Search and Rescue off Astoria

I had occasion to observe an SAR (Search and Rescue) operation being conducted by the US Coast Guard in the Columbia River off Astoria. They were searching for possible lost kayakers who may have been swept away by King Tides running strong in the river. It was heartbreaking to watch the light fading on a winter day, and the helicopter searching, searching, and finding no one. A cautionary note about paying attention to conditions before you go out.

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Boating safety: how to prepare for emergencies on your boat

If you go out on a working vessel, preparedness is usually the norm. On a recreational boat, it’s important to think ahead about what you need to have and to know, before something bad happens. Because it will. And you need to know how to handle it.

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Shark attack off Seaside, Oregon

A young surfer was attacked in the ocean off Seaside, Oregon, in a popular surfing area called The Cove. Fellow surfers came to his rescue. He was rushed to a local hospital, and then to Portland for further care.

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Situational awareness – an essential quality for mariners

Today’s show is about situational awareness, the skill of paying attention to what’s happening around you even when your tendency might be to daydream. It’s a factor in maritime accidents, and avoiding them, and is just part of the challenging work that mariners do. We’ll talk about how maritime accidents can happen. And how mariners think ahead to avoid problems, in a work environment where tremendous forces are at play.

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The 114th anniversary of the wreck of the Peter Iredale

Yesterday marked the 114th anniversary of the wreck of the sailing cargo ship Peter Iredale, which ran ashore in foggy conditions on the ocean beach at Clatsop Spit on October 25, 1906. Parts of her steel frame remain on the beach as a reminder of the hazards of operating ships in the Graveyard of the Pacific. Today we remember the Iredale in the words and music, from  local historian Frank Lehn, and local band the Brownsmead Flats.

Photo courtesy of historian Frank Lehn and the Long Peninsula Friends of Facebook.

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Harrowing beach rescue equipment from bygone days

Before we had the modern ships, planes and helicopters the USCG uses now to rescue people in trouble at sea, we had the US Lifesaving Service, which operated locally here on the Long Beach Peninsula and other area beaches. Today we take a look at the equipment they used then to save lives. Some options presented almost as frightening a prospect as a wreck itself.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Source: Library of Congress, 1919.

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Waterfront reflections on the river we love

Most of us who live near the river seldom venture out on it. But we love it all the same. Today we hear from a chef at a popular waterfront restaurant and brewery in Astoria, about how his kinship with the river, and his closeness to it, sustains him through challenging times.

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Beaufort Wind Scale, Part 2

More today on the Beaufort Wind Scale… after yesterday’s podcast was cut off because of radio broadcast difficulties, I decided to redo the show so that listeners would be sure to hear about this historic, fun and useful scale that is still widely used today.

In my research for this episode, I ended up finding out even more about the Beaufort Wind Scale than I knew before. So, this Ship Report comes with a tongue-in-cheek advisory: it may be for serious geeks only. Here is probably more than you ever wanted to know about the Wind Scale to End All Wind Scales… ♥

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The Beaufort Wind Scale, Part 1

This legendary scale for determining wind speed by looking at what’s happening around you was developed in the 1880s by an Irish military officer named Francis Beaufort. It’s still used today by sailors on land and at sea to tell how hard the wind is blowing by the visible effects wind has on things like the sea state, trees and structures on land. Part one of a two part podcast on the famous Beaufort Wind Scale.

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As pandemic continues, cruise ships are getting scrapped

One consequence of the cessation of cruises during the pandemic is that idle cruise ships are deterorating from lack of use. And more and more of them are simply being scrapped by companies who no longer want to pay to maintain them.

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