Today I’ll answer a listener question about why ships seem to have so few lights on, on the exterior of the ship, when they are traveling at night.

There are two main reasons: preserving night vision for the crew on the bridge so they can see what’s out there, as much as possible, in diminished visibility.

Also, ships have designated, legally mandated running lights in a specific configuration that allows other vessels to know what they are looking at when they see it coming.

Even with all the modern tech on board (GPS, ECDIS, radar, etc.) these simple, time-tested tools for ship navigation remain vital.

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A few basics about what happens at sea and on the river when the weather gets problematic for vessels. There can be delays – and when ships finally move again can depend on a complex mix of factors related to weather, sea state and tides.

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This may seem like an obvious question (they slow down), but the answer is actually quite complex. Today we’ll talk about ship speed in enclosed environments, about things like current and tides, and about some more obscure aspects of the physics of water that heavily affect ships in rivers.

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We’re looking at an unusual cold weather event through today, with cold air coming down from Alaska. That could bring inland snow, and maybe some light snow/flurries to the coast.

The marine weather forecast includes the potential for gale force winds.

Overall it will be a wet week – a good thing for mitigating drought and fire risk later in the year.

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In a tragic follow up to last Thursday’s show, we’ll talk about the passing of Tyler Jaggers, the US Coast Guard rescue swimmer who was gravely injured in a accident in Late February. The incident happened while Jaggers and his fellow helicopter crew members were attempting to rescue a stroke victim from a bulk carrier that was operating off the coast of Washington state. He passed away late last week.

We honor him and all service members of the US Coast Guard, who take serious risks on behalf of the public to do their jobs.

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A US Coast Guard rescue swimmer was seriously injured in an accident during the course of a rescue mission last Friday.

As of earlier this week, he was on life support in a British Columbia hospital.

We’ll talk about the important role rescue swimmers and all Coast Guard personnel play in keeping us safe in challenging conditions.

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I learned something interesting the other day – that winds spin differently in different kinds of weather systems. It has to do with the Coriolis Effect, and air pressure. An interesting look at “how things work” in weather.

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Today we’ll look at the ship schedule and talk about why outbound ships can look so different you might think it’s another kind of vessel altogether. Also, a look at tides and the moon – and a lunar eclipse.

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Today we’ll do a quick debrief on this past weekend’s 29th annual Fisher Poets Gathering, and then we`ll address an important maritime issue that can be a matter of life or death: why you should never get between a tug and its tow at sea, or on the river.

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Today we’ll hear more from my interview with Len Tumbarello, who is currently the executive director of the Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots.

Earlier in his life, he spent 28 years in the US Coast Guard, a career he really loved. Today we’ll talk about what a career in the Coast Guard can be like.

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