Solar Plane Soars Over Statue of Liberty

All three of our boats departed Liberty Landing Marina around 1 am: Captain Joel picked up Bertrand Piccard and crew at Pier 25, Captain George had Andre Borschberg's family aboard, and the Solar Impulse media team set up their cameras on my boat.

The boats met at the Statue of Liberty to await the solar plane's fly-by, which began around 2 am. It was a spectacular sight: The plane's wings, spanning that of a Boeing 747, were lit from the underside and looked like no other plane that's ever flown over the harbor.

Party boat captains were putting out calls on the radio asking if anyone knew what those strange lights were. We were happy to explain.

Pilot Andre Borschberg made about four laps over the city and the Statue of Liberty. The plane was completely silent as it flew slowly overhead at a cruising speed of around 25 knots.

Bertrand Piccard, who will be piloting the next leg across the Atlantic, was narrating the arrival on camera aboard New York Media Boat.

The plane's batteries charge during the day via solar arrays on the wings and power the electric motors throughout the night. Solar Impulse's mission is to promote clean energy on this flight around the world, which began in Abu Dhabi in March last year.

The crew of New York Media Boat is honored to have had the opportunity to work with the Solar Impulse team in both 2013 and this year, and to have had both Piccard and Borschberg aboard.

Foggy Start to New York Vendee

The Manhattan Yacht Club marked the pre-start to the 2016 New York Vendee race with a blast from a small canon.

The IMOCA Open Class 60 fleet sailed past the Manhattan skyline on their way the Ambrose sea buoy -- the official start of the race.

Amaury Ross, the official event photographer, and team photographers Yabe Yoichi and Mark Lloyd documented the departure from New York Media Boat.

One of our RIBs was chartered by Jean-Pierre Dick's team, St. Michel/Virbac, to escort and support their boat to the start. Once past the Verrazano Bridge, fog rolled in and visibility dropped quickly.

Minutes before the start, Captain Eric maneuvered our RIB next to St.Michel/Virbac to transfer the remaining crew off the boat. The New York Vendee is a 3,100-nautical mile single-handed race.

Around 15:45, the boats crossed the start line at the Ambrose buoy.

We chased the ghost ships through heavy fog for another 10 miles before turning back.

The Sandy Hook Pilots advised the race committee of all commercial traffic in the area.

Container ships sounded fog horns all around us, and our radar and AIS systems aided us in safely navigating back to New York Harbor.

Hudson Plane Crash Recap

Within minutes of getting the breaking news alert, New York Media Boat was on the scene, as the NYPD, FDNY, and other agencies responded to reports of a downed plane in the Hudson.

You can see the NYPD rescue diver jumping from the helicopter into the water.

Unfortunately the plane, a vintage P-47 Thunderbolt, quickly sank to the bottom of the river with the pilot trapped inside. The NYPD located the wreck and attached a downline marking its location in only 20 feet of water.

A virtual AIS alarm was issued, alerting vessels in the vicinity to the situation. This was the first time we've ever seen a message like this on the screens.  A great use of technology!

News outlets lined the shores and New York Media Boat can be seen in much of the footage, like this report on ABC News.

On Saturday, the Army Corps of Engineers raised the aircraft and temporarily placed it at the Downtown heliport. We were surprised to see how little cosmetic damage there is to the aircraft.

U.S. Coast Guard Rescues French Sailor

Sunday afternoon French solo-sailor Olivier Jehl set sail in to establish a transatlantic record time between New York and Lizard Point in the UK with his 6.5-meter Mini 'Zigoneshi'.

New York Media Boat escorted him under the Verazzano Bridge and into Ambrose Channel to document the departure.

According to the US Coast Guard Jehl activated his EPIRB in the early morning about 120 nautical miles South East off New York. The on-board tracker shows the last position at the edge of the Canyon.

A HC-144 search-plane was launched from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City. The airplane spotted his flares and the helicopter hoisted Jehl to safety at 4:40am EST.

Jehl possibly struck a submerged object, which caused his boat to break apart. He deployed his life raft and awaited rescue.

"This case was a perfect example of how to be prepared for the worst case scenario," said Capt. Peter Mingo, the commanding officer of Air Station Atlantic City. "Personal beacons, life rafts, exposure suits and flares were the key to Mr. Jehl being able to effect his own rescue via the U.S. Coast Guard."

