A look at the staggering amount of ocean plastic, and a new treaty that may help

Mar 28, 2023

Our oceans are accumulating a staggering amount of plastic, at a pace that shows no signs of slowing. Now a new UN treaty aims to address this growing problem, for the health and welfare of all nations.

A look at the staggering amount of ocean plastic, and a new treaty that may help

A look at the staggering amount of ocean plastic, and a new treaty that may help

Our oceans are accumulating a staggering amount of plastic, at a pace that shows no signs of slowing. Now a new UN treaty aims to address this growing problem, for the health and welfare of all nations.

Cruise ship heads to Portland drydock

Mar 27, 2023

Today we’ll see a cruise ship in the river, but she’s not carrying passengers. This time this ship is headed for the shipyard. We’ll talk about what shipyards do, and why Portland’s Swan Island yard is specially equipped to handle big ships like this one.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Cruise ship heads to Portland drydock

Cruise ship heads to Portland drydock

Today we’ll see a cruise ship in the river, but she’s not carrying passengers. This time this ship is headed for the shipyard. We’ll talk about what shipyards do, and why Portland’s Swan Island yard is specially equipped to handle big ships like this one.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Today’s ships, and a bit about the things we don’t see

Mar 24, 2023

We’ll take a look at who’s arriving and departing on the river today, and talk a little about the upriver portion of the chain of commerce that folks on the lower river don’t always see.

Today’s ships, and a bit about the things we don’t see

Today’s ships, and a bit about the things we don’t see

We’ll take a look at who’s arriving and departing on the river today, and talk a little about the upriver portion of the chain of commerce that folks on the lower river don’t always see.

Cars on the Columbia

Mar 23, 2023

Today we’ll talk about those odd-looking car ships we see on the river, and about new brands of cars coming into the Port of Portland.

Cars on the Columbia

Cars on the Columbia

Today we’ll talk about those odd-looking car ships we see on the river, and about new brands of cars coming into the Port of Portland.

The odd and sometimes humorous history of the Beaufort Wind Scale

Mar 22, 2023

The Beaufort Wind Scale is that table of wind speeds which gives us assessments of wind intensity based on a scale from 0-12, according to what we see happening around us on land and sea. It was created in the early 1800s, and is still used today. It evolved from earlier, vaguer scales that weren’t defined clearly. Today we take a look at the evolution of the Beaufort Scale. Some of its iterations were really helpful to mariners, and some were just, well, charmingly silly.

The odd and sometimes humorous history of the Beaufort Wind Scale

The odd and sometimes humorous history of the Beaufort Wind Scale

The Beaufort Wind Scale is that table of wind speeds which gives us assessments of wind intensity based on a scale from 0-12, according to what we see happening around us on land and sea. It was created in the early 1800s, and is still used today. It evolved from earlier, vaguer scales that weren’t defined clearly. Today we take a look at the evolution of the Beaufort Scale. Some of its iterations were really helpful to mariners, and some were just, well, charmingly silly.

The legendary Sargasso Sea and why it was so feared by sailors

Mar 21, 2023

The Sargasso Sea has been in the news this week, because of drifting seaweed that could reach the US. But during the age of wind, mariners on sailing ships feared the Sargasso, because ships often became becalmed there and crews perished from starvation and lack of drinking water.

Cars on the Columbia

The legendary Sargasso Sea and why it was so feared by sailors

The Sargasso Sea has been in the news this week, because of drifting seaweed that could reach the US. But during the age of wind, mariners on sailing ships feared the Sargasso, because ships often became becalmed there and crews perished from starvation and lack of drinking water.