PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT - - -

Back last September I posted "TUGBOATIN" about doing some "wishful thinkin" and a little shoving on the M/V Celebration, our lake's largest commercial vessel at 34 net tons, steel hull and nearly 80 ft long who had to come in on one shaft and needed an escort and a little "shove" on her port side while mooring against an "off dock" wind.   - - - Fast Forward to Yesterday, July 27, 2010

The phone rang and it was Captain Mike from the "Celebration", they were just finishing a cruise and lost all power about 2 miles from port - - - .  I was on the water in a flash and reached them before the "on-shore" breeze tried to moor them on the rocks - -.  I contacted Capt Johnson to man the Osage Beach boat and meet us in the mouth of the Glaize arm.  For docking, we had fair weather and a light "port side" breeze which worked in our favor for a starboard side mooring.  The Celebrations' dock is 100 ft long, with a "T" on one end and gang way and cables on the other which didn't leave much room for error.  We eased her in to the dock on a very slow bell and then I gave her a mid-ships port side "shove" sideways and "Game over", went so smooth it scared us  - - -   I had made that landing over and over in my mind for a couple of years - - - :)

PHOTO - - THIS SHOT (According to Captain Mike of the Celebration) SHOWS THE VESSEL "CELEBRATION" PUSHING THE TOWBOAT "POINT YOUNG" IN WITH A STIFF ROPE WHILE TOWING ANOTHER TOWBOAT - ??

NOTE:  This photo taken by Tim McNitt of Atlantis Dive, he gave me a 16 X 20 poster of this shot and its going on my Office wall - - -!!