Responding to Coast Guard's call for "all available boats," tugs, ferries, harbor pilot and other vessels assemble off Battery Park in Lower Manhattan to begin the evacuation. Click for larger view. Photo: NYPD

Notes from David Tarnow

"All Available Boats: Harbor Voices from 9/11" consists of a series of interviews with members of New York's maritime community and it documents their response to the attack on the World Trade Center and their role in the subsequent evacuation of Lower Manhattan. Since the bridges, tunnels and subways were closed off, the water suddenly became the only way out. The Coast Guard enlisted all available boats to evacuate an army of walking wounded and terrified office workers and to bring rescuers and supplies onto the island. What emerges is the story of a collective effort of selfless dedication on the part of these previously invisible waterfront hands. These are the people who made this evacuation possible (perhaps the piece should be re-titled "Dunkirk on the Hudson").

The interviews were commissioned by the South Street Seaport Museum for a permanent archive documenting the event and they form the basis of an interactive exhibit currently on display. I worked very closely with South Street Seaport's senior historian Steve Jaffe to make sure to show that the expertise, teamwork and ability to improvise under pressure were qualities practiced by these people in their daily working lives. Many of the interviewees had approached the Museum with written accounts and when it came down to it they were both eager and reluctant to talk. Eager to get the story off their chests and reluctant to having to relive the horror of that day.

The retired New York City fireboat John J. Harvey helped in the evacuation and then helped supply water to fire department hoses at Ground Zero when water mains were knocked out. Harvey's crew includes (from left) Jessica duLong, Tim Ivory, Huntley Gill and Robert Lenny. Photo: Andrew Garn Island ferry captain James Parese witnessed the second plane as it crashed into the South Tower, then evacuated 6,000 people in one trip aboard his ferry, the Samuel I. Newhouse. Photo: Andrew Garn

The Interviews

James Parese
Captain of the Staten Island ferry Newhouse.

Real Audio or MP3

John William Akerman
A Sandy Hook Harbor Pilot.

Real Audio or MP3

Paul Amico
Owner of Amico Ironworks.

Real Audio or MP3

Kimberly Gochberg
A sailing coach at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.

Real Audio or MP3

Tom Sullivan
New York Fireman assigned to fireboat John McKeen for Marine Company 1.

Real Audio or MP3

Ken Peterson
Port Captain for Reinhour Transportation, a tug and barge company.

Real Audio or MP3

Huntley Gill
Former crewmember of the fireboat John J. Harvey.

Real Audio or MP3

Tim Ivory
Chief Engineer on the fireboat John J. Harvey.

Real Audio or MP3

Lee Gruzen
A Battery Park resident rescued on 9/11.

Real Audio or MP3

About David Tarnow

David Tarnow has been producing radio documentaries since 1968. His work has been broadcast on CBC, BBC, ABC (Australia), Swedish National Radio & VPRO (Netherlands). He has been a regular contributor to NPR's "Jazz Profiles." Oral histories frequently form the basis of his work. David is currently producing an documentary audio book for the United Nations based on interviews with Nobel Peace Prize Laureates entitled "Nobel Voices for Disarmorment."

Related Links

All Available Boats: Harbor Voices & Images
An interactive exhibit at the South Street Seaport Museum.

WNPR - Connecticut Public Radio
Listen online to a radio version of this feature produced with WNPR. For more information about obtaining that version for broadcast, contact John Dankosky.