to its historic paint scheme.
A major benefit to the Harvey was a full sandblasting, hull treatment and epoxy base-coat which should help protect the ship from the elements for years to come, the release said.
For up to date schedules and parking information, visit https://www.tugboatroundup.com/ or monitor their Facebook page