Monday 10/17/2011

7:00 AM Start. However, too foggy to even see a few feet into the river. I know two boats passed in the first few hours, because I heard their foghorns, and saw the wake as it hit the shore, but not a thing else in the dour, grey fog.

9:39 AM Saga Frontier (Hong Kong) / upriver.
Finally saw a boat! Of coarse, now I realize that I forgot my camera... so I can't show any pictures. Ah well. Fog's lifted enough to see across the river.

11:14 AM Tugboat pushing a "Big Bin" barge of sawdust. / upriver

11:34 AM Overseas Los Angeles (Wilmington DE) / downriver

2:22 PM Pacific Tracker (Norfolk) / downriver.
Of course, the coolest boat I've seen to date has to come on a day I've forgotten my camera. It's fascinating though! Obviously a navy boat, and with what looks a gigantic golf ball attached to the stern. My guess was that it had to do with some kind of satellite tracking or navigation, and it turns out I was somewhat correct. Apparently, it's been transformed into the current vessel just recently in Portland, OR, upriver from me. It's apparently an X-Band Transportable Radar Ship, in the service of the Missile Defense Agency. There's a great article with lots of photos about it's reconstitution HERE. Below is the photo I found on Wikimapia:

And here is the photo my fellow spotter managed to get a ways upriver of me:

3:05 PM Black Forest (Hong Kong) / upriver

3:36 PM IUS Kestrel (Hong Kong) / upriver

3:40 PM Tug: Willamatte CHampion pushing the barge Seaspan 251 / upriver with a barge of gravel.

4:23 PM Nocc Caspian (Singapore) / upriver. This was a car carrier.

5:15 PM End Survey. Pictures again tomorrow!