This Day in Coast Guard History – May 7
1969: HC-130H CGNR 1453, stationed at Air Station Kodiak, flew over the geographic North Pole, becoming the first Coast Guard aircraft to do so. The aircraft commander was LCDR Melvin J. Hartman and the copilot was LT Larry Minor. The purpose of the flight was ice reconnaissance of a potential route for super tankers from the North Slope of Alaska to the east coast of the U.S. According to a summary of the flight published in the Commandant's Bulletin: "COAST GUARD AIRCRAFT FLIES AROUND THE WORLD NONSTOP. 1979-During a city-wide strike by tugboat operators and longshoremen in New York City that began on 1 April 1979, Mayor Ed Koch of New York asked for federal assistance.
McAllister to Tow Intrepid
On Monday November 6th, McAllister Towing will move the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid from her home on the Hudson River at Pier 86 to Bayonne, NJ. The task of moving the massive 920 ft. carrier will begin with a launching ceremony featuring such dignitaries as Senator Hillary Clinton and former NYC mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch. Depending on tide and weather. The operation will consist of five tugs from McAllister. The newly repowered Christine McAllister with 6,140 hp and 80 tons of bollard pull will be the lead tow tug. The vessel will be assisted by four highly versatile tractor tugs of the McAllister fleet. The Robert E., Kaleen, Vicki, and Brooklyn McAllister will add an additional 15,650 hp to the job.
A Tale of Tugs of Two Cities
There's N.Y., and there's N.Y., N.Y. They are as unalike as two places can be. One is upstate, the other is downstate. One is composed of small and medium-size towns, the other ranks with the biggest cities in the world. One is a land laced with rivers and canals, the other occupies islands on one of the Atlantic's broadest harbors. Attitudes and styles are different in both places, too. Ed Koch, a television personality who once campaigned for governor, can tell you from experience that a big-city boy never mentions "gingham dresses" north of White Plains. Waterford and Manhattan are a three-hour ride apart, two if you speed, but even the language sounds different in both places. But they both have their tugboats. And everyone loves tugboats.
