A Bit about Tugboats, Part 1

Today I'll answer a listener question about tugboats on the river. It's an interesting and broad subject, so much so that I had too much to share to fit into just one show. So today is Part 1 of "A Bit about Tugboats on the Ship Report."

Tugboats haul cargo on barges on rivers and oceans, and assist tugs in port. They are vital in the maritime industry and ships could not do their work without them.

Part 2 tomorrow...

Two hometown ships leave Astoria for good

Two familiar ships, the USCG cutters Steadfast and Alert, will soon be leaving Astoria for good.

The reasons for each ship's departure are different, but we'll miss seeing them grace our waterfront by the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

We'll talk about why these beloved vessels will no longer be here on the Columbia.

Ship at the Port of Astoria for repairs

Today we'll take a look at our ship schedule on the river, including a bulk carrier that is at the Port of Astoria for engine repairs.

One more time...Red sky at night, sailors' delight?

With profound apologies to listeners who heard the wrong show yesterday, I apologize for my "operator error."

So, once more with feeling, here is the show that should have aired yesterday (with updated ship traffic and weather).

Today we take a look, thanks to a listener question, at an old nautical saying that goes, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning."

Is it true? Can we really predict the weather from colors in the sky? Well. to a degree, yes. We'll take a look today at the science behind red sunsets and sunrises.

The Lightship Columbia: a maritime hero in our midst

Sitting quietly by the dock on the waterfront in Astoria is a ship that once played a vital and sometimes heroic role in the region's history: the Lightship Columbia.

She's now an exhibit at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, but back in the day - she was a beacon and a refuge for sailors negotiating the intimidating and treacherous Columbia River Bar.

Our dynamic marine environment

More about our problematic and perhaps confusing weather this week, as Hazardous Seas warnings continue today offshore, while conditions on land are pretty bland.

We'll talk about why it's so important to keep your wits about you on land or sea when you are on or near the water. Things are always changing, in ways that can spell disaster for the uninformed and unmindful.

But a little preparation, a little information, and a little paying attention, can mean a wonderful day on a boat, or on the beach, that you will treasure forever.

Hazardous seas make for a rough start to crabbing season

Today is the first day that Dungeness crabbers in OR and WA can pull their pots, baited traps they set to "soak" in the ocean on Monday in the hopes they will be full of crab today.

But the weather has chosen to make things difficult for fishermen at sea today: the National Weather Service issued a Hazardous Seas Warning for area waters. We'll talk about what that means for people who have to work in these turbulent conditions.

USCG medevac from bulk carrier highlights protocols around medical emergencies

Last week, two crew members were medevaced off a cargo ship by the USCG, as it transited the Columbia River. The incident offers a good opportunity to talk about the way crew changes happen on ships, and what happens to a crew member who is left behind in the hospital when his or her ship leaves to head to its next port?

As the crab fleet goes to sea, more hard work awaits

As our Dungeness crab fleets up and down the coast head out to sea, our Ilwaco crabbers are especially on our minds. They worked so hard to get to the point where they could make this season opener happen, after a devastating facility fire destroyed equipment last week.

Their reward is more hard work, in the year's worst weather. Today we'll take a look at what it could be like out there on the ocean for fishermen this week in the Pacific Northwest. It's a story of difficult, dirty dangerous conditions, and the opportunity to do it all again between catches.

All the more reason to send a prayer or a good thought to fishermen, the next time you sit down to a seafood dinner.

Crabpot "Dump Day" becomes a symbol of victory over tragedy

Ilwaco, Washington's Dungeness crab fleet headed out to sea in the wee hours this morning, to start dropping baited crab pots ahead of the Thursday season opener here. Today is "dump day" - the day crabbers can legally start dropping pots, so they can harvest them on Thursday, they hope, full of crab.

The fleet's comeback was nothing less than astounding, after an incredible fundraising and gear-gathering effort on the part of people and businesses all along the coast.

Neighbors joined forces to step in and save the fleet from the aftermath of a horrific fire last week that destroyed critical gear and a fishing facility on Ilwaco's waterfront.