We’ve got some weather comin’ in

Oct 20, 2025 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts

A look at this week’s weather, which seems poised to take things up a notch in terms of stormy conditions. We’ve got an atmospheric river event coming out way. We’ll see how it shakes out.

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A look at Alaska’s recent coastal weather disaster

Oct 16, 2025 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts

Last weekend a typhoon his western Alaska north of the Aleutians, with devastating consequences for coastal communities there. A reminder to all of us who live on the edge of the world, that most of our weather comes to us from the ocean.

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A look at the ship schedule, the weather and the origin of the term “ides” on this, the Ides of October

Oct 15, 2025 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts

In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of March marked the 15th of that month, and a fateful day in history for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare’s play, named for him, the story recounts a historical fact: that Caesar was assassinated on March 15 (The Ides of March) in the year 44 BC.

Thanks to Shakespeare, that term “ides” persists in our culture, but it’s not just March. October has one too. And today is the Ides of October, a day that marks the middle of the month.

We’ll also take a look at our seesawing fall weather, and see who’s on the river today moving cargo.

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Interesting ships on the river Tuesday

Oct 13, 2025 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts

While all ships are inherently interesting, we have a few unusual ones passing by on Tuesday. One will visit the Port of Astoria.

We’ll see a new Military Sealift Command replenishment oiler headed to the Portland shipyard, a container ship (we don’t see them as often as we used to) headed to the Port of Portland, and a blue water cruise ship stopping for the day at the Port of Astoria.

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A look at transit times – how long it takes to get from one place to another by ship

Oct 13, 2025 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts

Today we’ll look at transit times, how long it takes a ship to go from one place to another at sea, and here on the river.

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The pilot boat Peacock, now a museum exhibit, was a real game changer for Columbia River commerce

Oct 9, 2025 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts

This week marks 15 years since the pilot boat Peacock was lifted out of the Columbia River and placed on land, on the campus of the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, where she welcomes people traveling past the museum on Marine Drive.

She’s now a retired icon of Columbia River shipping, but when she first arrived here in the late 1960s, the Peacock opened a new era in river commerce. That was thsnks to her unprecedented ability to handle channeling weather conditions that previous pilot boats here could not.

Today we’ll honor the Peacock and talk about her work with the Columbia River Bar Pilots.

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