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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The Alaska commercial fishing community is grieving today with the loss of the 50-foot fishing boat, the Wind Walker, out of Sitka, which capsized in stormy seas a little after midnight early Monday morning southwest of Juneau.

Despite an extensive search with many Coast Guard and civilian resources, neither the boat nor her crew have not been found.

Incidents like this reverberate through our fishing communities throughout the region, especially as our own local Lower Columbia crabbing fleet prepares to go to sea in the worst weather of the year, as the season opens in the next few weeks.

Send your best to these grieving families, and to all our fishermen… may they have a successful, safe and profitable season. And your sincere gratitude for a good catch.

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An overveiw and a detailed look at ship traffic on the river today.

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