Although the era is almost ended, this commentator feels compelled to report on the end of empire – the last days of manly tugboats on San Francisco Bay. As a young pup, when this observer first arrived as a tourist (and all new arrivals here are “tourists”), one couldn’t help noticing tons of brawny tugs. AMNAV (American Navigation) sported some of the finest, with their Predator, Titan, Marauder and Avenger – these were tugboats with high testosterone and an attitude.
By Guy Span
Published: April, 2002
Although the era is almost ended, this commentator feels compelled to report on the end of empire – the last days of manly tugboats on San Francisco Bay. As a young pup, when this observer first arrived as a tourist (and all new arrivals here are “tourists”), one couldn’t help noticing tons of brawny tugs. AMNAV (American Navigation) sported some of the finest, with their Predator, Titan, Marauder and Avenger – these were tugboats with high testosterone and an attitude.
This has been partly a tradition in the industry as the Maritime Museum’s preserved steam tug Hercules attests (and waits your inspection just past Pier 45). A list of historic tug photographs in the author’s collection includes: the Goliah, Neptune, Rival, Tiger, Pirate, and a perennial favorite, the Case Ace.
But unfortunately, that brawny history is now under the gun. New entrants, like Bay and Delta, challenge the mystique of the past with names like Delta Billie and Delta Linda (good grief, where is Delta Dawn?). It’s enough to curdle your lunch, even if the vessels are named after the charming wives of the owners. Even worse, AMNAV changed the name of its Predator to Enterprise, reportedly a result of a salvage case that went badly. But how could you collect a salvage claim when the Predator shows up to help? That’s clearly not “help” – it’s a feeding frenzy!
A recent entrant is Foss lines, which has, since the 1900’s, always named its boats after family members, so they escape some wrath for their bantam-weight names (Albert Foss, et al). And to be fair, there were always companies that missed the boat, hence the likes of the Lorena, Ellen, Katy, Elue, Mary C. and ugh cetra.
Marin Tug and Barge also deserves note, not only for their horrible tug names, but also for the barges. But you have to give them credit for being sneaky. You see, most barge names are manly as hell. Scow 16 and the like are so unromantic that they become manly. But Marin Tug and Barge, named their barges so poorly as to deserve mention. There’s the Marin Dawn and the Marin Twilight but just to show you that they were laying low, this author has a picture of the Marin Nooner.
There is also a modern trend toward neutered tugs, such as the Polaris, Northern Lights, American Eagle, Silver Eagle, and the like. A few of the old tugs chose more neutral names such as the Governor Stephens, Liberty and the Pilot, but they were more likely to select unromantic numbers (backhandedly manly) such as Erikson No. 15 and Crowley’s endless numbers. On the other hand, to show that there is some hope on the west coast, the proposed centerfold for the Manly Tug calendar is the currently operating Mr. Randy of San Diego.
A bit of Bay History is the short-lived Murphy tugs, which had unromantic names, such as Murphy No.12. But the company was, according to bay legend, crushed by Red Stack Tugs in the most inappropriate manner, at father Murphy’s funeral, when the loans were bought up and called in.
Red Stack had the longest history on the Bay, although their local tug empire has all but gone. By 1996, the last remains of Crowley’s Red Stack tugs were stored out of service, although some have now moved on to other lives. But back then, the Alert, Defiance, Fearless, Rescue and Valiant were all looking for new homes. Other decent names included: Crowley No. 21(20, 19, 18, etc.), the Relief, the Sea Wolf, Sea Fox, Sea King, Samson and Vigilant but also (unfortunately), a few names like the Sea Queen.
Ferry riders and those on the waterfront will sorely miss the opportunity to watch the Predator wait for its prey or the Vigilant practice escort duty. In these tamer and more docile times, we are stuck with the Delta Billie giving an assist or the American Eagle nudging the liner, Direct Kookabura into a berth at Oakland. Tugs are still interesting, but what passion could anyone feel for the Ellen and her rock barge?
