Part two of the Sinking of the Meteor: a gem from the archives

Today we'll hear part 2 of the true story of the sinking of the commercial fishing boat Meteor, on the Columbia River Bar in the 1970s, as told by former fisherman Michael McCusker.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript062724

A gem from the archives: the sinking of the Meteor

I need to take the next few days off, and so we'll hear a few shows from the Ship Report archives.

The two part show that you'll hear today and tomorrow is a listener favorite: the true story of the sinking of the commercial fishing boat Meteor on the Columbia River Bar, told as no one else can by Michael McCusker.

You can hear Michael Thursdays on KMUN radio in Astoria, with his insightful show, "A Story Told."  Among the many hats Michael has worn in his life is being a commercial fisherman. Here's his story of how he was the last man standing as the boat he was working on, the Meteor, sank on the bar.

We'll hear the finale tomorrow

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript062624,pdf

Getting around on the river

Today we'll take a look at what factors affect how long it takes a ship to get from one place to another, on the ocean and on the river.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript062524.pdf

Who's on the river?

Today we'll take a look at today's ship schedule, including a Canadian tug with an unusual destination.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript062424.pdf

The Panama Canal

Today we have a ship arriving from France, which means she likely traveled through the Panama Canal. We'll talk about that historic waterway, its problems with drought in recent years. and how a coming La Nina climate trend might help alleviate that.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript062124,pdf

Buoys in the 'hood

Today I thought we'd talk about some of the most ever-present and often ignored (by people on land) things in our river neighborhood - and that's navigational buoys. Vital for mariners, they sit in the water day and night doing their work, making the watery highway safe for travel.

Each buoy is unique, by color, numbers and sound, and they have lights so they can be seen at night. Mariners would have trouble getting along without them.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript062024.pdf

Research vessel Atlantis visits Astoria

There's a very special ship at the Port of Astoria right now: the research vessel Atlantis is at the dock, taking a temporary break from her research work in the Pacific Ocean.

Such vessels often stop into Astoria because we are conveniently near the ocean, to get supplies and change crews. The Atlantis is a famous ship, espeically known for the submersible Alvin which can carry scientists below the surface as deep ast 15,000 feet.

Today we'll talk about her and the Alvin, and I'll share my memories of being aboard her for a tour.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript061824.pdf

Interesting river anomalies

Today we'll take a look at a couple of interesting natural occurences on the river that can pose challenges for boaters: whitecaps and eddies. A glimpse at our profound natural world in action, right at our watery doorstep.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript061724.pdf

Ship mystery solved: what was all that smoke?

A listener contacted me and sent me a video to ask about huge quantity of smoke spewing from a passing container ship. The situation did indeed look rather dire, with lots of smoke billowing in the air.

Turns out this situation was not an emergency, but was instead white steam from the ship's scrubbers. We'll talk about what that means, why some, but not all, ships have scrubbers - and what they do to improve life for all of us.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript061424.pdf

Nehalem River canoeing death highlights an overlooked aspect of water safety

The death of a canoist on the Nehalem River last week offers a good reason to talk about water safety in a different way. Most people think the water dangers here are on the coast: the beach with its sneaker waves and rip currents, the Columbia River Bar, and the river's cold water and strong tides.

But equally dangerous hazards await even in smaller waterways with seemingly calm conditions. All bodies of water demand respect and proper gear to stay safe.

The best protection against all of these hazards is life jackets - and it's high time we decided they're "cool" so people will wear them.

Show transcript here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/SRTranscript061324.pdf