Tug of the Month: Creosote
CREOSOTE
Creosote in the lead 2018. Photo courtesy LG Evans Maritime Images
The tug CREOSOTE was built in 1921 by the Ballard Ship and Railway Company of Seattle for the Pacific Creosoting Company, and was soon acquired, along with the Pacific Creosoting Company, by the Baxter Wycoff Company of Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island.
Creosote plan and diagram
CREOSOTE towed barges of creosote logs from the Baxter Wycoff plant to construction sites throughout Puget Sound. She also towed log rafts from Shelton to Eagle Harbor for treatment.
Creosote on the water 2018. Photo courtesy Karla Fowler.
CREOSOTE was originally powered by a 100 horsepower Fairbanks Morse Diesel engine. Later, her second engine was a 6-110. Her third was a 12V71 450 horsepower diesel. She is 50 feet long, with a beam of 13 feet, and draws eight feet, two inches.
Creosote racing 2018. Photo courtesy LG Evans Maritime Images.
Creosote 1922 Pacific Marine Review
CREOSOTE has participated in five Olympia Harbor Days events to date, including 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2018. Her earlier race rivals were Tug Parthia and Tug Reliance. In 2018, Creosote won in the Under 400 HP Class besting Danni K, Patricia Ann and Sand Man. She placed 2nd in 2009 and 3rd in her 2011 heat.
Creosote racing 2011. Photo courtesy Karla Fowler.
CREOSOTE was honored as the Harbor Days logo tug for 2007 when she was owned and skippered by John E. Offergeld. The logo tug is the oldest tug in attendance the prior year that has not been previously designated as the logo tug.
Olympia Harbor Days 2007 Logo Button with Tug Creosote
The tug was purchased by Robert Wohleb three weeks before bringing her to the 2011 Harbor Days races. He moved her from Kingston to Eagle Harbor in 2012 where she remains homeported today. She went on the hard in Port Townsend in 2013 for a major overhaul and was returned to the water in July 2018, just in time for another Harbor Days event.
The many colors of Tug CREOSOTE – 2007 Green and 2018 Brown. Photo courtesy Karla Fowler
Sources: Mike Skalley collection, OHD archives, Robert Wohleb