Colossus on the River (1965) - full transcript
A documentary of SS United States on New York port.
(engine chugging)
(ship bell tolls)
(ship horn blows)
(ship bell dings)
MAN (narrating):
New York Harbor in the morning light.
(ship bell tolls)
(ship horns blowing)
(ship horn blows)
Many forces merge here—
tides, shifting winds,
melting mountain snows,
currents within currents.
(radio chatter)
This morning, tugboats on the river
prepare to bring in a great ship—
the United States.
(ship horn blowing)
The senior docking pilot
of New York Harbor,
a man who has docked
over 20,000 ships,
boards a tug en route to the big liner.
Captain Bill Snyder has piloted
three to six ships a day for 25 years,
but conditions are never the same.
Known: full tide in 21 minutes,
wind from the north, variable,
four tugs to work with.
Unknown: the moment-to-moment
shifts and changes.
He keeps feeling the wind
and watching the current
before deciding his tactics.
- (ship horn blows)
- (no audible dialogue)
(machine whirring)
MAN:
All right, there.
All right.
(steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR: Now, from the
side hatch, he gives his first order—
"All tugs on the starboard side.
Two at the bow, one center,
one at the stern."
There's a strong downstream current.
He'll have to use the corner of
the pier to make the turn into the slip.
A mile from the pier, the other tugs
close into their first stations.
(steam whistle toots)
(ship horn blows)
Here on the river, after four and a half
days on the ocean,
the last hour is critical.
MAN:
Okay.
(engine revving)
Captain Snyder is off to the bridge,
eight decks above,
to take command of the ship.
His tug moves back to tie up
at the stern.
MAN (on radio):
This should be the place,
but I don't know
how they're gonna work it.
MAN #2:
Huh? Never make it.
(squawking)
NARRATOR:
This is Pier 86,
where the schedule calls for the
United States
to dock at precisely 8:05.
(creaking)
It ought to be okay now.
(seagulls squawking)
NARRATOR: Still in mid-river,
the majestic ocean liner is steered
to keep the force of wind and current
from pressing on her vast side.
That side is five city blocks long
and 17 stories high.
The slower she moves, the further
she is from her ocean element,
the more vulnerable she becomes
to the great pressures
of current and wind.
(steam whistle toots)
(chattering)
(ship horn blowing)
She keeps heading upstream until her
center point is opposite the pier head.
BOY:
There's the radar on the top.
NARRATOR: The captain will wait
until the last moment
before he angles her toward the slip.
Then he'll be ready
for the climactic maneuver,
when her long side
takes the full force of wind and tide.
The designer of the United States
is on hand each time she arrives.
Every two weeks, he watches
Bill Snyder bring his ship in.
(radio chatter)
(horn blows)
Today, the first stage
is complicated by freshets,
tricky intermittent currents
caused by melting snows
as far as 200 miles away.
MAN (on radio):
Come ahead, easy.
MAN #2: Barbara, Carol, very easy. Go ahead.
NARRATOR:
Snyder, who is alert to every change,
directs his four tugs
and the ship's engines,
responding to all the forces
pressing on the ship.
(radio chatter)
To swing her safely into the slip,
he needs the corner of the pier
to pivot around.
But first, he must maneuver to bring
the ship to lean against that corner.
If Snyder's operation is not
perfectly coordinated,
the 55,000-ton colossus could
smash into the million-dollar pier.
(steam whistle toots)
(engine revving)
MAN (on radio): Easy, Barbara.
(steam whistle toots)
MAN:
Come ahead, easy.
MAN #2: Barbara, Carol, very easy.
(steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR:
The timing is precise.
He can't miss an order
by even a few seconds.
She mustn't come in too fast
or too slow either.
Sometimes they have to move her
back and start all over again.
MAN (on radio):
Easy for Peter. Easy for Peter.
- (ship horn blowing)
- (chattering)
NARRATOR:
The men's alertness is in their bones.
They take a break while they can,
but they're always ready.
MAN (on radio): Hooked up, Barbara.
(steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR: That's it. She's on
the knuckle, ready to be swiveled.
(indistinct)
MAN:
Hand me the line. Ready, set—
- (radio chatter)
- (steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR:
One delicate maneuver accomplished,
every moment brings another.
When the front tugs
reach the portside bow,
they'll be in position
to control the lever.
The ship's center is the balance point.
Tugs pushing the bow and the stern
will ease her around the bend.
- BOY: Mom—
- (ship horn blows)
The designer, William Francis Gibbs,
made his ship the fastest, safest,
and some say the most beautiful
ocean liner of all.
But here she comes.
And now she moves into the most
delicate phase of the operation.
The slow passage
down the edge of the dock.
Her forward movement
must be tightly controlled
so the sharp prow
doesn't cut into 12th Avenue.
(horn blows)
(men shouting)
There go the spring lines,
the first of 30 ropes.
(ship horn blowing)
Certain of the ropes
will be used to pull the ship
when things get too critical
for her own big propellers.
That'll be soon.
She's very close to the street.
(chattering)
- MAN: Hey!
- MAN #2: Whoa! Oh!
NARRATOR:
From where Bill Snyder stands,
his view of the street
is blocked by the ship's prow.
He can't see the edge of the street.
So he watches for a marker
on the side of the pier.
He mustn't approach it too fast,
or the ropes won't be ready
in time for his next move.
He cuts the ship's engines,
tugs holding tight.
Only the ropes and powerful winches
now pull the ship.
The thousand-foot ship
must be maneuvered
to stop within three inches
of the mark.
Inch by inch, she keeps coming,
while skilled hands work
the final ropes to bring her in on time.
If the first ship of the day
is late, the whole port is late.
(radio chatter)
(steam whistle toots)
Inch by inch.
Inch by inch now.
And she's dead on the mark.
MAN (on PA):
Hold it. When you sufficiently secure—
(radio chatter)
(steam whistle blowing)
NARRATOR:
It's 8:05.
(ship horn blows)
(no audible dialogue)
Closed-Captioned by
Captions, Inc., Burbank, CA
(ship bell tolls)
(ship horn blows)
(ship bell dings)
MAN (narrating):
New York Harbor in the morning light.
(ship bell tolls)
(ship horns blowing)
(ship horn blows)
Many forces merge here—
tides, shifting winds,
melting mountain snows,
currents within currents.
(radio chatter)
This morning, tugboats on the river
prepare to bring in a great ship—
the United States.
(ship horn blowing)
The senior docking pilot
of New York Harbor,
a man who has docked
over 20,000 ships,
boards a tug en route to the big liner.
Captain Bill Snyder has piloted
three to six ships a day for 25 years,
but conditions are never the same.
Known: full tide in 21 minutes,
wind from the north, variable,
four tugs to work with.
Unknown: the moment-to-moment
shifts and changes.
He keeps feeling the wind
and watching the current
before deciding his tactics.
- (ship horn blows)
- (no audible dialogue)
(machine whirring)
MAN:
All right, there.
All right.
(steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR: Now, from the
side hatch, he gives his first order—
"All tugs on the starboard side.
Two at the bow, one center,
one at the stern."
There's a strong downstream current.
He'll have to use the corner of
the pier to make the turn into the slip.
A mile from the pier, the other tugs
close into their first stations.
(steam whistle toots)
(ship horn blows)
Here on the river, after four and a half
days on the ocean,
the last hour is critical.
MAN:
Okay.
(engine revving)
Captain Snyder is off to the bridge,
eight decks above,
to take command of the ship.
His tug moves back to tie up
at the stern.
MAN (on radio):
This should be the place,
but I don't know
how they're gonna work it.
MAN #2:
Huh? Never make it.
(squawking)
NARRATOR:
This is Pier 86,
where the schedule calls for the
United States
to dock at precisely 8:05.
(creaking)
It ought to be okay now.
(seagulls squawking)
NARRATOR: Still in mid-river,
the majestic ocean liner is steered
to keep the force of wind and current
from pressing on her vast side.
