The Ship Report

The saga of Carnival Panorama, the cruise ship with mechanical problems and lots of uneasy customers with holiday cruises planned, is slated to return to the Columbia River early tomorrow morning.

We'll talk about her trip down the coast, why she is arriving so early and how the weather plays into her voyage.

The ship should cross the Columbia River Bar into the river at about 4 am Saturday if all goes well. Track her progress on marinetraffic.com.

It's the holidays, and so we're seeing some of our beloved coastal traditions coming around again. One unique local maritime tradition here on the Columbia happens in the port town of Ilwaco, Washington. It's the lighting of the "World's Tallest Crabpot Christmas Tree."

This festive event features pictures with Santa and the tree, a reading of a local Christmas story about Santa and the US Coast Guard, and the lighting of the tree, to name a few of the many things you can enjoy there. Show up, and you'll get to sing along with the Crabpot Tree Carol, a cheerful rewriting of Jingle Bells about fishermen bringing home a bountiful catch of crab to celebrate around the crabpot tree.

The event starts at 4, tree lighting at 5. If you can't be there, checkout a live broadcast of the event on the "Discover Ilwaco" Facebook page.

Today, in the second part of this week's look at the challenges of the Columbia, we'll talk about the upriver leg of the river from Astoria to Portland. A look at the unique issues river pilots face on ships transiting to and from ports like Longview, Kalama, Vancouver and Portland.

Why the Columbia River is so challenging

I talk about this topic from time to time on the show, because there are so many facets to it. Today we’ll take a look at the challenges the river poses for arriving ships, from the unusual underwater geology offshore, to the daunting currents along the winding river corridor. It’s a matter for experienced marine pilots who make critical navigational decisions on the fly every day.

What we know about the Carnival Panorama cruise ship's return to Astoria.