“Tug Talk: Mariners’ Names for Red Hook” by The Red Hook WaterStories Team
Mar 20, 2018 brooklyn,brooklyn history,brooklyn mariners,brooklyn organizations,mariners,mary a. whalen,portside,portside new york,red hook,red hook history,red hook mariners,red hook waterstories,waterfront history
Tug captains use landmarks (points on land visible from the water) to tell other mariners and the Coast Guard VTS (Vessel Traffic Service – the harbor equivalent of air traffic controllers) where they are. This is not always as straightforward as it sounds, but it is proof that maritime history lives on.
A typical radio call is “headed westbound into Buttermilk turning off at Dikeman Street for Red Hook”
Dikeman Street has not been visible from the water since the late 1920s. It dead ends into the “Snapple building,” purchased by the Sitex Group in the Spring of 2017. The big ‘Snapple’ sign on the waterside of the building is roughly in line with Dikeman Street.
“The armory” on the VHF refers to the ATF building between the Snapple building and Valentino Park.
Sometimes the terms used have a very broad meaning: “bound for Red Hook” means that the vessel is going to anywhere Gowanus, Erie Basin or out to sea, anywhere the Bay Bridge Channel leads.
The meme below was created by a tugboat captain to tease new crew about not understanding references to places via landmarks that are long gone.
Red Hook WaterStories is a PortSide New York project. To see photos and read more click here!