The Ship Report

Lots of ships today anchored off Astoria Today we'll see quite a few ships anchored off Astoria in the river, if they all arrive today. That will bring good shipwatching opportunities. We'll talk today about why ships anchor here.

What are those red patches in the river? I received a listener question about a seasonal phenomenon people are noticing in the lower river right now: patches of dull red in the water. What is it? Turns out it's not what many people think: it's NOT a dreaded toxic algae bloom. Instead it's a good thing: a bloom of beneficial phytoplankton that is helping restore oxygen to the water and...

Low water on the Columbia The National Weather Service issued a low water warning for the Columbia this past weekend and today, as minus tides and seasonal low water levels make navigating the river more challenging. We'll talk today about why water levels can be lower at this time of year, and when they will improve.

Pat Dixon: maritime author interview about his new book of poetry, "Mending Holes," Part 5 Today’s episode concludes this week’s interview series, where I’ve been sharing excerpts from my interview with Pat Dixon, fisher poet and author of the new book of poetry, Mending Holes. Many thanks to Brad Wartman of the FisherPoetry Archive Project for his help engineering and recording this int...

A chat with fisher poet Patrick Dixon, about writing, life and his new book of poems, Part 4 We’re continuing my interview with Pat Dixon, fisher poet and author of the new book of poetry, Mending Holes. Today, Pat and I will talk more about his creative process as an author, and about how the book got its name.

Interview with author and poet Patrick Dixon about his new book, "Mending Holes," Part 3 Today we’re continuing to hear parts of my interview with Fisher Poet and author Pat Dixon, who just published a book of poetry called Mending Holes, about his memories of life as a commercial fisherman.  One of the topics I love to explore with people who make their way in the creative arts, is to a...

Interview with Pat Dixon, author of the new book of poetry: "Mending Holes," Part 2 Today we continue my interview with fisher poet and author Pat Dixon about his new book, "Mending Holes," a collection of his poetry, all about his life as a commercial fisherman in the waters of Alaska. Today, Pat shares some poems from the book.

Author interview: Fisher Poet Patrick Dixon and his new book, "Mending Holes" This week I'll be talking with Fisher Poet Pat Dixon about his life as a commercial fisherman, author, photographer and educator, and about his new book of poetry, "Mending Holes."  

An interview with Columbia River Bar Pilot Captain Dan Jordan, as the Buoy 10 fishery begins Today begins one of the most anticipated annual fishing events in the region: the Buoy 10 recreational fishery on the Columbia River. Hundreds of boats will dot the river this month, filled with eager folks hoping to catch salmon, and that can spell trouble when small boats get too close to giant ships. To...

Listener questions about tsunamis A few listener questions today regarding this week’s tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the ocean to the north of us. And a few key takeaways: Consider this a dry run Don’t get complacent If you feel an earthquake here, don’t wait for someone to tell you it’s an emergency – head for high ground as fast as you can. You may only have 20 minutes before a damaging ts...

A ship horn signal that could be heard more often on the river in August Yesterday I heard a ship do its five-blast warning signal on the river, letting a sailboat know of its presence and cautioning it to stay out of the ship's path. This is a standard horn signal that ships and boats use when they see a potential issue developing and want to head off any possible problems with a nearby vesse...

How old fashioned navigation methods can still save the day when modern aids can't Last week, global internet service provider Starlink experienced a service outage for over two hours, causing difficulties for lots of remote users, including ships and boats, especially those far from land. While electronics are great, it's also a good idea to have some old fashioned navigation equipment an...

US carrier Matson says no to electric vehicles, citing lithium ion battery risk The US ocean carrier Matson has decided to no longer ship electric vehicles, because of the increasing frequency of what analysts believe are lithium ion battery caused fires on car ships. Despite newer industry recommendations designed to make ships safer, these fires remain a deadly, and usually in practice, uncontro...

Who's on the river today? We've been talking about other things this week so far. Let's take a look today at our ship schedule.

We see them every day, but likely ignore this big influence in our lives: What causes tides? Today, as part of the answer to a listener question, I thought it would be good to take a look at why tides happen. This influence is huge in our lives here on the coast and on the river, and it's interesting and helpful to understand what's driving it.

Thank you, a bit about music, being brave and, oh - tides Today's show is a bit of a mix: I wanted to thank the folks who came down to the Ten Fifteen Theater to hear my Ship Report talk and to hear Jerry and me perform on stage (eek!), and then a bit about tides, and how there is a vast difference in tidal schedules between what we  Astoria and Vancouver/Portland.

The busy upriver Columbia We see a lot of ships go by on the lower river near Astoria, but the river upstream past Longview is often busier, with a variety of vessel traffic all doing local work: tugs and barges  hauling cargo, ship handling tugs, and ships being moved from anchorages to nearby berths.

A Ship Report talk in Astoria on Saturday, and some music This Saturday the 19th, at 10:30am, I'll be appearing at the 1015 Theater in Astoria, as part of their big Performathon fundraising event, which runs all day and into the night. I'll be sharing memories of a trip I took on a cargo ship when I traveled from the Columbia River up to Puget Sound and south to San Francisco. It was an un...

The Pacific Collector: another interesting military vessel on the river Today we see the Pacific Collector arriving from Honolulu, after a doing her specialized work of tracking missile defense testing. She's one of a host of US military ships we see on the river, along with her sister ship, the Pacific Collector.

Let's take a look at one ship Let's take a look at one ship on today's schedule. It's path traces a winding route from Russia through the Panama Canal to Portland, a journey of more than a month at sea.

Minding the weather A look at today's gusty weather and how to plan accordingly if you're going out on a boat. One thing to remember: the experience of being on the river is very different when you are out on a boat from the way it is on land, even on the shore. And any precautions you take for the river goes double out in the ocean, where risks can be greater.

Staying safe on a boat means: prepare before you go Nothing says summer like the 4th of July, comin' right up. If you're looking forward to boating this weekend, perhaps even in the ocean, here's a bit about how to give yourself the best opportunity to stay safe on our challenging but beautiful Pacific Northwest waterways.

A look at weather, ships and waterflow in the river A little bit of everything today: a look at marine weather compared to land based forecasts, who's on the river today, and a bit about river flow and changing tides.

An overview of current ship traffic Today our ship schedule has just a few ships coming and going on the river. It's a good time to talk about the commerce we often don't see happening, that includes ships at anchor and ships already in port.

The Pacific Tracker: a specialized ship with a long and winding past Today we will see the Pacific Tracker travel up the Columbia to Portland. She's a military missile tracking ship that's berthed at Swan Island's shipyard. An interesting aspect of this ship is her past: she's 60 years old, and has had various uses and names - including as a  bulk carrier and containership. A case...