The Ship Report

Today we’ll talk more about the weather, which is in for a change this weekend, and about an unusual meteorological phenomenon we could see called the coastal jet that happens from time to time here. It causes winds along the coast to speed up, sometimes dramatically, while winds offshore can be much calmer.

The post The Coastal Jet: an interesting weather phenomenon we could see here this weekend appeared first on The Ship Report.

The next two weeks are packed with astronomical happenings: a new moon, a solar eclipse, and the autumnal equinox. We’ll talk about them in the context of our natural maritime world, where life continues in habitual patterns that play out in tides, moon cycles and waning daylight at this time of year. And, our coastal weather, which continues to see cyclic changes as well.

The post New moons, tides, solar eclipses – all part of our cyclic natural world appeared first on The Ship Report.

Tis morning we’ll see the Serenade of the Seas, a big, blue-water cruise ship that will be docked at the Port of Astoria all day. She’s on her way back down south for the winter, having stopped here in May when she was headed north for a summer of cruises in the Puget Sound region and perhaps Alaska.

Astoria’s cruise ships are usually these repositioning cruises, which move ships between summer and winter cruising areas, with a stop in between to visit our city. There will be three more of these ships arriving here this fall, the last one in October.

The post Serenade of the Seas visits Astoria on a repositioning cruise appeared first on The Ship Report.

Well, I’m back, at least mostly upright – after a supposedly mild (it didn’t feel very mild to me) bout of pneumonia!

I was flat out on the couch last week, but I’m glad to be back, though I’m moving slowly. Looking forward to reclaiming my energy in the coming weeks.

Today we’ll talk a bit about the weather offshore locally, about a solo sailor out there braving it, and a look at some ships.

Stay healthy!

The post A bit about the weather, a solo sailor, ships and… a touch of pneumonia… appeared first on The Ship Report.

A snapshot of who’s on the river today, and a bit about anomalies in the ship schedule, and a look at one cargo ship that’s arriving today that isn’t handling any cargo at all.

The post More about ships and cargo on the river today appeared first on The Ship Report.

A look at today’s ship schedule, with details about various about ships, protocols and cargo.

The post Who’s on the river today? appeared first on The Ship Report.

I interviewed Fisher Poet and author Pat Dixon recently about the release of his new book of poems, Mending Holes.

Here’s the full video interview we did.

Many thanks to Brad Wartman, of The Fisher Poetry Archive, for his help recording and producing this interview on Zoom. Find his work at thefisherpoetryarchive.com

The post Video interview with Fisher Poet Pat Dixon, author of Mending Holes appeared first on The Ship Report.

We’ve got a new pilot boat operating on the Astoria waterfront these days. She’s called the “Swift” and she’s a new addition to the local fleet.

Today we’ll talk about her and also about pilot boats in general: a very unusual breed of vessel.

The post New pilot boat on the river appeared first on The Ship Report.

Yesterday, September 1, marked the beginning of meteorological fall in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a great time of year to discuss the difference between the two falls: meteorological and astronomical.

The post Meteorological fall, happening now in a hemisphere near you appeared first on The Ship Report.

I’m taking a break from the show this week. Today’s show is from the Ship Report Archives, all about the kinds of lights you see on ships at night as they are passing by or anchored in the river.

The post From the Ship Report Archives: Running lights on ships appeared first on The Ship Report.