Running the America's Cup Media Boats

The America's Cup Event Authority chartered three of our boats to carry media to the front lines of the race course for its world series in New York Harbor. 

After two days of little wind, gloomy skies, and cancelled races, Sunday turned out to be sunny with gusts up to 25 knots -- the upper limit of what the foiling 45-foot catamarans can handle.

Pro sailing photographer Onne van der Wall came aboard to capture the AC45Fs battle it out in front of the Manhattan skyline, as did New York Times photographer Richard Perry -- you can see his slideshow here -- along with the Associated Press, Reuters, NBC, and others. 

Due to variable winds, the course was changed a few times between races. Each morning all VIP, stake, and press boats attended a briefing given by the organizers that covered safety, expected weather, possible courses, and the areas in which we were allowed to operate. The rules were strict and we were required to stay on the perimeter of the actual race area -- much to the dismay of some of the photographers.

Emirates Team New Zealand was the big winner for the weekend, with ORACLE TEAM USA a close second. 

All the boats are now packed away and the race village at Liberty Landing Marina is broken down -- only to be resurrected in Chicago for more racing next month!

Morris Canal Oil Spill

The fuel barge at Liberty Harbor on the north side of Morris Canal in Jersey City partially sunk on Sunday morning. 

The U.S. Coast Guard sent a boat out in -2 degrees Fahrenheit to investigate. An oil containment boom was placed around the barge and in the afternoon two pumps started dewatering the hull, which lasted into the night.

Overnight, tenants at an adjacent marina reported strong fuel odors and saw that their boats were surrounded by diesel.

NJDEP and Ken's Marine, a HAZMAT/emergency oil spill/clean-up service responded to contain the spill and boomed off all nearby docks.

The spill was reported by NBC News on their 5pm broadcast. The barge owner declined to be interviewed, and the clean-up is ongoing.

Anthem of the Seas Returns to Port

After battling a storm in the Atlantic, Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas arrived back at Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal at about 8:30pm this evening.

Royal Caribbean reports that of more than 6,000 people on board, there were only four minor injuries.

Passengers were cheering on their balconies as the cruise ship docked.

As for visual damage to the vessel -- it seems one of the antenna domes is missing.

And one lifeboat's doors are boarded up with plywood.

Royal Caribbean states that most of the superficial damage has already been repaired, and Anthem will sail again on her next scheduled voyage, departing in three days.

ACL's Atlantic Star Arrives U.S.

The 'Atlantic Star' is the worlds largest Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO)/Container ship.

On January 9th, she arrived the U.S. on her inaugural voyage sailing under the Verrazano Bridge into New York Harbor.

Built in China in 2015, this is the first of five G4 ships commissioned by Atlantic Container Line (ACL).

With an overall length of 971 feet, she's rated at 3,800TEU + 28,900 sqm RORO + 1,300 vehicles with a crew of 16.

She will move cargo between Europe and North America with port calls in Hamburg, Goteburg, Antwerp, Liverpool, Halifax, New York, Baltimore and Norfolk.

After clearing the Bayonne Bridge she docked next to ACL's G3 'Atlantic Concert' in Port Newark.

Autumn kiteing in Atlantic Highlands

The beach at Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club is lined with kites and spectators, as the 2015 Foil Race & WOO Big Air Contest is happening this weekend.

Green Hat Kiteboarding put on the event calling all kiteboarders and foilboard riders from the tristate area to get together, and compete. While the foil race course was set up in deeper water about a half mile from shore, the WOO Big Air competition could be watched right off the beach. How high do they jump? On Saturday Denis Televnyy took 1st Place at 33.3 feet. Rudy Willemson claimed 2nd at 31.4 feet with 5.3 seconds airtime, closely followed by John Keenan who matched the height but landed 0.2 seconds sooner.

All height and airtime data are recorded by WOO clip-on sensors, attached to each board.

New York Media Boat stopped by for some photos:

New FDNY fireboat: WILLIAM M. FEEHAN

A massive water salute erupted in New York Harbor, as the newest FDNY fireboat arrived just after 3pm today. She is named after Firefighter William M. Feehan who died in the 9/11 attacks. The name plates with red letters crafted from I-beam steel collected at ground zero are displayed on each side of the wheelhouse. 

