The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

The bulbous bow: an odd-looking, but very efficient, ship design feature

There's a unusual-looking ship design feature that's on pretty much all the ships that arrive here on the Columbia. When a ship is loaded, it's out of sight below the waterline, but on ships that are waiting for cargo, like in anchorages, you can sometimes see it. It's called the bulbous bow. It looks like a round or cylindrical protuberance sticking out in front of the ship at the front, below the waterline. Strange looking, yes, but it actually reduces drag, and improves ship efficiency and...

Archive Podcasts:

Crabpot “Dump Day” becomes a symbol of victory over tragedy

Jan 29, 2024

Ilwaco, Washington’s Dungeness crab fleet headed out to sea in the wee hours this morning, to start dropping baited crab pots ahead of the Thursday season opener here. Today is “dump day” – the day crabbers can legally start dropping pots, so they can harvest them on Thursday, they hope, full of crab.

The fleet’s comeback was nothing less than astounding, after an incredible fundraising and gear-gathering effort on the part of people and businesses all along the coast.

Neighbors joined forces to step in and save the fleet from the aftermath of a horrific fire last week that destroyed critical gear and a fishing facility on Ilwaco’s waterfront.

Efforts continue to help Ilwaco commercial fisherman get ready for the start of Dungeness crab season

Jan 25, 2024

After a stunningly successful week of fundraising and gear-gathering, community efforts to help Ilwaco, Washington’s Dungeness crab fleet regroup, after a devastating fire, seem to be well on their way.

What remains now is to get that gear rigged and baited in time for a Monday “presoak” deadline. That’s the day when the first crab pots can be put in the water, to allow fishermen to pull pots full of crab on Thursday, the official opening day of the season.

Wide-ranging community response helps crabbers recover from Ilwaco fire losses

On Monday, a devastating fire destroyed a commercial fishing facility in Ilwaco, Washington, along with thousands of Dungeness crabpots belonging to Ilwaco’s fishing fleet. With just a week till the opening of the crabbing season, things looked bleak.

But a far-reaching and effective community response from other PNW fishermen, and the public, to gather gear and raise funds, may allow fishermen and their families to continue their work and retain their livelihoods. A great example this week of neighbors coming together in a crisis.

Horrific fire destroys Ilwaco cannery, crushing the local crabbing community at the start of the season

Jan 24, 2024

On Monday, a devastating fire destroyed the historic Ilwaco Landing Cannery building on the waterfront in the fishing community of Ilwaco, Washington. The building and dock were gutted, and thousands of Dungeness crab pots destroyed.

It was a crushing blow to the local fishing community, slated to open the local crab season on February 1.

Today we’ll talk about some of the details of the fire, and efforts to help families who are reeling in the aftermath of the fire. PNW commercial fishing orgs up and down the coast are gathering gear to help fishermen replace what was lost.

Current fundraisers to help fishing families:

  • The Ilwaco Tuna Club: https://gofund.me/be6c5dc7
  • The FV Brandythe Walters family https://gofund.me/e4fb0a2b
  • The Chowder Stop in Long Beach Wash.is donating fund from sales: $2 from every cup of clam chowder sold starting Wednesday 1-24-2024 till the end of January will be donated to help with the disastrous fire that devastated our neighboring Ilwaco fishing community.

A look at our ship schedule for today

Jan 12, 2024

Today, a look at who’s coming and going on the river…we’ll look at the ship schedule, discuss cargoes and talk about what ships have the fastest turnaround time in port. Certain types of ships spend days in port handling cargo, others come and go sometimes in less than 24 hours. That’s a tough go for tired mariners handling winter weather at sea.

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