Today, a look at a very specific and important design feature on ships: the bow, the very front end of things. Why do they look the way they do? And why do some ships look different than others?
Image: a ship with a plumb bow in the Astoria Anchorage. Credit: Joanne Rideout 2025.
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A look at ships coming and going, including a couple of US-flag Jones Act ships, and a little about flags, cargo and the weather.
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To address a regional sand shortage, a critical element in concrete production, the Port of Kalama is hoping to get the go ahead for a project that would use sand dredged from the Columbia River instead of transporting sand in from elsewhere.
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I was walking along the riverside in Astoria yesterday and it sure looked calm out there on the water. Upon closer inspection, there was a actually max ebb tide happening, and the water in the channel was rushing toward the sea. No wind though, and not much surface turbulence.
A reminder that the river can be deceving to the inexperienced: don’t ever forget that the mighty Columbia River is never a placid lake, no matter how many pretty reflections you can see in parts of the river’s surface.
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Today we’ll talk about the incredible journey of solo racing sailor Pip Hare. She was competing in the round the world Vendee Globe race in mid December, when her boat was severely damaged and lost its mast.
Instead of calling for rescue or abandoning the boat, Hare used broken parts and a small sail to create a small makeshift rig, and slowly sailed 700 miles to Melbourne, Australia.
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A look at today’s complement of ships, including one that may eventually be carrying a mineral substance used for, among other things, kitty litter.
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