The Ship Report

Should you sail to Hawaii like Oliver Widger?

It's a wonderful story about a person escaping a soul-crushing rut, and making a bold decision to pursue a dream. Oregonian Oliver Widger sailed out of Warrenton last month (with his cat) and made it safely all the way to Hawaii. He quit his job, bought a boat and sailed away, despite having little experience as a sailor.

We've all dreamed of escaping at one time or another. So this begs the question: should you sail to Hawaii alone? Maybe. We'll talk today about what it takes.

Where do ships go when they travel on the river?

Today we'll take a look at where ships go where they come to the Columbia. When we talk about the ship schedule, we hear that some ships are going to Portland, but some to the Port of Portland. What's the difference? We'll talk about all the options for ships when they arrive and have to go somewhere.

Two interesting vessels arriving in the river todayToday we'll talk about the first two arrivals on the river today: one a commercial fishing vessel coming into the river from Canada, and the other a bulk carrier here to pick up scrap metal.

Who's on the river today?

Today a look at who's on the river today in terms of cargo vessels. A bit of gypsum, some cars, refined petroleum - and lots and lots of wheat.

Who's on the river today, and was that a containership we saw a few days ago? Yes, it was.

A look at today's ship traffic, and a bit about why we are seeing some containerships here again.

Tall ship accident shows the dangers of big rivers for vessels when something goes wrong

In the news this week is the accident in NY harbor, where a visiting tall ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge as the vessel was attempting to head out to sea. We'll talk about the dangers of big rivers, and about tall ships that are used round the world to train cadets for the military in different countries, including the US.

PNW Offshore Race 2025

On Thursday morning, 19 sailboats set out from Ilwaco, Wash., out to sea across the Columbia River Bar. At an appointed time, they crossed the starting line and began a four-day race northward, 193 miles to Victoria, BC. The annual PNW Offshore Race is underway.

Cruise ship in town today, and a look at who else is on the river

Today, another repositioning cruise visits Astoria, as blue water cruise ships make their annual spring migration up the West Coast, to their northern summer vacation grounds in BC and Alaska.And a quick look at today, the Ides of May.

Farewell, Clint Carter

Today we honor a local business owner, North Coast Blues musician, and well loved community member who was instrumental in organizing iconic music festivals on the Long Beach Peninsula.

Farewell, Clint Carter. We miss you already. Clint passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer.

He was also a person whose voice was heard every year on the Ship Report around the holidays.

Today I'll share a Ship Report annual tradition (a little earlier than usual) - a song Clint wrote, and sang with the Ilwaco Merchants Association: the Crabpot Tree Carol. It's been a staple for years at Christmastime on the Peninsula, at the annual lighting of the Crabpot Christmas Tree.

Two unusual vessels on the river today

Today we'll see two unusual vessels on the river, the cable ship Global Sentinel and the Offshore Support Vessel HOS Black Watch. Neither one is a cargo ship. Instead, both are specialized work vessels that do specific tasks in the maritime industry.