That side is five city blocks long
and 17 stories high.
The slower she moves, the further
she is from her ocean element,
the more vulnerable she becomes
to the great pressures
of current and wind.
(steam whistle toots)
(chattering)
(ship horn blowing)
She keeps heading upstream until her
center point is opposite the pier head.
BOY:
There's the radar on the top.
NARRATOR: The captain will wait
until the last moment
before he angles her toward the slip.
Then he'll be ready
for the climactic maneuver,
when her long side
takes the full force of wind and tide.
The designer of the United States
is on hand each time she arrives.
Every two weeks, he watches
Bill Snyder bring his ship in.
(radio chatter)
(horn blows)
Today, the first stage
is complicated by freshets,
tricky intermittent currents
caused by melting snows
as far as 200 miles away.
MAN (on radio):
Come ahead, easy.
MAN #2: Barbara, Carol, very easy. Go ahead.
NARRATOR:
Snyder, who is alert to every change,
directs his four tugs
and the ship's engines,
responding to all the forces
pressing on the ship.
(radio chatter)
To swing her safely into the slip,
he needs the corner of the pier
to pivot around.
But first, he must maneuver to bring
the ship to lean against that corner.
If Snyder's operation is not
perfectly coordinated,
the 55,000-ton colossus could
smash into the million-dollar pier.
(steam whistle toots)
(engine revving)
MAN (on radio): Easy, Barbara.
(steam whistle toots)
MAN:
Come ahead, easy.
MAN #2: Barbara, Carol, very easy.
(steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR:
The timing is precise.
He can't miss an order
by even a few seconds.
She mustn't come in too fast
or too slow either.
Sometimes they have to move her
back and start all over again.
MAN (on radio):
Easy for Peter. Easy for Peter.
- (ship horn blowing)
- (chattering)
NARRATOR:
The men's alertness is in their bones.
They take a break while they can,
but they're always ready.
MAN (on radio): Hooked up, Barbara.
(steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR: That's it. She's on
the knuckle, ready to be swiveled.
(indistinct)
MAN:
Hand me the line. Ready, set—
- (radio chatter)
- (steam whistle toots)
NARRATOR:
One delicate maneuver accomplished,
every moment brings another.
When the front tugs
reach the portside bow,
they'll be in position
to control the lever.
The ship's center is the balance point.
Tugs pushing the bow and the stern
will ease her around the bend.
- BOY: Mom—
- (ship horn blows)
The designer, William Francis Gibbs,
made his ship the fastest, safest,
and some say the most beautiful
ocean liner of all.
But here she comes.
And now she moves into the most
delicate phase of the operation.
The slow passage
down the edge of the dock.
Her forward movement
must be tightly controlled
so the sharp prow
doesn't cut into 12th Avenue.
(horn blows)
(men shouting)
There go the spring lines,
the first of 30 ropes.
(ship horn blowing)
Certain of the ropes
will be used to pull the ship
when things get too critical
for her own big propellers.
That'll be soon.
She's very close to the street.
(chattering)
- MAN: Hey!
- MAN #2: Whoa! Oh!
NARRATOR:
From where Bill Snyder stands,
his view of the street
is blocked by the ship's prow.
He can't see the edge of the street.
So he watches for a marker
on the side of the pier.
He mustn't approach it too fast,
or the ropes won't be ready
in time for his next move.
He cuts the ship's engines,
tugs holding tight.
Only the ropes and powerful winches
now pull the ship.
The thousand-foot ship
must be maneuvered
to stop within three inches
of the mark.
Inch by inch, she keeps coming,
while skilled hands work
the final ropes to bring her in on time.
If the first ship of the day
is late, the whole port is late.
(radio chatter)
(steam whistle toots)
Inch by inch.
Inch by inch now.
And she's dead on the mark.
MAN (on PA):
Hold it. When you sufficiently secure—
(radio chatter)
(steam whistle blowing)
NARRATOR:
It's 8:05.
(ship horn blows)
(no audible dialogue)
Closed-Captioned by
Captions, Inc., Burbank, CA