The attack on Pearl Harbor happened on this day in 1941

The infamous surprise attack on a U.S. military base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941, killed sleeping servicemen, sank ships in their berths, and drew the nation into World War II.

Photo credit: Pearl Harbor Memorial. Cdavidson602, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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Marine pilots: an unseen but vital maritime profession

Each day on the Columbia River, ships come and go and the people on board are largely invisible to people on land. On virtually every ship is a highly trained, experienced expert: a marine pilot, hired to use his or her local knowledge to help the ship navigate safely to and from port.

Photo: Columbia River Bar pilot climbing a pilot ladder. Image courtesy Columbia River Bar Pilots.

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How are small businesses faring in the global cargo snarl?

While big retailers use their considerable financial muscle to hire dedicated containerships to move just their merchanise to market, small businesses must sometimes wait months and even miss the holiday shopping season altogether, because cargo is delayed.

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Today’s the day: Dungeness crab season opens

A great day in the commercial fishing community: the Dungeness crab fishery opens today, on time for the first time in years. But the fishery is among the most dangerous in the world for the people working in it. So send your good wishes to the fishermen and women who are risking life and limb (literally) to bring us that fabulous seafood.

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The amazing story of the lightship that went overland

The amazing story of how a beached Columbia River lightship was brought back to life through an arduous journey overland.

Many thanks to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco, and Frank Lehn, Long Beach Peninsula historian and moderator of the “Facebook Friends of the Long Beach Peninsula” Facebook page, two great local resources for area history. It was through them that I found this story and photo.

The background of the photo here is as amazing as the story of the lightship itself: 

This photo appears courtesy of the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum and Frank Lehn. It was taken by Ilwaco photographer, J.F Ford, who also had a studio in Portland. The photo is from a book donated to the museum recently by someone who found it in an antique shop in Massachusetts.

The book is an album of photographs published by Mr. Ford, showing the ship being moved across the isthmus and into Baker Bay. It was a souvenir book printed in a limited quantity, and likely used by the company as a way to advertise the type of job they were capable of.

Included with the book was an article that appeared at the time in an issue of Scientific American explaining in considerable detail how this feat was accomplished. – info courtesy historian Frank Lehn.

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How big retailers like Amazon try to get around the cargo mess

Money talks in the business world, and in the recent global cargo snarl, some businesses are more equal than others. Take Amazon, whose massive resources make it possible for the company to hire its own container ships to bring just its cargo to market. Good news for Amazon customers, but small businesses must fend for themselves in a backed up shipping scenario that is affecting the globe.

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Thanksgiving at sea

A look at how the Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated (if indeed it is) on board ships at sea.

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A look at the USCGC Healy, one of two U.S. icebreakers

We’ve talked on the Ship Report about the Polar Star, a heavy US icebreaker that each year charts a path through the ice to Antarctica so ships can get through with supplies to McMurdo Station at the South Pole. But there’s another US icebreaker, the Healy, who tends to roam Arctic waters. Today, a look at the Healy and what’s she’s up to.

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Dungeness crab season opens on time for the first time in years

Thanks to robust crab meat in sampled crabs, the 2021-2022 Dungeness crab season will start on time this year on Dec. 1, something that hasn’t happened in about six years.

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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.

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