As this weekend’s annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon, approaches, we’ll take a look today at a PNW author who’s been a regular at the event for years: Tele Aadsen.

Tele published her first book in 2023, What Water Holds, and today we’ll hear a reading from it. Plus, how you can get more info about the Gathering, and how to listen live if you can’t be there.

The Gathering begins Friday, with events on Saturday and Sunday morning.

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The Columbia River has dams and locks inland from Vancouver, and billions in commerce pass though those locks each year by tug and barge. After all that wear and tear, the Army Corps of Engineers schedules yearly maintenance periods during which locks are closed and all equipment is inspected, repaired and maintained. It’s part of the essential workings of a river system that is a huge economic engine for the region. We’re coming up on one of those annual two week periods in March.

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We’ve been talking this week on the show about People on the ships we see. So far we’ve talked about the people on board. Today we’ll talk about an important additional piece of things: the portside army of professionals who make it possible for ships to arrive, handle cargo, and depart – in as smooth and efficient a manner as possible.

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Today, continuing this week’s theme of people on board ship, we’ll talk about food. Fresh, well-prepared meals are essential to crew morale. Without a good meal after a hard work shift, sailors can get pretty discouraged as they labor for months without much time off. So wise captains make sure food on board is good and plentiful.

Photo courtesy US Navy. Galley aboard the USS Mesa Verde.

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This week’s theme on the Ship Report is People: the people on the ships we see passing by each day. Today we’ll talk about what it’s like at sea on board a cargo ship – what people do when they are at work and when they are off work, and what the rhythm of life is like on board.

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A critical and ofen unseen workforce on any ship is its below decks engineering department. These hardworking, highly skilled folks keep all the essential systems running on board the ship, ensuring that the captain and the rest of the deck department folks can handle the job of getting the ship from one place to another, and handling its cargo.

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This week’s theme is People – the people who work on board and those who interact with the ships while they’re on the river. The maritime world is full of people, and we hardly ever see them. Today we’ll talk a bit about the crews on the ships.

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Today we continue our series about the Columbia River. Today’s topic: the fact that our lower river is called a “salt water wedge estuary.” We’ll talk about what that means, and why marine pilots consider it one of the river’s many quirks that they need to take into account with regard to ships.

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This week we’re talking about the Columbia River, and focusing on a different aspect of the river each day. Today we’ll talk about all that water that flows by our doorsteps every day. We’ll do a few comparisons that may help you understand how massive and formidable the river truly is, and why it should be treated with great respect at all times..

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Today I thought we might start a weeklong look at the Columbia River starting today with a brief overview of river history.

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