Today we take a look at the warmer but much wetter weather we’re having today on the Upper Left Edge. It’s messy and uncomfortable on land, but much worse offshore. We’ll take a look at where wave heights might be in a few days, and revisit one of my favorite nautical references: the Beaufort Wind Scale. Devised in 1805 by a British Naval Officer, it’s still relevant today.
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The Fort Vancouver Seafarers Center at the Port of Vancouver, WA , has been serving visiting marines for more than half a century. Center Executive Director Kent Williams explains in this interview excerpt how the center came to be, after an adventurous young woman traveled to Asia on board a cargo ship and decided mariners needed a home away from home when they were in the States.
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The opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season will be delayed until at least Dec. 31 along the entire Oregon coast. Testing shows crabs are still too low in meat yield in some areas. The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season in Oregon usually opens Dec. 1, but can be delayed. Crab quality testing in late November and early December showed that multiple areas within the Tri-State region still did not meet the criteria for an opening. The delayed opening will allow crabs to fill with more meat.
Testing will continue to determine if the season should open Dec. 31, be further delayed, or be split into two areas with different opening dates. Along with with the delayed ocean commercial season, commercial harvest of Dungeness crab in Oregon bays is now closed for the remainder of the year.
Due to elevated levels of domoic acid, crab closures are currently in effect from Cape Blanco to the California border. This closure applies to both recreationally and commercially harvested crab from bays and estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers, and jetties. Recreational crab harvesting outside of these areas remains open in the ocean, bays and estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers, and jetties.
Find the latest information on closures by calling the ODA shellfish safety information hotline at (800) 448-2474 or visiting the ODA shellfish closures web page at http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/FoodSafety/Shellfish/Pages/ShellfishClosures.aspx
US Coast Guard Public Tours
If you’re looking for something fun to do on Friday, check out the US Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria.
The Steadfast, based in Astoria, is celebrating 50 years of maritime service by offering free public tours. That’s happening tomorrow – Friday, Dec. 7, 2018, from 10 am to 4 pm. You’ll find the Steadfast at the 17th Street dock in Astoria, by the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
The Steadfast is legendary for her role in drug interdiction. During her work in the Caribbean seizing illegal narcotics, Colombian drug traffickers nicknamed her “El Tiburon Blanco,” which means, “The White Shark.”
Take a tour and see what an active duty Coast Guard ship looks like inside!
When sailors come to the Fort Vancouver Seafarers Center at the Port of Vancouver USA, they have many options.. Among them:: they can access houses of worship, go shopping, or sometimes just sit in a quiet room for awhile to enjoy some peace.
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In Part 2 of my series on the Fort Vancouver Seafarers Center at the Port of Vancouver, Wash., we hear from Executive Director Kent Williams, who talks a bit about the center’s history and role in the maritime community.
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