2013.035

LeDuc, Lawrence, Jr.

Gift

Gift of Lawrence LeDuc, Jr.

1986

Notes: Photo catalog 2013.035.0001 My name is Lawrence LeDuc Jr. and I would like to thank you for your attention and dedication paid to the preservation of maritime history; particularly to tugboats. One tugboat that has a place in my heart is the Tug Orange, built in 1903. She was a Lackawanna Railroad tug for a good part of her life, but if you will indulge me, I will fill you in on the rest of her career. Her story and mine, began in 1964 (that was when I was born). She was purchased from Lackawanna Railroad the previous year by John C. Leonardi; who owned Leonardi Towing in Tampa, Florida. After being towed to Tampa, she spent the better part of 1963 and 1964 going thru an extensive rebuild. Basically, the hull and the deck was all that was left of the original boat, but her papers still gave 1903 as her start. Her rebuild was overseen by John B. Jackson, Boatwright. She was outfitted to a modern day look for 1964 and re-powered with a Fairbanks Morse 10 cylinder, direct reversible diesel engine. She came out in September of 1964 (one month after I was born) and her new captain was 21 year old Lawrence LeDuc…my dad! At that time, the Orange had 2000 hp and was the most powerful tugboat in Tampa. Over the next 30 years, my father remained the captain of the Orange. I also was her captain for many voyages in my 20's and 30's. I rode the boat with my dad as a kid and as a teenager. Actually, I was docking ships with her on my summer vacation at the age of 15, which was at a time before I even had a driver’s license to drive a car. On June 4, 1982, two days after graduating high school, I went to work full time on her as a deckhand. By 1987, I had my captain’s license and was running her as relief captain from time to time. Also in 1987, she was merged into Bay Transportation Corp/DBA/Leonardi Towing by Roy Leonardi who was owner since Captain Johnny’s (John Leonardi) passing in 1984. In 1997, Bay Transportation Corp was sold to Hvide Marine (now Seabulk Towing). From 1964, until she was bought in 1997 by Hvide, the tug Orange kept the same colors; white with green trim. In 1998, she was painted red white and blue to match Hvide’s fleet colors. I have attached a photo of how she looked during her 34 years in Tampa. She was laid up in 1999 due to her lack of power and lack of maintenance. She was considered to be a museum vessel here in Tampa, but due to logistics and EPA standards, it was decided that taking her on as a museum project would be too costly. So, Seabulk Towing decided to give her an honorable ending and work began to strip her bilges and all toxic materials. Her engine, generators and wheelhouse were scrapped. Her smoke stack stands out in front of Gulf Marine Repair shipyard in Tampa where she was “decommissioned”. In April of 2003 (at 100 years old) she was laid to rest near Treasure Island (St. Petersburg, FL) in 45 feet of water at N 27º 43.375’ W 082º58.500’. She gave our family a good living through out the years. My family was given a great honor (although never spoke of) in that my dad was the one who delivered her into service in Tampa, and I was the last one to run her under her own power. We are still a tugboat family. My dad is still a captain as well as my brother and I at Marine Towing of Tampa. We no longer run single screw tugs, but now have new and modern tractor tugs. The lessons that I learned on the tug Orange will stay with me for life. She taught me to be a boatman. Every once and a while, I will catch a whiff of something that reminds me of her smell and it takes me back… Best Regards, Lawrence LeDuc, Jr., Captain Original or Copy: Digital copy Status: OK Status By: dw Status Date: 2013-06-11