An unusual vessel arrives in the river today: The USNS Washington Chambers. She’s a cargo ship that is a member of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command fleet, and she’s headed for the shipyard at Swan Island. She’s been involved in some unique military exercises at sea recently – we’ll talk about that too.

And a correction to Tuesday’s podcast about the disabled ship that was towed to Rainier after losing power downriver from the Astoria Megler Bridge: that incident happened on Christmas Eve, and the ship was towed upriver on Christmas Day. Apologies for the error; I’ve corrected the podcast.

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Today we’ll talk about a happy fact: the days are getting longer! Since we passed the winter solstice in December, we’ve been adding a little daylight daily in small increments. Soon it will add up to wonderfully longer days, and eventually summer once again.

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On Christmas Day, some lower Columbia land dwellers saw a ship and two tugs slowly making its way upriver to Rainier, where it remains anchored. The ship experienced engine failure on its way downriver, and had to turn around and retrace its path.

The complex backstory around this incident, which might have seemed to a bystander like a relatively simple maneuver, shows the incredible expertise at play in our local maritime industry, which saw numerous professionals working during the Christmas holiday, meeting difficult challenges.

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We’ve got a calm weather outlook for the week, and ships coming and going.

We’ll see who’s here and where they’re from, and what kinds of cargoes they’re handling.

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It’s that time of year again, when Astoria is usually quite fortunate to hear ship horns on the waterfront at midnight. It’s different every year, depending on who’s in the anchorage and who chooses to participate.

Thanks to the kind ship captains who agreed to sound their horns for us this year. Enjoy these sounds of the New Year’s night and our town, ringing in the new.

Happy New Year!

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Today we’ll talk about the just-in-time rescue of a sailor from a sailboat in flames, over 400 miles offshore, by a cargo ship – carrying a cargo of orange juice. So a bit about rescues at sea, and the specialized ships that carry our juice.

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A look at today’s ship traffic, and what to expect from the weather. Might want to get out the raingear later in the week.

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Today, a medley of things to talk about: a new, locally built military vessel on the Columbia; that scary tsunami warning yesterday and what it reminds us to consider.

And, Ilwaco’s Crabpot Christmas Tree lighting is coming around again, happening this Saturday at the Port.

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Today we’ll talk about an accident at sea where inattention and fatigue helped create a costly and catastrophic mistake,

We’ll talk about the cost of not paying attention on land and sea.

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Seventeen years ago this month, a series of storms later called the “Great Coastal Gale of 2007,” hit PNW coastal communities hard, causing serious flooding inland too. Here on the coast, residents were reeling, left without power and cell service for days.

We’ll share some recollections today about that storm, and what it showed us about ourselves.

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