1896 Steam Tug Catawissa
On a dark cold and stormy night, we saw red rockets off our quarter.
We changed coarse to find a 105 year old ,170 ft, 600 ton steam tug with a perilous list to port. Her crew had abandoned her, her boilers cold and filled with water. So down was she to find her portlites under water. The only things keeping her from capsizing were two 1" cables to shore, and these were slicing through her hull like butter.
- Salvage commenced end of March 98 - completed 4 weeks later with the commercial towing of the vessel to our docks in Kingston. The CATAWISSA, the only remaining vessel of her class, lives!
Since that day thousands have been
spent while the courts have wrestled with the legal question of ownership. On
October 24th 2000 the courts upheld our claim against her title, as did the
final appeal in New York, argued by Dean Steale esq. of Clark Atcheson &
Reisert. July 26th 2001 saw the final page of the legal battle ....
It is
final, the CATAWISSA is safe. Restoration can begin.