Posted By: Allen Baker on: 05/23/2007 00:59:23 EDTSubject: An Introduction..
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Posted By: Allen Baker on: 05/23/2007 00:59:23 EDT Subject: An Introduction.. |
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Greetings All! Let me introduce myself as Capt. Allen Baker, an original member of the salvage gang going back to 1980 or 81.. It seems as if the "Baltimore" has fallen on some tough times again and I would like to jump back into this project and use my energy and knowledge to help get her back on an "even keel" so to speak. Yes, I was there in the Sassafrass River for the first salvage attempt, that failed. And I was there again when the two derrick rigs from McClean Contracting yanked her out of the green, cold slimey mud. I remember standing on the pier at the BMI the night the "Baltimore" arrived under tow of the tug "Smith Point". I was just a boy, a teenager of 14 or 15 on my Christmas break from school, with a love for tugs and the desire to make a career on the boats in Baltimore Harbor. She was in rough shape, no doubt. But we soon got to mucking her out, sleeping in shifts, on the second floor of the museum, staying close and keeping an eye out in case she headed for the bottom again. Through the years, I fell out of the "work parties" for I was busy making a career on the tugboats. Regretfully, I never got to make it aboard for any of her steaming days...never got to ride her while under her own power... Now, I would surely like to get involved again. After watching the recent dismantling of the retired New York Central steam tug that was located near the Cape Cod Canal, to make way for a CVS drugstore, I got to thinking of wanting to get involved with the "Baltimore" again, so she might be spared the same ignoble fate the NYC tug did. Is it too late? What can I do to help? Who can I talk to to get this historic tugboat saved? I look forward to discussing any ideas this board might have...and I look forward to meeting and talking with you all sometime. Feel free to contact me if you like, I look forward to hearing from you all. My life, and this tugboat are undeniably intertwined...and I sure would like to see her floating & steaming around this harbor again.... |
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