Harbor Days 1997

Olympia, WA: The 24th annual Harbor Days celebration attracted about 25,000 people and 40 tugboats of all shapes, sizes and colors. From the tiny Atka to the mighty General Knox, all chugged, steamed, or growled into Percival Landing for one of the biggest Harbor Days ever! As lines were tossed, the Harbor master filled in the gaps of this floating jigsaw puzzle that are the rafted tugs of Harbor Days. This is indeed one of America's great celebrations!

0645 Sunday Morning. Dawn on the day of the races. The boats sit silently as an occasional silhouetted figure can be seen moving around in a pilothouse filling the coffeepot.
On the dock, a few photographers and artists greet each other as part of their annual ritual of recording these great boats at rest. Soon all will come alive, the crowds will line the rails, the engines will roar to life, the whistles will blow, and the boats will slowly head out to the Olympia Shoals race course.

HARBOR DAYS Trivia: The combined pulling power of all the tugs at this year's event was enough to pull the State of Washington away from the rest of the U.S.! Understandably, the Coast Guard was quite angry.

The Unlimited Class: In what could have been a classic David and Goliath battle, The U.S. Army tug, GENERAL KNOX (LT-802) went up against four-time Harbor Days Champion, MARY L, a restored tug out of Seattle. For a while, it seemed like the smaller boat would finally overtake the LT, but unlike the biblical tale, David was going have to lick his wounds today. As one onlooker exclaimed, "That big sucker really pushes a lot of water!"

At the 2/3 mark, MARY L had been steadily closing on GENERAL KNOX, until she caught up with the giant tug's bow wake.
As the smaller tug's bow slammed into the oncoming wake, she dipped down, losing steering way in the turbulence. Unable to recover, MARY L was out of the race. The checkered flags flying from her mast indicate past Harbor Day's victories.
Here's the specs on General Knox:
Designation: LT (Large Tug)
Built: 1994
Length: 128'
Beam: 36'
Draft: 17' loaded
Power: Twin EMD engines rated at 5,100 hp
Speed: 13.5 knots
Range: 5,000 nm
Crew: 23
Home port: Tacoma, WA

Click HERE for more !
Click HERE to go back to my main tugboat page.

Photographs and text © 1997, Carl Cook. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any manner without permission.
My thanks to Jim Flynn, our brave boat driver who leaps his little craft across the bows of these behemoths just so we can make these photographs. What fun! -- Thanks Jim!