The vital job of the channel masters of NY Harbor

New Jersey

A SPEED of 7 knots at sea equals about 13 kph on land, which doesn't sound very fast. But that's not how it feels about 24 km southeast of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, where the Queen Mary 2 is heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Thomas J Keating Jr emerges from a door in the belly of the vessel, an ocean liner about the length of the Empire State Building if it were turned on its side. The wind is whipping on this Tuesday in August, but Captain Keating's purple tie is securely fastened under his vest as he climbs down onto the bow of a 53-foot aluminium boat riding beside the larger ship, like a minnow next to a whale.