Her 66-foot aluminum hull houses three C-18 Caterpillar engines for propulsion, delivering 1150HP each. Another 450HP Caterpillar C-9 engine drives the water pumps, and for additional pumping power, one of the main C-18 engines can be assigned to the main water canon. She delivers up to 7,000 gallons of seawater per minute and foam and purple-K additives are also on board if needed.

Her crew of five firemen consists of a pilot, an engineer, an officer and two deckhands -- safely housed inside the positive-pressure CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) filtration system equipped bridge.

The $4.7-million medium-sized fast-response boat built by MetalCraft Marine in Kingston, Canada will be stationed at MARINE 6 in the East River, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

America's Got Talent

“A James Bond style boat chase in New York Harbor” is what an America’s Got Talent producer wanted to film as a way to introduce one of their contestants. Damone Rippy from Texas was to compete with his flyboard in front of judges Heidi Klum, Mel B, Howard Stern, and Howie Mandel.

We set up three boats for the TV show — A ‘good guy’ boat for Damone and a bunch of bikini-clad girls, a ‘bad guy’ boat for the villain chasing them, and a camera boat for the crew.

The three-hour shoot was edited into a 10-second high-action intro.

Check out Captain Ken ducking out of the shot while operating the throttle, Damone and the girls rehearsing scenes at the dock, and the cameraman framing up a shot:

Harbor School drills Man Over Board

Students of the New York Harbor School performed MOB, Fire, and Abandon-Ship drills as part of their Safety at Sea class. The USCG Aids to Navigation Team joint in the evolutions and practiced medical evacuations between vessels. Handheld flares and floating smoke signals were deployed in the ‘Bayridge Flats’, as part of the exercise.

Trans-atlantic row: Ocean Valour 2015

The crowd cheered as Tom Rainey and Lawrence Walter walked  down the ramp and onto the dock at North Cove Marina in downtown Manhattan. They started their 3,800 mile row across the North Atlantic  at 10:30 ET this morning (May 3rd), course set for the United Kingdom. They are attempting to break the 119 year old record set by Norwegians in 1896 who completed the journey in 55 days and 13 hours.

Rainey is rowing in honor of his father who died from a brain tumor. He wants to raise awareness and $370,000 for the Brain Tumor Charity and the Brain Tumor Society.

His mother blessed their 23-foot custom row boat ‘Yves’ by pouring a bottle of champagne over the bow.

Sixty crews have attempted this route since, yet only twenty-three have reached the shores on the other side of the Atlantic.
You can follow their progress at www.oceanvalour.co.uk

New York Media Boat escorted the team from Battery Park to The Narrows and we wish them a safe passage and great adventure!

Brooklyn Blaze

The FDNY battled the 7-Alarm warehouse fire in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn from land and water. Engines and ladder trucks made little progress with their 1,000-gallons-per-minute nozzles…

… as strong west winds gusting over 30 knots kept fueling the inferno.
FDNY Marine Units responded to attack the fire from the East River.

The 65-foot fireboat ‘Bravest’ and the 140-foot ‘Fire Fighter II’ stationed upwind.

‘Fire Fighter II’ pumps 18,000 gallons-per-minute from her bow monitor, blasting the west-side of the building…

…successfully knocking down the exterior wall and fire behind it.

The warehouse is said to contain paper records from courts and hospitals, stacked in boxes from floor to ceiling. Twitter posts tagged #williamsburgfire showed embers being picked up as far as 2.5 miles downwind.
As firefighters keep dousing the building, the structure is expected to smolder for at least another couple of days.

New York Media Boat was on-scene for most of the day capturing images and video of the blaze.

#Blizzard2015

As Manhattan braces for the blizzard, we head for the beach just south of the Statue of Liberty. Dressed in dry-suits and equipped with cameras and kites, we aimed to get some photos before it got dark. Unfortunately the wind hadn’t picked up just yet so Dariusz was a bit underpowered on the 10-meter Nobile kite. A cold but fun session!

Harbor School adds Simulator

On Wednesday the New York Harbor School christened its new Bridge Simulator at the MAST Center on Governors Island.

