Sadly, I report the tug boat “Captain Diane” is no longer in Key West. Tug boat use has slipped as new propulsion technology is used to land and launch giant cruise ships. Of course tugs are always used for salvage,
distress, and disaster at sea. It is the Captain Diane that answered the call if the US Coast Guard got in a jam.
She’s being inspected in Miami for possible/ probable sale. Here’s a shot of the graveyard. She’s not ready for that yet. Not even close. She’s a former USCG icebreaker, converted into a power tug. With 9-foot props she could pull an island if necessary, and that’s where she is headed for a busier port of call. I hope to see her again one day, perhaps in Nassau. In the mean time, and I mean Greenwich Mean time; here’s a clip. Unfortunately the original HD content was corrupted and lost so I don’t have anything but this web video. I spent an entire week aboard the Captain Diane.
Each day I found myself praying for a shipwreck or just a simple pull or push into a dock would have been nice. That week in 2007 she was welded to the dock. I slept like a baby, dove like a seal. This also means we will miss out riding alongside Captain Dave for the sinking of the Vandenberg. Unfortunately the sinking has been postponed due to funding. That last million or two are the hardest… I guess. Plus this is hurricane season. Safety first.
Tribute to the tugboat “Captain Diane”.
Click the red text title above for video.




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