A sweet story for hard times: the story of how sailors saved Beluga whales

Nov 22, 2021

We’ve all had just about enough bad news for a lifetime since the pandemic started. So here’s a story to warm your soul: the true story about how some sailors in the Artic saved the lives of beluga whales trapped in the ice. Slight spoiler: it involves music and lots of icebreaking.

Photo credit: Creative Commons, photograher Patrick Kelley.

A sweet story for hard times: the story of how sailors saved Beluga whales

A sweet story for hard times: the story of how sailors saved Beluga whales

We’ve all had just about enough bad news for a lifetime since the pandemic started. So here’s a story to warm your soul: the true story about how some sailors in the Artic saved the lives of beluga whales trapped in the ice. Slight spoiler: it involves music and lots of icebreaking.

Photo credit: Creative Commons, photograher Patrick Kelley.

Containers get a makeover that could help unsnarl cargo issues

Nov 19, 2021

The humble shipping container has remained relatively unchanged in basic design since it was first invented in the 1950s. Now a relatively new take on containers could become more popular. The collapsible container – a more flexible version of the original could take up less space on board and help unsnarl the world’s cargo issues in the pandemic.

Containers get a makeover that could help unsnarl cargo issues

Containers get a makeover that could help unsnarl cargo issues

The humble shipping container has remained relatively unchanged in basic design since it was first invented in the 1950s. Now a relatively new take on containers could become more popular. The collapsible container – a more flexible version of the original could take up less space on board and help unsnarl the world’s cargo issues in the pandemic.

Wind power equipment a big economic driver for Port of Vancouver, USA

Nov 18, 2021

The Port of Vancouver, Wash., has been doing steady business during the pandemic, even though it’s not a container port. Part of the reason is the importing of wind energy equipment for wind farms inland. The port is uniquely equipped to import the huge components, and that’s made it a prime destination for such equipment on the West Coast.

Wind power equipment a big economic driver for Port of Vancouver, USA

Wind power equipment a big economic driver for Port of Vancouver, USA

The Port of Vancouver, Wash., has been doing steady business during the pandemic, even though it’s not a container port. Part of the reason is the importing of wind energy equipment for wind farms inland. The port is uniquely equipped to import the huge components, and that’s made it a prime destination for such equipment on the West Coast.

BC endures catastrophic flooding as big storm just misses OR and WA

Nov 17, 2021

Locals here in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington held their collective breath as a huge atmospheric river weather event slid by our area and barreled into British Columbia to the north. Even we got lots of rain here. But the storm left B.C. communities swamped and residents stranded.

BC endures catastrophic flooding as big storm just misses OR and WA

BC endures catastrophic flooding as big storm just misses OR and WA

Locals here in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington held their collective breath as a huge atmospheric river weather event slid by our area and barreled into British Columbia to the north. Even we got lots of rain here. But the storm left B.C. communities swamped and residents stranded.

A personal look at the Edmund Fitzgerald tragegy

Nov 16, 2021

Even though it happened more than 40 years ago, the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgeral ore carrier still hits home, especially people who were living in the area and working in the maritime industry at the time the wreck happened in 1975.

Reid Johnson was in the USCG stationed on a cutter in Lake Huron when the Mighty Fitz sank. He still remembers how the wreck haunted all of them on board, because the ship was so familiar to everyone in the region.

A personal look at the Edmund Fitzgerald tragegy

A personal look at the Edmund Fitzgerald tragegy

Even though it happened more than 40 years ago, the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgeral ore carrier still hits home, especially people who were living in the area and working in the maritime industry at the time the wreck happened in 1975.

Reid Johnson was in the USCG stationed on a cutter in Lake Huron when the Mighty Fitz sank. He still remembers how the wreck haunted all of them on board, because the ship was so familiar to everyone in the region.

USCG to the rescue in Tillamook

Nov 15, 2021

We usually think of our beloved Coasties rescuing people on the water, but sometimes they also help people on land. Sometimes, as in this case of some folks in an RV park stranded by rising flood waters, water is also involved.

USCG to the rescue in Tillamook

USCG to the rescue in Tillamook

We usually think of our beloved Coasties rescuing people on the water, but sometimes they also help people on land. Sometimes, as in this case of some folks in an RV park stranded by rising flood waters, water is also involved.