National Maritime Day - Belfast Maine

Happy National Maritime Day!  I spent it in Belfast Maine where they hosted the region's first celebration of National Maritime Day.

It was an amazing day, with so much that happened.  Today I'm going to feature pictures of the Fournier Tractor,  familiar to many as the big red tugboat berthed beside the Belfast City dock.

Today it was open for tours.  To get aboard, I needed to clamber over the huge tires on the sides.  More nerve-wracking than it looks, because if your foot slips it's a long way to the dock or the water.
 A few picture from onboard.  Crews Quarters:

A peak at the engine room:

We've seen the Fournier Tractor, or its siblings, many times on the Penobscot; we recorded it carting the last pieces of an oil refinery to Texas.  And this afternoon I got to watch it do many other tricks:

Spinning in a circle (Note the folks on the docks are holding on so the wake won't knock them over):

And even moving sideways:

It was an awesome display!

A little more information about the Fournier Tractor:

A video of a pilot operating the Fournier Tractor  (but unfortunately not spinning it)
The specifications for the Fournier Tractor