MIAMI RIVER MANEUVERING SKILLS

"NOTHING GOES TO WEATHER LIKE A 747."  A friend said to me after I expressed my utopian wish of living in a perpetual July.  This conversation took place during the tail-end of a super-cold extended deep-freeze that occurred around the new year, here in Rhode Island and surrounding areas.

Not long after that conversation I took my friends suggestion to heart.  And then, just like that, in what seemed an instant, I was walking about in 70+ degree Fahrenheit weather.  Ahhhh...

I'd never been to Miami before and had very few preconceived ideas of the city as I strolled about, thawing, the warmth penetrating deep into my bones, basking in the strong medicine of the jet age.

This strolling for a while had me walking along the well developed banks of the Miami River and its river-walk that meanders through the city of Miami's urban core.


Miami River, Miami, Florida.  January, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.  

I'd noticed a couple of drawbridges crossing the Miami River, which brought to mind my days of navigating the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway.

US Route 1/ Biscayne Blvd. drawbridge crossing near the mouth of the Miami River, January, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.


BRIDGE SCHEDULE for the US Route 1/Biscayne Blvd. bridge that crosses the mouth of the Miami River, in Miami, Florida, January, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.

At one point during my traipsings along the river-walk of the Miami River, alarm bells began to ring.  These alarm bells turned out to be the signals announcing that the drawbridges were about to open.  Then, a short time later, a fair bit of nautical maneuvering skills began to occur before my eyes.   The next series of photos I hope will illustrate to you these skills.

MIAMI RIVER MANEUVERING SKILLS.  The tugboat M/V Atlas pulling the M/V Aniek through the Miami River and a narrow drawbridge, January, 2018.  Sailing Hither and Thither.  Captain Bill Podzon.
MIAMI RIVER MANEUVERING SKILLS.  Friendly waving crew of the M/V Aniek as their vessel is getting a tow from the tugboats M/V Atlas and M/V Jean Ruth on the Miami River in Miami, Florida, January, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.

MANEUVERING SKILLS ON THE MIAMI RIVER.  The tugboat M/V Jean Ruth works hard to keep its' tow, the M/V Aniek, in the center of the narrow Miami River as they make way in January of 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.

MANEUVERING SKILLS ON THE MIAMI RIVER.  The two tugboats, M/V Atlas and M/V Jean Ruth continue towing the vessel M/V Aniek  through another narrow drawbridge on the narrow Miami River in Miami, Florida, January, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.  

Kudos to crew of the tugboats M/V Atlas and M/V Jean Ruth for their making it look easy as they towed the M/V Aniek through the narrow Miami River in Miami, Florida in January of 2018.  MIAMI RIVER MANEUVERING SKILLS!  That's what I call it, but I also have the feeling that these pros perform this work all the time, and maybe to them it's simply another day on the job.

Meanwhile, up at street level...


US Route 1/Biscayne Blvd. drawbridge over the Miami River in Miami, Florida is opened to allow a sailboat to pass, January, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.

After getting my inner core warmed back up to a sanity regaining level, I returned to the great frozen northeast.  Such a tease I know, but better than nothing I guess.


U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender "Ida Lewis", servicing green can "3" at the entrance to Newport Harbor, February, 7, 2018.  Photo by Captain Bill Podzon.  Sailing Hither and Thither.

Fair Winds
Captain Bill




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