Solo racer Pip Hare's amazing adventure

Today we'll talk about the incredible journey of solo racing sailor Pip Hare. She was competing in the round the world Vendee Globe race in mid December, when her boat was severely damaged and lost its mast.

Instead of calling for rescue or abandoning the boat, Hare used broken parts and a small sail to create a small makeshift rig, and slowly sailed 700 miles to Melbourne, Australia.

Who's on the river today?

A look at today's complement of ships, including one that may eventually be carrying a mineral substance used for, among other things, kitty litter.

A review of anchorages, and the kinds of ships that use them most on the Columbia

Today, I thought we could do an overview of anchorages on the river.  We see ships in anchorages up and down the river corridor. Why do ships stop there? What happens on board ships in the anchorage? Can ships just anchor anywhere? Why do some this anchor and others don't?

We'll talk about all this and more in today's show.

USNS Washington Chambers enters the river today

An unusual vessel arrives in the river today: The USNS Washington Chambers. She's a cargo ship that is a member of the Navy's Military Sealift Command fleet, and she's headed for the shipyard at Swan Island. She's been involved in some unique military exercises at sea recently - we'll talk about that too.

And a correction to Tuesday's podcast about the disabled ship that was towed to Rainier after losing power downriver from the Astoria Megler Bridge: that incident happened on Christmas Eve, and the ship was towed upriver on Christmas Day. Apologies for the error; I've corrected the podcast.

Something to cheer about in the depths of winter: the days are getting longer

Today we'll talk about a happy fact: the days are getting longer! Since we passed the winter solstice in December, we've been adding a little daylight daily in small increments. Soon it will add up to wonderfully longer days, and eventually summer once again.

Interesting backstory on a complex Christmas ship incident shows mariner expertise

On Christmas Eve, some lower Columbia land dwellers saw a ship and two tugs slowly making its way upriver to Rainier, where it remains anchored. The ship experienced engine failure on its way downriver, and had to turn around and retrace its path.

The complex backstory around this incident, which might have seemed to a bystander like a relatively simple maneuver, shows the incredible expertise at play in our local maritime industry, which saw numerous professionals working during the Christmas holiday, meeting difficult challenges.

A look at today's ship schedule: who's on the river?

We've got a calm weather outlook for the week, and ships coming and going.

We'll see who's here and where they're from, and what kinds of cargoes they're handling.

New Year's Eve on the Astoria Waterfront 2024

It's that time of year again, when Astoria is usually quite fortunate to hear ship horns on the waterfront at midnight. It's different every year, depending on who's in the anchorage and who chooses to participate.

Thanks to the kind ship captains who agreed to sound their horns for us this year. Enjoy these sounds of the New Year's night and our town, ringing in the new.

Happy New Year!

Dungeness Crabbing - Part 4

More about our local Dungeness crab fishery and what it takes to do this demanding profession.

Dungeness crabbing - Part 3

We continue our look at the local Dungeness crab fishery.