Rendezvous in the Fog by Steve Munoz
Capt Bob Munoz, docking pilot for the McAllister Towing Co in New York harbor, was sleeping
in his bunk in the early morning hours on the tug Steven McAllister in the spring of 1966 when
the call came in from the dispatcher to head over to the Bay Ridge anchorage. It was early
morning and the fog was pretty thick. He had the engine cranked up and brought the docking tug
up alongside the American Export-Isbrandtsen ship, Exporter, a 473-foot-long freighter. The
deckhand put up the ladder and he climbed up to the ship’s main deck where he was met by the
mate and was then escorted up to the bridge. After exchanging the usual pleasantries with the
captain of the ship and the sea pilot, the captain said that he was ready to go. He had been forced
to anchor there the night before because of the fog and was anxious to get going.
Captain Munoz pointed out the remaining fog to the captain, which was intuitively obvious from
the bridge, but the captain said that he needed to get to his assigned berth north of the Military
Ocean Terminal in Bayonne. On the radio Capt Munoz called for the Steven to come up to the
starboard bow and get a line up to the bow of the ship. Despite the fog the ship’s anchor was
raised. The Dorothy McAllister also arrived and was to assist the docking of the ship at
Bayonne.
Looking out at the fog, Capt Munoz decided to have the Dorothy head over to buoy 24 in the
main channel. This way he could see the tug on the ship’s radar and get a perspective where he
was in relation to the channel and be able to better determine his heading for Bayonne. He then
called for slow ahead on the ship’s steam engine and headed for the Dorothy at the buoy.
Out on the wing of the bridge it was all quiet in the early morning hours. A steady rumble under
the pilot’s feet indicated that the ship was coming around and heading in a westerly direction
toward the Dorothy. The sea pilot was asked to keep an eye on the radar. Everything appeared
normal.
As the ship approached buoy 24, Capt Munoz would have the ship head in a more northerly
direction up the channel, then head west again toward the entrance to Bayonne. For this he had
the Dorothy head over to Robbins Reef so she could be seen on the radar and he would know
when to turn into the channel north of Robbins Reef.
Everything was quiet. Too quiet! The sea pilot was asked if he saw anything coming on the
radar. The response was that there was just a small looking ship south in the channel coming
slowly north. A few more minutes went by and then there was this very LOUD foghorn and it
wasn’t from the Exporter. Everyone on the bridge ran over to the port wing. The foghorn was
louder and closer.
The ship’s captain shouted out to the helmsman, “Full astern!”
Capt Munoz shouted, even louder, “No, No, No! Full ahead! Left full rudder!”
On the radio he yelled, “On the Steven, full ahead on the starboard bow.”
There was silence on the bridge. The ship vibrated and picked up speed, slowly turning to port
and started heading south.
“Steady as she goes!” yelled Capt Munoz to the helmsman.
“On the Steven, all stop.”
Then out of the fog this big black hull appeared, some 200 feet away, as the two ships safely
passed port to port. On the bow of this big black hull was the very famous name F-R-A-N-C-E. It
was only the longest passenger ship in the world at the time. So much for a “small” ship coming
slowly up the channel.
After the France quickly disappeared again, the captain turned to the pilot and said,” Capt
Munoz, you were right in going ahead.” Capt Munoz responded, “Captain, if we had gone astern
and with the time it takes to stop this ship’s headway and then start going astern, part of your
ship would have been over there, as he pointed a finger out in the fog, and we would be over here
about getting our feet wet right about now. Now let’s see if we can get you to Bayonne.”
From the port wing of the bridge, Capt Munoz called out in a more normal voice, “Hard left
rudder. Slow ahead. On the Steven, full ahead.”
Capt Munoz turned the Exporter around to head north again back toward Bayonne.
Over the years Capt Munoz referred to company damage reports as “alleged” incidents.
However, in this case he said that if a damage report was required, it would have been required
on waterproof paper.
Editor’s Note: I originally wrote this article for the NY TUGS magazine that appeared in Vol 2,
No 3 in 2010.
2026-01-22
Photos:
Exporter-Dave Boone collection
Steven McAllister-Dave Boone collection
Dorothy McAllister-Dave Boone collection
