Penn's Landing is largely viewed as a disappointment for all the missed opportunities of the past 30+ years; Concrete Pi looms over the giant
riverfront parking lot as a constant reminder of that. And while you can't actually touch the Delaware River, a visit there doesn't have to be
long to see it in active use. Sitting on the built-in benches atop the bulkhead, one can watch oil tankers, jet skis, freighters and pleasure boats
sharing space on the water . . . and those are just the ones passing by.
Right here at Penn's Landing, a fleet of extrinsic brethren makes up what does work here: the boating life. Tucked just below the Seaport Museum --
itself a permanent exhibition of Philadelphia's place on the River -- about fifty steps downstream from the Riverlink Ferry to Camden, is a marina
whose vessels include private yachts and sailboats, two Navy ships (the circa-Spanish-American War cruiser USS Olympia and the circa-WWII submarine
Becuna), the four-masted barque and floating restaurant/bar/awesome place for a cigar and a scotch Moshulu, the Totally 80s corporate cruise
ship Spirit of Philadelphia, a couple of human powered kayaks and canoes, and Penn's Landing's finest representative of Philly's history as working
riverfront, the Tugboat Jupiter.
Jupiter has only been around since 1939, when the Independence Pier Company of Philadelphia bought the 37 year old tug and renamed it. Prior to
1939, the Jupiter was the Sacony #14, a working tug commissioned by Standard Oil to assist with their fuel ships and barges, largely in New York
Harbor.
In 1902, Standard Oil went to the standard tug builder of its time, Neafie & Levy, whose yard occupied the space currently inhabited
by PECO's Delaware Station next to Penn Treaty Park. (Neafie & Levy also built the Navy's first submarine, the USS Alligator, in 1862 for use in the Civil
War.)
After its purchase in 1939, the tug took Philadelphia as its home port and Jupiter as its name. Its early service in Philadelphia assisted in the
launch of several naval vessels during World War II, including the USS New Jersey, the battleship now docked as a museum across the river. For several
decades after the war, it performed typical tugboat duties, assisting larger ships traveling the Delaware River and Bay, and the Chesapeake &
Delaware Canal.
Penn's Landing Corporation purchased the Jupiter in 1999, and the non-profit Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild assumed care for it. Volunteers
operate it and perform its upkeep; they also participate in education programs and chartered cruises like the one held by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) a few weekends ago. The timing for PEC was perfect, as
they're in the process of finishing the new Tidal Delaware Water Trail with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, DCNR and
others. Unfortunately, their trail coverage stops at Marcus Hook, as it's primarily a Pennsylvania project. However, it will (naturally) meet up with
the existing Delaware River Greenway north of Trenton/Morrisville.
Members from each of those organizations joined the volunteer crew of the Jupiter for a three hour tour (a three hour tour) of the Delaware, departing
from Penn's Landing and heading north to near Neshaminy State Park before a teenage passenger had the distinction of being our voyage's U-turn man,
wielding the wooden spoke wheel for a Burlington-Bucks Turnaround. (He took over from the little girl pictured with the captain in the picture at the
beginning of this post.)
My photos from the river route, about eight pages of ten photos each, begin
HERE.
The set includes this Philly Skyline BFB Skyline, a preview of the next tidal Delaware bridge toward the sea, whose feature will be live soon.
To learn more about the tugboat Jupiter, visit its web site HERE. If
you've never been on a casual sail along the Delaware or seen the Philly Skyline from the water, why not grab a rail on the sailboat Sigsbee on
Tuesday the 28th? The Chesapeake Bay skipjack departs from the Seaport Museum and sails from 4-6pm. Cost is $25 -- more info HERE.
–B Love
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