HOLLYHOCK Replaces Buoys

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter HOLLYHOCK spent today in port replacing the winter channel markers with the summer buoys. HOLLYHOCK's visit is about a month earlier than usual due to the mild winter; HOLLYHOCK was not needed for icebreaking as it normally is. buoy replacement began in upper Lake Huron in late March and, as Erie is usually one of the last ports to have buoys replaced, is probably almost complete.

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HOLLYHOCK moored at the North Pier at 1400 this afternoon. The crew is preparing to swing CG 231060, also known as "HOCK 1", over the side of the vessel.


Six crewmembers board HOCK 1.


HOCK 1 departs the HOLLYHOCK and heads into Presque Isle Bay.


Stern view of HOLLYHOCK.

BRISTOL BAY in Port

USCG BRISTOL BAY and buoy barge CGB 12001 arrived in port this morning at 0800 and moored at Coast Guard Station Erie so the barge could load the summer buoys that have spent the winter on the North Pier after their removal last fall by the cutter HOLLYHOCK. BRISTOL BAY's crew spent the day removing the unlighted winter markers and replacing them with the summer buoys before mooring at Station Erie at 1700 to unload the winter buoys. BRISTOL BAY departed at 2100 for Dunkirk, New York.

Deck barge WITTE 1402 was shifted backwards today at Erie Shipbuilding. I'm not sure if this is to facilitate work on the WITTE 1402 or to allow tugs access to the deck barge SUE B., but with the New York State Barge Canal opening on Thursday, the newly built barges should be leaving port sometime in the near future.

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BRISTOL BAY and CGB 12001 inbound.


BRISTOL BAY.


Side view.


Stern view of the pair.


Crane on CGB 12001 lifts buoys 12 and 14 onto the barge.


Buoys 12 and 14 secured on deck.

HOLLYHOCK REPLACES BUOYS; TOBAGO LOADING CONTINUES

USCGC HOLLYHOCK remains in port and was hard at work replacing the summer buoys this morning. At 1000 hours the crew had finished with Buoy 9 (the closest green buoy to the Mountfort Terminal) and moved to Buoy 11, making quick work of that before proceeding to Buoy 13, just north of the Old Ore Dock.

After Buoy 13 was finished the crew of the HOLLYHOCK slid sideways across the slip to Buoy 14 and would proceed to replace that buoy before getting Buoys 12 and 10, the red markers marking the western end of the navigation channel.

CLIPPER TOBAGO has finished loading the twelve tank cars delivered Friday and is sitting quietly now waiting the delivery of more cars so loading can continue.

The LANSDOWNE, which graced Erie's harborfront until the Port Authority evicted it in July, 2006, is featured on page B1 of the Erie Times News today. The LANSDOWNE now sits awaiting her fate in Buffalo, where she has been since being towed from Erie by the tug OHIO on July 16, 2006.

The Times News article quotes Port Authority Executive Director Ray Shreckengost as saying that he was not aware the barge was towed to Buffalo; he believed it was going to Toronto, where it was rumored to be headed throughout 2005 and into 2006. Shreckengost is quoted as saying that someone has "got to shoot the thing and put it out of its misery." In 2000 Shreckengost told the newspaper that the barge "looks fine to me."

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HOLLYHOCK in Presque Isle Bay on Sunday morning.


HOLLYHOCK in Presque Isle Bay on Sunday morning.


Lifting Buoy 11.


At the site of Buoy 13.


Lifting the winter marker for Buoy 13.


Marker goes over the side.


Moving the buoy into position.


CLIPPER TOBAGO at dock.


With the HOLLYHOCK in the background.


Waiting for another load.


LANSDOWNE in Buffalo on November 1, 2006. The LANSDOWNE has since been moved to a more prominent spot on Buffalo's waterfront, along US Route 5, as the article points out. The LANSDOWNE will likely remain there for a while, as Buffalo already has a convention center that is nowhere near the site. However, the article errs in saying that the LANSDOWNE is now near HSBC Arena and Dunn Tire Park, as the vessel is moored at least three miles west of downtown Buffalo.

HOLLYHOCK ARRIVES FOR BUOYS; CLIPPER TOBAGO LOADS

US Coast Guard Cutter HOLLYHOCK (WLB-214) arrived in Erie at 1445 hours this afternoon and secured at Coast Guard Station Erie to load the winter markers that have been stored at the station since May 4. Over the next two days the crew of the HOLLYHOCK will use the ship's crane and lift each of the lighted summer buoys from its station in Erie harbor and replace them with the unlighted winter markers. This will prevent any ice build ups from causing severe damage to the lighted summer buoys. With snowy, cold weather expected over the next few days this will be a cold job for the crew.

When complete, the HOLLYHOCK will offload the summer buoys onto the pier at Coast Guard Station Erie, where they will remain until HOLLYHOCK returns sometime after May 1 to return them to the water. Any buoys that are currently found in need of repair will be taken to HOLLYHOCK's home base in Port Huron, Michigan and repaired over the coming months.

Crews at the Mountfort Terminal remained hard at work this afternoon loading the CLIPPER TOBAGO with biodiesel. As of 1500 six of the twelve railcars on the dock had been offloaded into the tanker. I'm not sure if they will be working on Sunday, but on Monday more railcars will be delivered to the Mountfort Terminal to continue loading the TOBAGO.

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HOLLYHOCK inbound.


Close up.


These buoys on the deck of the HOLLYHOCK have already been removed from other waterways and are in need of repair for the winter.


The newest member of Station Erie's fleet, 33133, which arrived late October, is shown while inbound Erie.


Stern view of the HOLLYHOCK.


HOLLYHOCK manouevering to dock as 33133 passes.


HOLLYHOCK secured alongside the Coast Guard Station, ready to begin loading.


CLIPPER TOBAGO loads.


Another view of the TOBAGO.