Friday, November 8, 2013

Parbuckling, redux

Well, it's not the Costa Concordia, but closer to home we've had our own little parbuckling.

The local newspaper, the Alameda Sun, covers the action, all of which took place just 100 yards from my office: VIDEO: Old tug exhumed from watery grave

Thalhamer said the project may be the largest vessel removal effort to be undertaken on the West Coast since Pearl Harbor, at the start of World War II. The multi-agency team is expecting to remove 40 vessels settled along the length of the estuary, some of them visible to the rowers, sailors and Coasties who frequent the estuary, some of them obscured by water.

Apparently early reports about the tugboat's name and history were nothing more than urban legends, and some serious investigation must now be done to figure out what this wreck was and who abandoned it.

The construction area on the waterfront is amazing now, with a half dozen smaller abandoned boats scattered about, having been pulled from the estuary over the last week by the various cranes.

As the video shows, there are still at least three major vessel recoveries to go:

  • The tugboat "Respect"
  • Two large barges

The wrecks have to be extracted in the right order, since some are laying on top of others.

Keep up the great work, Cal Recycle!

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