The Ship Report

How many ships will be off Astoria on NY's Eve? And, a look at the Dungness crab fishery Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and we'll hopefully hear some ship horns off the Astoria waterfront. Today, we'll also take a look at the Dungeness Crab Fishery, which kicked off in the local area this past weekend.

End of the year stuff: New Year's Eve ship horns, and - the Ship Report is now on Substack I'm gearing up once more to record ship horns on the Astoria waterfront again this year, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve - an annual tradition I happily seek out. I'll share the recording with you on January 5th, when the Ship Report returns for the New Year. We never know w...

A new storm looms for the coast, and - Santa is saved by the US Coast Guard Well, weather watchers are tracking an approaching storm that might (or might not) bring damaging winds to our area. We'll see how that shakes out. And today we'll hear a Ship Report holiday tradition: "Coastal Christmas," a retelling of the story of The Night Before Christmas, coastal- style. It's a...

'T is the season, for Dungeness crab, that is Today we'll talk about the opening at the end of this month of the 2025-26 Dungeness crab fishery in our local area. And hear an excerpt from a 2016 interview I did with a commercial crabber. His name is John Corbin, and he'll tell us a bit about the process of catching and harvesting Dungeness.

More weather as our next atmospheric river arrives today The fire hose of rain is aimed south of us in Clatsop County this time, but meteorologists predict we are looking at about and inch and half  in Astoria, and 3 inches or more Tillamook and points south. The big deal right now is a matter of time, rain and its long term effect on soils. It’s been raining for awhile now and we are seeing the e...

Today, a real look at how weather can affect ship traffic We've got some rowdy weather on the Columbia River Bar today and it may cause ships to be delayed until the weather's better. We'll take a look at how that sort of thing works and what you can expect.

Another round of atmospheric river conditions kicks in Tuesday We seem to be in an atmospheric river phase at the moment: we'll talk about what to expect today from a maritime perspective.

Another atmospheric river today - let's look at what's next We'll be looking at more atmospheric river activity this week. We'll take a look at what to expect. The short answer: with already saturated soils in our region, be prepared for power outages, landslides and downed trees. We'll also take a look at today's ship schedule.

A look at crazy rainfall totals from our atmospheric river, and what's next... Today we'll take a look at some really crazy rainfall totals from this week's storm, and a look at what's next as next week unfolds. The short answer: more rain.

A break in the weather, but experts say there's more to come in this rainy December We haven't seen the last of atmospheric river activity this month, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center. We'll take a look at the long range forecast for what could shape up to be a very wet rest of December, and January.

Winter Boater Safety Inspection Event Dec. 27th in Astoria If you have a trailerable recreational boat registered in Oregon, consider bringing your boat down to the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Winter Boater Safety Inspection Station event later this month. If you have the right gear, you can get a 2026 Oregon Boater Safety Inspection sticker. It's happening Saturday, December...

Atmospheric rivers on the way A somewhat "geeky" look at our upcoming weather, which includes one, possibly two atmospheric rivers over the next week. I'll toss around (and explain) jargony terms like IVT and QPF, specific weather metrics that PNW meteorologists use to track weather intensity in rainy climates like ours.

The Great Coastal Gale of 2007 remembered This week in 2007, a series of damaging storms walloped our region, bringing high winds, rain and flooding, causing widespread damage. This week, we're looking at the usual wet winter weather. Eighteen years ago, it was a different story... Today, we remember the Great Coastal Gale of 2007. Special thanks to Long Beach Peninsula historian Frank Lehn, f...

An Ilwaco tradition comes around again: The 19th annual Crabpot Tree lighting This Saturday at 5 pm sharp, Ilwaco will hold its 19th annual Crabpot Christmas Tree lighting. It's a chance to come together to sing and honor a community tradition. The event also also honors beloved Ilwaco community member Clint Carter, who passed this year. He wrote the Crabpot Tree Carol, which you'll hear t...

King Tides are back... We have another round of King Tides happening this week. Let's talk about what to expect, along with elevated sneaker wave risk on area beaches.

Holidays at sea It's a good time of year to talk about holidays at sea, for sailors who are often far from home.

Barges: an integral part of the chain of commerce We've seen a maritime story in the news recently about a barge that was taking on water in BC waters with containers on board. The story highlights how widely barges are used in marine commerce, although most of us don't notice they're out there, functioning as an integral part of the chain of commerce. In rural areas, they can also be...

A look at ships and cargo A look at who's on the river today, cargoes and anchorages.

A look at the weather, the ship schedule, and a note about short winter days The weather is about to do its thing again: wind, rain and elevated seas. Ships are coming and going as usual, so far. And for those feeling down about our short days, consider Utqiagvic (or Barrow), Alaska, which saw its last sunset of the year earlier this week. They'll live in darkness for 64 days until the sun ret...

Our third and final interview segment with long distance paddler Carmen Perez Today we'll hear the third and final segment of my interview with Carmen Perez, a long distance paddler who recently traveled 1200 miles in her canoe with her dog, Zuri. They traveled for two months, from the headwaters of the Columbia River in British Columbia to Clatsop Spit in Oregon, where the river meets the Pac...

More from Carmen Perez, the gal who just canoed the length of the Columbia River with her dog Today we hear more from our interview with Carmen Perez, the gal who last week ended her two-month long journey canoeing the entire length of the Columbia River, from its headwaters in British Columbia, Canada, to Clatsop Spit in Oregon. She made the trip with her loyal dog, Zuri, a border collie mix.

Carmen Perez, 22-year old solo canoeist, ends her 1200 mile journey down the Columbia Today we'll hear from Carmen Perez, a 22-year old solo long distance canoeist, who last week finished her two-month, 1200 mile solo journey (with her dog!) from the headwaters of the Columbia to Clatsop Spit.

A look at who's on the river today We've got some weather coming in, and we'll look at who's on the river today in terms of arriving and departing cargo vessels.

More weather changes, and a look at today's ship schedule We've got rain arriving and staying for the next few days. We'll also take a look at who's traveling on the river toda.y

Mighty Fitz follow up - interview with a Coast Guardsman Today, as a follow-up to yesterday's show about the sinking of the ore-carrier Edmund Fitzgerald 50 years ago on Lake Superior in 1975, we'll hear an interview with local resident Reid Johnson, who is now retired from the Coast Guard. He was 19 years old in1975, and serving on a USCG ship on Lake Huron the night the Fitz was lost in...