The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

Let’s take a look at one ship

Let's take a look at one ship on today's schedule. It's path traces a winding route from Russia through the Panama Canal to Portland, a journey of more than a month at sea.

Archive Podcasts:

I first came across this term “Crazy Ivan” when I was watching one of my favorite movies, “The Hunt for Red October.” It’s about a Russian sub captain who wants to defect to the US during the Cold War. In the film, a US sub is trailing a Russian sub, and all of sudden, the Russians do a “Crazy Ivan.” Turns out it was a real thing.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

How to prep for an ocean voyage

Mar 03, 2020

Want to go to sea in a beautiful pea green boat? You’ll need more than honey and plenty of money, as the children’s song says. I asked blue water sailor Capt. Russ Roberts for his take on how to prepare for an ocean sailing voyage.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Jon Campbell – Fisher Poet

Mar 02, 2020

The annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon is done for another year. What a great weekend it was! One of the talents welcomed back this year after several years away was Jon Campbell – inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame for his musical achievements in his home state, Jon is a delight for audiences, who love his smart, curmudeonly take on the culture of fishing. We’ll hear a song he wrote about the Long Beach Peninsula.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Fisher Poet Mark Alan Lovewell

Feb 28, 2020

Fisher poet, songwriter and musician Mark Alan Lovewell was today’s guest on the Ship Reporrt. He’s from Martha’s Vineyard, and is visiting Astoria for the 23rd Annual Fisher Poets Gathering. I was fortunate to have him as my guest live on the air today He’s a passionate advocate of fishermen and the fishing life. Hear him sing part of his iconic song, “Fishing Boat Sarah,” about what a boat means in the lives of a fishing family.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Fisher Poets Gathering: Clem Starck

Feb 27, 2020

Award winning poet Clem Starck is another regular at the FPG every year. His imagery grabs listeners and takes them along. This riveting poem, the “Pan Oceanic Faith,” is named for a ship that went down while Starck was a merchant seaman. It’s a haunting tale of survivor guilt and the sense of random fate that can overtake sailors at sea.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Fisher Poets Gathering: Smitty Smith

Feb 26, 2020

Fisher Poet Smitty Harrison Smith was an icon of the event. His eloquent, gritty works inspired many other fishermen and women to write. Here’s his poem, “Crick Robber Gray,” about a special shade of gray favored by commercial fishermen before the days of radar and sonar.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | RSS | More

Fisher Poets Gathering: Johanna Reichold

Feb 25, 2020

This weekend is the 23rd Annual Fisher Poets Gathering. In honor of Fisher Poets past and present, today we’ll hear a song from the 2008 Gathering, recorded by KMUN radio at the Wet Dog Cafe in Astoria, as part of a CD project where artists agreed to allow their work to appear on an anthology of performances from that year. Johanna Reichold was a standout that year: a passionate woman poet and songwriter who here shares here song about a hellish captain: “The Whole Town Told Me Not to Work for You.”