PortSide NewYork

Construction of the Atlantic Basin Docks began June 3, 1841. It was the brainchild of Col. Daniel Richards.

Richards realized that the completion of the Erie Canal, connecting New York Harbor with the Great Lakes – and all the farms, produce, lumber in between - would necessitate a new terminus port. Manhattan’s ports were already old and congested, and, even back then, buying land was expensive. but Brooklyn’s Red Hook was right across the river – and that is where a protected basin, docks and, a few years later, fireproof warehouses were built.

Read more about this at https://redhookwaterstories.org/items/browse?tags=Atlantic+Dock+Company
Lots more about the Atlantic Dock, its history and changes over time in RedHookWaterstories.org. Look out for more history teasers, from me, Peter, in the weeks to come.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 42 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘗𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 150 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘴.- 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺

Our besties will be back! Arriving Monday night June 8 and leaving Sunday June 14.

Schools: some education (school field trip) sails still available.

Families: come to Pint-Size Pirates, Tuesday, 6/9, 3-3:45pm to see the ship, meet fish, sing sea shanties, read a book! Start ‘em young!

Saturday, June 1 afternoon public sail available!

Special speaker sail about Equitable Waterfront Access with friend Jinean Robinson of RETI Center, Saturday, 6/13/ 5:30pm

You board the Clearwater from our ship Mary Whalen, next to Red Hook NYC Ferry stop.

All tickets via Clearwater’s website https://www.clearwater.org/come-sailing/

Our besties Hudson River Sloop Clearwater will be back! Arriving Monday night June 8 and leaving Sunday June 14.

Schools: some education (school field trip) sails still available.

Families: come to Pint-Size Pirates, Tuesday, 6/9, 3-3:45pm to see the ship, meet fish, sing sea shanties, read a book!

Saturday, June 1 afternoon public sail available!

Special speaker sail about Equitable Waterfront Access with friend Jinean Robinson of RETI Center, Saturday, 6/13/ 5:30pm

You board the Clearwater from our ship Mary Whalen, next to NYC Ferry Red Hook stop.

All tickets via Clearwater’s website https://www.clearwater.org/come-sailing/

PoetsAfloat reading on the Mary Whalen! TOMORROW! Thursday, June 4, 6:30-8pm. Tickets on Eventbrite of NYC Poets Afloat or via their IG

Hear poetry inspired by poets spending time on and other locations in NYC during April . This year a Hughes Marine Firms dry dock was a poet site!

"it's a small world version"

At 4:20pm the phone rings.

A man asks if the boat is open, “my son wants to see a tanker.”

We have cancelled public TankerTours due to the rain; but, of course, I’ll give them a tour. Our historian/curator Peter predicted on Friday that this kind of thing would happen this weekend.

It’s a family with two boys ages 3 and 5. Dad's father had been in shipping.

The 5 year old saw a YouTube video with a tanker accident and now wants to see a tanker. The Mary Whalen is his only chance. The only other oil tanker open to the public is in the midwest. They’d driven over from Jersey City.

We toured the boat. Ship cat Chiclet got some head scritches. I made a few photos. After texting them the photos, I asked for the mom’s name to add her to the phone. Last name Guarraci.

I texted back “we had a volunteer Peter Guarraci who was originally from New Jersey. His father was from Ribera, Sicily. Are you related?”

And the answer is…

YES! Cousins.

That’s some Mary Whalen magic for you.

Come for public TankerTours next Sunday, May 31, 1-5pm. We’ll also be at the Red Hook Regatta on Saturday, May 31, 1-5pm in Valentino Park, Red Hook

TankerTours date change due to rain! Mary Whalen ship tours will NOT be tomorrow Saturday, 5/23. They will be Sunday, 5/31! FREE!
Join us on May 23 to celebrate the Mary A. Whalen’s 87th birthday. The interior of the ship will be open for public tours, something we only offer a few times a year. This is your chance to explore our spacious galley and its diesel stove, all the bells and jingles from wheelhouse to engine room, uncommon spaces, vintage tech and social history.
• 9am to 12pm: the ship is open for artists to sketch, paint, photograph, write whatever
• 12 noon, blessing of the ship by Rev. Henry Watkins of Red Hook’s Calvary Baptist Church
• 1-5pm TankerTours: move at your own pace from space to space and docent to docent
In next to NYC Ferry.

Sail related education opportunities for schools!

SailGP, an international sailing race with hi-tech foiling boats will be speeding between Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty May 30-31. Around this, they are offering educational programming for schools and a NextGen Challenge - make a model of one of their boats or an Ocean Shoebox diorama and submit it to them by MAY 18 to get a chance to win a VIP tech tour at the event.

The sloop Clearwater will be back alongside us in Red Hook, June 9 -June 13.

PortSide’s education newsletter has all the details. See link in 1st comment

UPDATE! the sun is out! Potluck BBQ is happening tonight! Season opener of community potluck, 6-10pm. If it's raining, we eat inside and play board games. The BBQs are under tents...

Come on over to the !

In

Rain or shine, It's happening tonight! Season opener of community potluck, 6-10pm. If it's raining, we eat inside and play board games. The BBQs are under tents... Come on over to the !