Truly, it’s a ridiculous event. Tugboats aren’t expected to be FAST; they’re expected to be POWERFUL. But the Seattle Maritime Festival’s headline event is “the world’s largest tugboat race.”
Saturday’s the big day, but there are various events and programs underway all week. Check out the Seattle Propeller Club home page for details.
U.S. Oil Seattle Tugboat Race Championships
The 24th Annual competition is the largest tugboat race in the world. This year, more than 40 boats are expected to participate. Racing is from the Grain Terminal, Pier 86, to the finish line at Pier 62/63.
- Fireboat Display Noon
- Tugboat Demonstration 12:10 p.m.
- Abandon Ship Demonstration 12:20 p.m.
- Coast Guard Rescue 12:50 p.m.
- Parade to Post 1:15 p.m.
- Class C Classic Tug Race 2 p.m.
- Environmental Demonstration 2:15 p.m.
- Class B Harbor Tug Race 2:40 p.m.
- Fireboat Firefighting Demonstration 3 p.m.
- Class A Unlimited Tug Race 3:15 p.m.
Will Navagear be there? Um, prob’ly not…my sister could go into labor any day now, and the whole family will congregate in Port Townsend.
Then again, my assigned job when the baby comes is to entertain my seven-year-old nephew, so maybe I’ll take the boat out to watch tugboat races… Hey, it could generate some really frightening AIS screen shots, too!
5 responses so far ↓
A Day Aboard The Marshall Foss | Navagear.com // Jun 9, 2008 at 10:15 am
[...] I’m a sucker for tugboats, in case you couldn’t tell:Ship-Spotting, Tacoma StyleTugboat Racing In Seattle!My New Favorite Blog addthis_url = [...]
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[...] here. And someone I know in Detroit never told me about the international race there. Or the one in Seattle. If looking for specific “word” in archives, search [...]
dave haley // Oct 8, 2008 at 4:31 pm
hello all,
im out here in boston, i was wondering if any one might have some info on a few tugs from out your way. my grandfather Gus Haley worked for Halverson towing, on the “P and T Pioneer”, also my father and his brothers worked on the “susan h” and the “peter h” smaller harbor tugs. i’m a member of the USS Constitution museum model ship building club and thought the “Pioneer” might be a nice project for a build. if any one has any info on these boats i would be very much appreciative, ive been picking my dad and his brothers brains for a while, the “P and T Pioneer” was built in the early to mid fifties, so it may still be around under a different name.
thanks for your help,
Dave
Louis Howe // Oct 29, 2008 at 11:57 am
Dear Dave Haley,
I am not sure when the P & T Pioneer was built, but it was built in the same ship yard and about the same time as the Susan H. The Susan was built in 1947 out of old growth fir. Though the P & T Pioneer tied up at Halvorson’s float in Port Madison, the boat, I beleive, belonged to Pope and Talbot, the lumber mill company on Hood Canal. I do not know if it ever belonged to Halvorson. If you Google the Susan H it comes up in a wooden boat picture book at Amazon. And you are right, these were two truly great boats.
dave haley // Jan 29, 2009 at 8:22 pm
thanks for the info, i yahoo searched and your answer came back,lol if you hear of anything else, i would love to hear from you dhaley70@yahoo.com
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