Tug Bulldog At Work

Tug Florida has several "sister tugs". As part of a larger family of tugs, at our local port the company has Tug Florida, Tug Georgia, Tug Savannah, Tug General Oglethorpe, and Tug Bulldog. The company also has tugs in Mobile and New Orleans.

The following photos are of Tug Bulldog on a routine job.

Note the unsuspecting tourist caught in the photo.....I love living in a tourist town :)

Tug Bulldog, following close

Approaching the Talmadge Bridge

Tug Bulldog moving into position

Tug Bulldog pushing the ship to the dock, with help of Tug Florida at the bow (but you can't see Tug Florida)

  Note the HUGE Ship-to-Shore cranes at the ports behind the tanker ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note the huge Ship-to-Shore cranes of the Ports in the background

Still pushing against the dock!

This is all in a days work. Tug Florida was traveling upriver on the port-side near the bow of the ship while I was taking these photos. She was hiding from the camera...a bit camera shy I suppose! The large red ship you see in the foreground is called a RORO...which stands for 'Roll on, Roll off". This type of ship brings in cars, trucks, military equipment, heavy equipment, you name it!

My Favorite Question.....

When people hear of Butcher's work schedule, most ask 'How do you do it? I could never be away from my spouse that long!"

The answer is simple. We do it, because we can.

Not every family is cut out for this lifestyle. There are ups and downs to it. Things always seem to break when Butch is on the boat. Band concerts, performances and special church activities always seem to fall on his "on" week. And Christmas? Yeah....see my post entitled "Schedules" for more on that.

The "ups" include things like more family time, a predictable schedule even YEARS in advance, and the fact that Butch loves his job. It pays well and he loves the water and the unpredictability daily activities of tug boat life. He has a great crew of people to work with.

But in all reality, it's relatively easy to live like we do. I was a US Navy wife for 10 years, with numerous deployments and West Pacs under my belt. Those were some hard days! I think about our military friends who live apart from their spouse for a year or long, when on unaccompanied tours or serving in Afghanistan. I think of the families of Longshoremen who go off for months into the dangerous waters of Alaska to fish. Quite simply, a week apart isn't that long in perspective.

The other thing is, WE GET ALONG GREAT! We usually joke that we never fight because we aren't together enough to do it! The truth is, we are together just long enough to start getting on each others nerves, and then it's time for him to leave. Then he's gone long enough that we start to miss each other, and then he comes home. We joke that the secret to a happy marriage is to only spend 6 months out of the year together. Truth be told, I think we appreciate each other more and spend more quality time together by living this life.

Being a tugboat family isn't always easy, but it's our life and we are happy with it! :)

From The Princess's View

Note: Excuse any randomness or bouncing around, it's just how my brain works.

My view of my Dad's job may be different from others. There are negatives to his job and schedule. The weeks he works we don't talk much, if any. I worry about him because his job is very dangerous, but I know he knows this and takes every precaution to protect himself and others. I miss him a lot. When he's working, sometimes I go on sort of an auto-pilot, then something small such as not being able to open a bottle of soda makes me think of him and miss him. He misses a lot of events, like my first high school band concert, Christmas and some birthdays.

I also see positives in his job. I know that he loves his job. I also know that it is a blessing that my Dad has a job right know when many others don't. He's home for a lot, like Thanksgiving and some birthdays. It's also pretty cool that we can go on vacation for a week and he doesn't have to take off work. I also believe that the time we are apart makes us closer when we're together. When he's home, we do a lot as a family and it makes up for the time he works.

-Marissa

Tug Florida

The tug Butcher has worked on for the past few years is Tug Florida. I thought I would share some pictures of the outside of the tug with you! Perhaps if I asks really sweetly I can get some "inside pics" for you next hitch!

 This is Tug Florida, from the starboard side. This picture was taken on Friday morning at crew change. That is Tug Georgia forward of Tug Florida.

 This is the wheelhouse, where the Captain runs the boat. Usually the Captain is alone but sometimes the wheelman may be there too.

This is Tug Florida returning to the dock after assisting the Maersk Sealander, a huge cargo ship, you see in the background. That ship is heading back out to sea to go to it's next port.

Here is a picture of Butch doing one of his jobs on board, tying up the boat at the dock after finishing with the Maersk Sealander in the picture above. The line he is handling is called a Handy Line or Tie-Up Line.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour!

Storms

A few days ago, when we here in the southeastern part of the country were preparing for Tropical Storm Beryl, blog reader Nickie asked a very good question! She asked:

"What happens in the case of a storm like we have now with Beryl?"

Quite simply, nothing changes with the schedule.

If Butcher is off, he stays home with the family and prepares to evacuate if necessary. Living in this area of the country, sometimes we have to evacuate if a hurricane is severe enough. The last time a mandatory evacuation was issued, it was for Hurricane Floyd and our daughter was 2.

However, as I mentioned, nothing changes with the schedule. If Butch is at work that week, he stays at work and gets VERY busy. In plenty of time ahead of the storms arrival, all of the ships will be sailed out of the river to prevent damage to the ships or the docks. The river will then be closed, and no ships will be allowed to dock. Then the little tugboats head out to sea to ride out the storm. My daughter and I evacuate as directed by officials.

Seems simple but it's kind of a scary situation! By the grace of God, it's very rare that this situation occurs :)

Schedules

One thing that a lot of people ask us about is Butcher's work schedule. The answer is simple, but still needs clarification most of the time.

