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An Ilwaco tradition comes around again: The 19th annual Crabpot Tree lighting

This Saturday at 5 pm sharp, Ilwaco will hold its 19th annual Crabpot Christmas Tree lighting. It's a chance to come together to sing and honor a community tradition. The event also also honors beloved Ilwaco community member Clint Carter, who passed this year. He wrote the Crabpot Tree Carol, which you'll hear today on the show. This song is sung each year at the lighting of the tree, which is made entirely of Dungeness crabpots.

Archive Podcasts:

Waterspouts sighted off Oregon coast

Jun 20, 2023

It’s deja vu all over again: waterspouts are back off the Oregon Coast. In 2016, a waterspout came ashore and the tornado ripped through Manzanita, causing $1 million in damages, although no one was injured.

These formations are associated with strong thunderstorms and we’ve seen them more often off the coast in recent years.

The best way to handle a waterspout at sea (or on land as a tornado) is to avoid it.

The back eddy: a cool and sometimes useful tidal anomaly on the Columbia

Jun 16, 2023

I happened to be looking out over the Columbia River in Astoria this week and saw an interesting water anomaly that I’d never noticed before. It turned out to be an effect from a tidal eddy, something to watch out for if you’re in a small boat, and another sign of the power of our mighty river and the moon and sun, which conspire together to create our tides.

Rose Festival Fleet update, and change of plans

Jun 08, 2023

It looks like the last of the military vessels arriving for the Rose Festival in Portland are passing by us today on the river. We saw a change of plans for one ship, the USS Lake Champlain, which had been at the Port of Astoria for the past few days – she headed out to sea yesterday, after what was evidently a change in orders. But we have another arriving US Navy ship this morning. So there will be plenty to sea at the festival this weekend.

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