Oil glut turns tankers into tanks

Off the west coast of the US, there’s an odd sort of ship showing up these days: oil tankers, more than two dozen off California, that have come there not to deliver or pickup up cargo, but to sit at anchor and store it, as petroleum futures hit record lows.

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Whiskey tastes better when it’s gone fishing

A great hometown story about an Astoria fisherman and restaurateur who’s partnered with a local whiskey distiller – turns out whiskey aged at sea tastes world’s better than the landlocked variety.

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More on navigating at night on the river

This is a big topic: getting around at night on the river… Today we talk about what buoys do, what their different colors mean and how their lights match their painted colors. It’s all very important info for people trying to get around on the river at night.

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On the water at night

As part of our continuing look at the natural world around us, at things you might have more time to notice these days, today we talk about nighttime on the river, which can be a time of great confusion for people in vessels, unless they know what to look for.

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Tides in Willapa Bay

Received a listener question from a person who wondered about tides in Willapa Bay, when do they happen – because different tide tables he consulted seemed to have different times on them, even though they were all for Willapa Bay.

Today we’ll talk about tidal variations across areas – and how it’s all relative, so to speak.

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Tidal currents: one of the many challenges offered by the river

Each day tidal currents race up and down the river off Astoria. We notice them occasionally when we stop to look at anchored ships or see a buoy leaning in the rushing water. Today we take a closer look at this ubiquitous aspect of river life.

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Something we love to look at: Sunsets

Here on the West Coast, we treasure our sunsets. But most of us take in this pleasing sight without knowing much about it. Today we look more closely at the sunset.

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Things to observe as you go about your day: The Sun

We’re used to igrnoring the Sun, pretty much. It rises, it sets. It’s covered by clouds a lot here. But there’s lot’s more to know. Today we talk a bit about the Sun.

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Things to observe in the natural world: Tides

With many of us having more time on our hands as we stay at home to flatten the pandemic curve, this may present an opportunity to observe the natural world around us more closely. Today we take a look at something that happens every day here: the changing of the tides.

This lovely photo was taken by Astoria photographer Scott Saulsbury. You’ll find his photos on Facebook and also in his book, Light, Water, and Steel: https://www.blurb.com/b/5184191-light-water-and-steel

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Ship adrift? Could be part of the new normal

This morning, there’s a ship adrift in the ocean off Tillamook. Turns out this strategy might be part of the new normal for ships in the age of COVID-19. The ship is slated to arrive in the Columbia River around 2 pm today, and may be waiting offshore by drifting for awhile.

The trick is to arrive at your berth when there are longshoremen around to help. With social distaincing requirements and health precautions in place, longshoremen are not as plentiful at ports as they were before. So ships want to time their arrival when there are people there to unload the ship. Otherwise, they spend money while they wait. Drifting at sea is free and saves fuel.

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