Students now have the opportunity to hone their ship handling and navigation skills in the same high-tech virtual environment used by many professionals. The main TRANSAS bridge simulator system is set up in a separate room where five large flat-screen monitors line the walls providing a 160-degree view of the scenario. Four additional smaller stations are set up in an adjacent room, also complete with navigation charts, engine and rudder controls, and radar screens. All five stations are networked allowing, for example, a tanker, tugs and law enforcement vessels to simultaneously function within the same scenario.

Of course I had to try this out first-hand and selected a Coast Guard small boat, as it has similar handling parameters as the boats we operate here at New York Media Boat. Running north at 30 knots from Saint George towards lower Manhattan, the harbor looked strikingly familiar. The buoys, barges and skyline all appeared in perfect detail. I threw some hard turns for good measure and the boat reacted as expected. At times I forgot that I was standing on solid ground and even started feeling a bit nauseous, as we dialed the conditions up and encountered heavy seas heading for Buttermilk Channel.

What an excellent teaching tool to add to the already impressive curriculum Captain Aaron Singh and his team have put together for their students.

The $300,000 system was donated by the American Bureau of Shipping.

Quantum of the Seas

At 11 times the size of a full-grown blue whale, Royal Caribbean’s ‘Quantum of the Seas‘ sailed into New York Harbor for the first time this morning, completing her maiden trans-Atlantic voyage.

Once past the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the ‘North Star‘ glass capsule was raised on her top deck, providing passengers with a 360-degree view extending to the same height as the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

Complete with robotic bartenders, bumper cars, a FlowRider surf and RipCord iFlyskydiving simulator, she also features 375 interior staterooms with virtual balconies, projecting real-time views of the ocean. Wifi and RFID luggage tags allow guests to track their bags right from a smartphone.

At 1,141 feet long, ‘Quantum of the Seas’ is now the largest cruise-ship on the Hudson River, a status previously held by Norwegian Cruise Line’s 1,068-foot ‘Norwegian Breakaway‘.

Her homeport is the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey and she’ll be christened there later this week.

Expanding the Fleet

If anyone embodies the spirit of adventure, it’s Roald Amundsen. The Norwegian explorer was the first person to reach both the South and North Poles, and he made the first transit of the Northwest Passage.

That’s why we’ve named the latest addition to the New York Media Boat fleet in his honor. We’re happy to welcome the 7-meter NAVY RIB Amundsen to the family!

Two great captains, Ken Cholak and Eric Rosen, will be at the helm for many of Amundsen’s New York City adventures. It may not be the uncharted Arctic or Antarctic (though last winter’s iced-over Hudson was feeling quite polar), but we hope everyone who comes aboard experiences the thrill of discovery in their own way.

Rider of the Storm

As the Nor’easter stalled offshore, slamming the Tri-State area with rain and 30+ knots of wind, Dariusz Garko launched his kite.

He’d been waiting for these conditions to kiteboard straight through New York Harbor and under the Verrazano Bridge on a course set for Coney Island — an unprecedented session.

Garko, a professional high-performance athlete, became a ‘Nobile Kiteboarding Ambassador‘ earlier this year. He launches right from his backyard, which slopes into New York Harbor.

For this downwind run, Garko chose a 2015 T5 7.5-meter kite and grabbed his NHP 134-cm board.

Staying clear of barges, ferries, and cargo ships, he shredded past the Statue of Liberty, skipping over the choppy Hudson at a solid 20 knots, occasionally throwing some huge aerial maneuvers for tug boat captains and commuters riding the Staten Island Ferry to enjoy.

We decided to chase him with New York Media Boat to document some of the action, and put our new OUTEX camera housings to the test.

Bill Clinton: Props for Pearls

Former President Bill Clinton visited the New York Harbor School on Governors Island to get a closer look at the school’s oyster hatchery.

Each year the Billion Oyster Project grows over 10 million bivalves in the brackish waters around Manhattan, teaching students to collect scientific data, hands-on restoration, and stewardship. The project was founded by the New York Harbor School and is a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to action.

Clinton was greeted by the students and Captain Aaron Singh while boarding the school’s ‘Privateer’ vessel docked at Pier25 in Tribeca.

The NYPD Harbor Unit provided security as the ‘Privateer’ ferried the 42nd President of the United States past One World Trade Center and around The Battery to Governors Island.