The Ship Report

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 ask them about their process: how do these magical works come to be, seemingly out of thin air. 

Every writer, poet, songwriter, for instance, seems to tap into that muse, that process, that creative spark,  in their own way. 

So today I’m talking with Pat about how he writes his poems.

Many thanks to Brad Wartman of the FisherPoetry Archive Project for his help engineering and recording this interview on Zoom.  You’ll find Brad’s extensive library of Fisher Poet Gathering and other maritime related recordings and podcasts on his website at TheFisherPoetryArchive.com.

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.

Today I'll talk with Columbia River Bar Pilot Capt. Dan Jordan, about how to stay safe during Buoy 10.

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 tsunami hits.

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 vessel.

With Buoy 10 fishing season approaching, it's a signal we land-dwellers who live near the river may hear more often in August.

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 and skills up your sleeve to enable you to carry on safely until outages are fixed.

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, uncontrollable hazard on board.

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.