The Ship Report

We saw a significant storm blow by our region over the weekend, missing us largely here in NW Oregon and SW Washington and hitting to the north of us . But don’t be fooled, the storm kicked up quite a fuss in the ocean, and closed the Columbia River Bar to ship traffic, along with other coastal bar areas. We’ll talk today about that, and about how it can be that the weather can seem pl...

We’re look at an atmospheric river arriving over the next few days. How severe it will be – well, that depends. We’ll keep an eye on the weather to see what develops. Basically, it’s a sign of winter on the coast. The post We’ve got an atmospheric river on the way – welcome to winter weather on the coast appeared first on The Ship Report .

We’ll look at today’s ship schedule, including an unusual vessel. This morning, an offshore supply vessel (OSV) called the Seaward Explorer will be arriving at the Port of Astoria. She is a converted oil spill response vessel formerly owned by MSRC. These multi-purpose ships act in a support capacity to other vessels at sea, such as cable ships and oil rigs. Because she used to belong...

Yesterday, the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria dedicated a new exhibit in their soon-to-be-open, brand new building, Mariners Hall, also called the Warnock Building. The exhibit is a retired 52-foot motor lifeboat, a type of rescue boat no longer made. The boat is called the Triumph II, and she replaced another boat called the Triumph that was tragically lost on the bar in 1961 during a...

Today we’ll revisit the story of Oliver Widger, the Oregon man who is currently stuck in the Doldrums near the Equator, as he tries to sail around the world. The Doldrums is an area of the ocean near the Equator in both the Atlantic and Pacific that is prone to areas of no wind. We’ll talk about the negative emotional and physical consequences that calm conditions, where the boat is es...

Today we’ll look at the cargo end of things. It’s the reason why ships are here. We’ll also talk about tugs and barges, which are an essential part of our chain of  commerce on the river. They all operate on the federal waterway that is the Columbia Snake River System. The post Ships are cool to look at, but why are they here? The short answer: cargo and the Columbia Snake River...

Today, a look at the Doldrums, a region near the Equator in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans where the wind suddenly dies. People are seeing the Doldrums in real time as they follow the journey of Oregon solo sailor Oliver Widger, whose boat has been becalmed in recent days while he waits for better wind. Image: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license....

A fire on Sunday at Pacific Seafood in Newport, Oregon, destroyed a freezer building and prompted evacuation orders in the area around the company’s facilities on the waterfront on Yaquina Bay. While no employees were injured and the company was back in operation on Monday, it’s unclear that the long term effects of the fire will be on the commercial fishing industry and local jobs, as...

We’ve got a bit of a change in the weather – rainy all week is what’s predicted. This is good news on many fronts: for one, we need the moisture. But second, it could signal a trend that our Pacific Northwest El Nino weather pattern could include abundant rain instead of drought. That’s an anomaly we see here in some El Nino years where rain is the norm while other areas ha...

Today we’ll dive into the ship schedule for the day, some interesting details about vessels coming and going. The post A look at who’s coming and going on the river today appeared first on The Ship Report .

I got some great additional info I’d like to share about fueling ships locally. I learned that while car carriers fueling up here are indeed a rarity, bulk carriers do on occasion come into the river to get fuel before they move on. We’ll talk about today’s vessels, and a bit about marine weather (including a sneaker wave warning through Thursday for area ocean beaches. The post...

Even though we aren’t seeing much rain in our region (yet) we are seeing other changes that show us the seasons are shifting and fall is here. Some of that information can be found in marine weather forecasts, and in other info that NOAA makes available to us about what’s happening in our local areas. Because the coast is its own animal when it comes to weather, and sometimes we need m...

This turned out to be an interesting story: First of all, the ships in our anchorages here off Astoria tend to be bulk carriers. Occasionally maybe a car ship if they are having mechanical issues. But this ship stopped by for the sole purpose of getting fuel. Unusual, and a good opportunity to talk about ship fuel, an interesting topic in and of itself. The post A car ship stopped by in the Astori...

Oliver Widger is the Oregon man who is currently sailing south off Mexico, intending to sail alone, on a sailboat named after his cat, around the world. His story is inspiring, an “everyman” dream. it’s also important to note that he has had, and continues to have, really expert help making this happen. As a relatively new sailor, he’s setting a wise example for others like...

Our typical fall pattern of more rain inserting itself into the forecast, alternating with sunshine. Sea heights will rise next week. Fall continues as planned. The post Our weather shows signs of more fall “seesawing,” with more rain on the way appeared first on The Ship Report .

Scientists are saying we are in for an intense El Nino period this winter. But what does that mean – what is El Nino, and its close relative, La Nina? And how will it affect conditions in the Pacific Northwest, in particular? Today we’ll take a look at that. The post A look at this year’s “Super” El Nino and its opposite sibling, La Nina appeared first on The Ship Rep...

Let’s take a look at who is on the river today and what kind of weather they’ll be dealing with. The post A look at this week’s weather and today’s ships appeared first on The Ship Report .

What’s in store for the weekend with marine weather? We’ll take a look, and check out ships coming and going on the river. The post A look at weather and ship traffic appeared first on The Ship Report .

Today I’ll share some advice from our beloved Coast Guard personnel here locally, about the approaching PNW heavy weather season, and what you should look out for if you are boating and on the seashore. The post “Heavy weather season is upon us” – a cautionary note from the PNW US Coast Guard appeared first on The Ship Report .

Today’s show is a bit of a potpourri, a little of this and that: I’ll be answering a question about the hospital ship USNS Mercy (yes, she’s still in Portland), a look at our ship schedule, and solo circumnavigator Oliver Widger is making his way down the West Coast. He fixed a freshwater leak in one of his water tanks and is good to go, sailing in beautiful seas. The post An upd...

I’ve been on a bit of a tear about solo sailor Oliver Widger the past few days and have been sharing a lot of info on Facebook, as he departed from Neah Bay headed around the world alone. He plans to sail nonstop, and end his voyage where he started, after months at sea by himself. There’s been lots of discussion on my Facebook Ship Report page about him, with most people very supporti...

You may have heard of Oliver Widger. He’s the intrepid Portland man who, after getting a life-changing medical diagnosis, sold most everything, bought a boat and sailed to Hawaii with his cat. This week he’s beginning another adventure: sailing around the world alone, unassisted and without stopping. He leaves from Port Townsend Friday morning. Photo of Cape Horn: Jerzy Strzelecki, CC...

This week we’ve seen some interesting ships in our Astoria anchorage, with gear we don’t normally see on an average day. We’ll talk about that and also take a look at ship traffic and our marine weather. Spoiler alert: the weather’s looking awfully good. The post A look at gantry cranes and other interesting gear on our anchored ships appeared first on The Ship Report .

In this final segment of my interview series featuring round-the-world racing sailor Heidi Brown, we learn about how injuries are handled aboard a racing yacht, when a crew member was seriously injured as they raced through the notoriously stormy Bay of Biscay, off Spain and France. The post Racing around the world, Part 6: injuries are always a risk at sea appeared first on The Ship Report .

Today we’ll hear more from my interview with Heidi Brown, the Astoria woman who returned this summer from sailing in the Clipper Round the World Race. She spent almost a year at sea on a boat with a crew of about 20 people, going from port to port on separate legs of the race, during which some crew members departed and others joined, but Heidi stayed for the whole journey.  Today we’l...