Who Are Today’s Tugboat Captains?
Thursday, March 18, 2021
If Lenny were working on a “Part II” of his photo project - if even that interested him - who would be talking to, fellowshipping with, capturing in the pride of their positions as tug crewman? I decided to once again explore what YouTube has to offer.
Only a minute or so into my search, I found Chris Baker’s short video: New York on the Clock: Chris Baker, Tugboat Captain. He works for McAllister, one of the big dogs left in the NYC tugboat game. Words and phrases that stuck with me are: “satellite television”, “meat and potatoes”, “bunk room”, “shipping out.” Mr. Baker is a young guy, not a man of many words but that’s fine. His expressions said so much. He loves the water, “all things nautical”, as he put it. I think Lenny would have liked him. His energy seems to align with that of the men Jan quoted and described. Seeing the shots of the boats on the water, the men pulling the ropes, Captain Baker sitting in the driver’s seat - it conjures up those same feelings that I sense Lenny had as he spent hours and hours on those tugboats of the 80s, gaining his genuine appreciation for the work that is done my all of the crew. It’s a specific lifestyle, one that is not suited to just anyone. You gotta love it. You gotta feel some kind of passion, some sense of peace constantly being on the water. And you need to have the discipline to learn the craft. And that is part of what I really am beginning to respect and admire.
After that video, I wandered about and found this: “Living the Life of a Tugboat Captain While Keeping All of Your Fingers | Balls Deep Episode 2”. Very different energy. Informative enough. A lot of Jersey. Folks are experts, absolute experts, trying to teach a young buck the ropes (like that?). Entertaining enough to have garnered 662,807 views. But as I am watching it, I just kept wondering how Lenny would have be received by the crew. Or whether he would even have been given the opportunity to step aboard. It’s weird to think that in 2021 while watching a program that aired in 2016. In fact, I wonder how many black folk work in this industry? How many young black and brown kids are exposed to ships, boats, the water…Is it still an industry where you have to know someone to even start out as a deckhand? How much does it cost to go to maritime school? Perhaps the “easiest” entry is by joining the military?
I wonder what Lenny did when he served? Perhaps it will state it on his discharge papers? Did he work on ships, maybe? Where did his fascination with, his admiration for the tugboat come from? It can’t be random…or? One thing that last video episode showed me is that the work remains extremely difficult, dangerous, daunting but also magical in a way I am beginning to see but still can’t seem to describe, and haven’t even set foot on a tug (yet).
