Aug 11, 2026 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts
Today we’ll talk about a useful guideline for navigating in heavily tidal waters like the Columbia. It’s called the Rule of 12ths.
The Rule of 12ths divides the tidal cycle into segments, and shows when the most active times are happening. It offers a useful pattern to determine when the falling or rising tide will be exerting its strongest influence in the river.
A good tool to decide when to go out in a small boat, what times to avoid, and how to use the tide to your advantage if you are traveling on the river.
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Aug 10, 2026 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts
Today we’ll look at today’s abundant ship schedule, and also take a look at this week’s tides, which feature pretty big tidal swings between high and low tide. This can be an issue for people on the river in boats, as many people are during this month’s Buoy 10 salmon fishing season on the Columbia.
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Aug 6, 2026 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts
While ship traffic may seem slow some days on the lower river near the Columbia’s mouth, there’s plenty happening upriver near busy ports, and inland as far as Idaho. We’ll talk about upriver traffic on this busy marine highway, which includes the Snake River and Lewiston, Idaho.
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Aug 5, 2026 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts
A listener sent me an interesting question this week: asking why pilot transfers happen while ships are moving, because the process seems unsafe.
Today I’ll talk about why this practice remains the best and safest way to handle that pilot boat maneuver here (and in many places around the world). And yes, it is inherently risky, even with all efforts to make maritime piloting as safe as possible.
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Aug 4, 2026 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts
The National Weather Service warns us this week to expect wildfire smoke on the coast, thanks to a change in wind direction. We’ll talk about current air quality readings around the region, and what to expect.
Image: A smoky haze hung over Astoria on Monday, as inland wildfire smoke makes its way to the coast. Photo by Joanne Rideout
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Aug 3, 2026 | Home Slider, Ship Report Podcasts
The Buoy 10 fishing season is in full swing here on the lower Columbia, and I thought I would share my happy observations on our local docks yesterday afternoon. Also a few things to think about if you are going out here in a small boat to fish on the Columbia.
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