This weekend I enjoyed watching the Great North River Tug Race. Now, a few days later, we have arrived again at the anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. As horrible as that Tuesday morning in September indeed was and as raw as the memories still are, I prefer to focus on the near miracle of that afternoon, when the mariners of New York harbor on tugs, ferries and a range of other craft evacuated an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people trapped in Lower Manhattan by water. It has been called the largest rescue by sea in history and is often compared to Dunkirk. The scope of the rescue is still too often overlooked or forgotten and as a result, it is easy to overlook the importance of tugs and ferries to the resilience of the harbor.
I watch this short documentary on the Great Manhattan Boat Lift of 9/11/01 at least once a year. In the face of natural and unnatural disasters, it is good to be reminded that when things are at their worst, mariners will do all that they can to help. On the 17th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, BOATLIFT, An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience.
Thanks for sharing this every year, Rick. May we never forget.
Thanks for sharing, we all need to see this.
Human compassion at its finest.
I was there that morning as part of the USCG response aboard the Staten Island Ferries. Always a tough day. The other day I retold the story to my son now 18, (one year old at the time of the attacks) for a college project he is working on. The combined efforts of the maritime community, and my own ride back to Ft Wadsworth via one of the water responders caused me to break down for the first time in a long time. The memories are still very fresh, I suppose in a way they always will be. Thanks for the article.