Crescent Towing crews work a week on and a week off, with the exception of some engineers and I think one deckhand who travel a good ways to get here and work 2 weeks on, two weeks off to make things easier. This means they work 7 days on the boat, then come home for 7 days. This is where the questions usually start and they go something like this:

Q: You mean Butcher doesn't get to come home at night? Where does he sleep?
A: The crew sleeps onbard the tug. Each tug is equipped with either 3 or 4 bunkrooms. The Captain has a room, the engineer has a room, and either each deckhand has a room or they have one room with bunkbeds that they share. (see the next question)

Q: What hours does he work?
A: Each tugs varies it's shifts a bit, but each crew works the deckhand 12 hours on, 12 hours off. The 12 hours may be split into two 6 hour shifts, or one 8 and one 4 hour shift, or be 12 hours straight. In the 12 hours off-time, the deckhand can sleep, watch TV, read or socialize a little. Since each deckhand works 12 hours, one deckhand uses the bunkroom while the other works, then it rotates. Ships come up the river and need docking or have to sail and need undocking 24/7, so crews must always be ready.

Q: But what about holidays? Are crews off at least on Christmas?
A: No. Seven days on, 7 days off means you work straight through, no matter what day of the year. Ships come and go all hours of the day and night, every single day. Christmas? If it falls on your week to work, yes. Easter? Yep. Halloween? Yep. St. Patrick's Day? Yes, even in Savannah. :)

Q: So Butch is always working every holiday?
A: Although it seems like it sometimes, the answer is no. Since the year has 365 days and 52 weeks, with the occasional Leap Year, and the months have different numbers of days, the calendar changes each year. Remember how Christmas falls on a different day of the week each year, but New Year's Day always fall on the same day as Christmas? Well, that changes things up. Since the crews change out on Fridays, and that DOESN'T change, it gradually rotates to where you have different holidays off depending on which hitch you are on. (A hitch is the week on...the week you work) For example, this year (2012) Christmas falls on a Tuesday. Butcher goes into work on Friday, Dec. 21 and comes home Friday, Dec. 28. He has worked Christmas every year since he joined the company. Normally it is only 7 years straight that you miss Christmas, but he switched hitches a few years back and will actually work every Christmas until 2015, when he will come home on Christmas morning. Then he will be home every Christmas for 7 years. It works out ok though, because the way the days of the months fall, if you work Christmas, you are off every Thanksgiving and New Years. We just celebrate a day or two early or late, depending on his schedule. And sometimes, if the work is slow, each crew members gets to come home for an hour or so on Christmas.

Q: Where does the crew eat when they are working?
A: The crew eats onboard. Each tug has it's own kitchen and galley area to prepare and eat meals and watch TV. Trust me when I say they eat well. Each boat decided who is the cook. On Butcher's tug, the Captain cooks because he enjoys it. He is a very good cook too! The eat full meals like stews, roasts, pork chops, chicken, with sides and veggies. Lunches are leftovers or salads or sandwiches. Each crew is allotted grocery money and purchases their food for the week. TRUST ME when I tell you they eat better than I do! They also have grills and cook meat on the grill quite often.

Q: So what does Butcher do on his off week?
A: SLEEP, for one thing. In 7 days he works 84 hours straight and sometimes a LOT of overtime,so he is quite tired when he gets home. He also usually has quite an  extensive "honey-do" list waiting when he gets home.  :)

I hope I covered all the questions......I know I probably missed some,. If you have a question for me, leave a comment and I will answer it in a soon-coming post!

Meet Our Family! (The Home Crew)

                                             

First off, there's me......
I am a born and raised Georgia girl. I left home at age 18 to marry a Navy guy. The marriage lasted 8 years before it ended badly. I met my Prince Charming (also a Sailor) during my divorce and we married shortly thereafter. We have been together nearly 16 years and I am happier than I ever dreamed I could be. I am the Women's Ministry Director at our church, and I enjoy cooking, reading, volunteer work, scrapbooking, Facebook, photography and writing.

Then comes the Princess.....
We were blessed with this beautiful baby girl almost 15 years ago. She is active in church, where she dances on our dance team and runs sound and media for our youth group. She is in the International Baccalaureate program at her school and is in Spanish Honor Society and Marching Band. She also runs a cupcake baking business in her spare time and is currently saving up to buy her own Shofar.

And finally, the man who made this whole tugboat lifestyle happen...... known at work as 'Butcher". Butch served 4 years in the Navy working as a machinist repairman after finishing high school in the Atlanta area. After marrying me and becoming a Dad, he worked at various jobs until God led him to the tugboat. He has worked as a deckhand for nearly 7 years and his duties include line handling and general boat maintenance. In his off time, he enjoys golf, bowling, fishing and serving at church as an usher or in security. He is also an expert Grill Master and treats us to tasty meals fairly often!


We are also parents of 2 fur babies, known as Julio and Lil Bit.

Julio is a long legged, buck toothed tabby cat who is a little challenged in some areas. He is sweet and loving but a little bit different. he enjoys drinking out of the toilet, watching birds, having his tummy rubbed and chasing his sister.

Lil Bit a big eyed, sweet, prissy but neurotic tabby who enjoys cuddles and hiding under the bed, but despises being bathed by her brother. She likes lying on clean laundry, sleeping in the sun and trying to catch lizards through our windows






So this is our family......in all our glory :)

Hey Y'all!

Hello from the river in South Georgia! This blog is about our life as a tugboat family. My husband is a deckhand on a tugboat, and our life pretty much revolves around the river, tides and the ports. I am a stay at home mom of a daughter who is about to turn 15, and two furry babies that most people refer to as simply "cats".

My husband works for a company called Crescent Towing, which is a division of Cooper T. Smith Stevedoring.  He has been employed as a deckhand with this company for almost 7 years now.

What would you like to know about our life?