1,613 Comments for Staten Island Boat Graveyard

Oh, Grifspop, I've got nothing at all against golf courses! It's all in good fun. You must be a golfer. I beg your forgiveness!!!

What does everyone have against golf courses???
First it was minivans, then it was polo shirts.... Why does everyone have to be a hater??

Thank you Mike. Such is the sad state of progress I guess. It was good that it was restored, but to be surrounded by a golf course is sad.

That's a remarkable poem, my friend. Fits the picture well too. Any thoughts of further collaboration?

The lighthouse is on Hilton Head Island and is called the Leamington Lighthouse. It was a rear range marker that would be lined up with another light on the beach. It was restored fifteen years ago but I used to visit it as a kid before the land around it was developed. Back then it was a rusted ruin and a great place to kick back up at the top. There were other ruins around the light house including th Power Plant building, oil house etc. Camped out there once with a buddy and once darkness fell the whole place really tranformed into something very alien. The lighthouse had been abandoned in the late 1930's and was built in the 1880's. Sadly it's now part of a resort and stands on a golf course.

Mike Shannon! That is beautiful. What lighthouse was it, by the way, if you don't mind?

Wow! Great poem!

Reminds me of a poem I wrote many years ago titled "Hulks"
I love you
Like the rusting hulk of sad trawler
falling down a pathway
towards a lighthouse
With holes bored into its facade--
old ship
sinking under the stagnant still waters--
festering with with bacteria
and end of game
The sound of the collision
of rotting battleship
no longer needed
with rust stains burnt through
to the inner core of your workings
Brushing--deeply against
the forgotten beacon
that tried to bring you in
with its own crimson stained gown
reminds me of
the beauty of anger
And
rust upon rust
And empty hole
upon rusty hole
See your face
in the forgotten corrupted hulk
of the ship
And see your lover's face
within the broken window frame
of a beacon
that no longer
lives
Both hollow vessels empty
except for the sound of sitting water
disturbed by
falling metal flakes
as beacon is sheared
and ship sinks
One hulk
crashing onto the other
and slowly
submerging
The "beacon" I was thinking of was an abandoned lighthouse in South Carolina and was constructed of steel. These images just brought this poem to mind. Great, moody evocative photos!

i am sorry for this vassels!nicecollection .10x for this foto.

Wow, this one sure started some debate. I think the photography is just fine, but with all respect to the folks who were trying to identify this hulk as a subchaser and whatnot- here's the Real story. The ship is one of a series of wooden armed salvage tugs built in WWII on both the west and east coasts of the United States. The ATR vessels (Armed Tug Rescue) were powerful steam tugs designed to tow damaged battleships out of combat areas. One, the ATR 64, now named La Lumiere, is still afloat at Brittania Beach, just north of Vancouver BC, & efforts are being made to preserve the ship. There is another hulk ATR tug at Royston on Vancouver Island ,BC. and another abandoned in a harbour in southern Chile. Tons of pictures of these vessels on a site called NAFTS.com, dedicated to those who served in the fleet tugs in WWII. Anyways, they are built of Douglas fir with steel sheathing on the bow, with the tip of the bow angled back in so they can push on the much larger stricken vessels they were intended to assist.

Nice collection. When I see these pictures I wonder about the history of the different vessels, their crews, all those people whose lives were once entwined with these ships, the skill and months of labour that went into building them, the endless maintenance that kept them alive.

I agree with J. Grant, Mott, you really should put together a big coffee table book...

the cheery sky just magnifies their plight
www.spaces.msn.com/members/sensualidad for art deco art

It's just engine from diesel submarine!!!!!! Guys!

The horse power rating is defiantly in the 1,000 to 3,000 range. From the tugs I have been on and some of the engines I have hauled I would say it is most likely around 1,300. Most older tugs were in that range.