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Ray DeFir–Portland Water Ski Racer and Boat Builder (1930-2011)
Ray Was First Man to Water Ski 1,000 Miles Non-Stop! Ray DeFir, an active and well-known figure in the Portland, Oregon boating scene for over 50 years, died in 2011 at the age of 81. Ray had a lifetime love … Continue reading
WWII Merlin Engine Set US Speedboat Records
Loss of the Quicksilver and its driver in 1951 at Seafair In the years after World War II, as the US economy prospered, veterans settled down and soon began to look around for new forms of leisure. Many took to … Continue reading
2015: Visit the Hanthorn Cannery Museum in Astoria
Preserving the History of the Canneries and the Workers The Hanthorn Cannery Museum in Astoria is a place like no other on the west coast: a collection of old fishing and fish-canning equipment and boats housed in the oldest cannery … Continue reading
Posted in Nautical History
Tagged Bumble Bee Museum, hanthorn cannery museum, Pier 39 Astoria
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1996: Sailing Back In Time by Maria Coffey
Cruising the B.C. Coast with the Farrells on China Cloud by P.M. In a literary market awash with regional memoirs and local biographies, Maria Coffey has produced a work so unique it overflows these categories. Ostensibly, it is about “yachting,” … Continue reading
2011: The Nomadic Nautical Life of Allen and Sharie Farrell
Introduction: Allen Farrell spent 69 years building over 40 wooden boats on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. With his wife Sharie, he lived for almost 50 years aboard many of their handmade vessels or homesteading on the coast, continually … Continue reading
Posted in Cruising, NW boats and boaters, Sailors & Yachts
Tagged Allen Farrell, China Cloud, Lasqueti, Millie and Larry Aites, Millie Illin
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Built in 1947, Portland’s Sternwheel Tug Steamed into the 21st Century but Ran onto the Rocks in the Pandemic!
The sternwheel steamboat was an everyday sight on the Portland, Oregon, waterfront until the 1920s. And although those ferryboats disappeared long ago, steam power lived on until 1981 in the shape of the port-owned, “ship-assist sternwheeler” Portland. A group of … Continue reading
1899: Horse Pulls Columbia Lightship to Safety
How the Columbia Lightship Went for a Walk… Forty years after a lighthouse was built on Cape Disappointment in 1852, wrecks were still a common occurrence off the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. After years of complaints … Continue reading
2015: Florence Arthaud Dies in Helicopter Collision
She Held Both Solo Trans-Atlantic Records Copyright P.Marsh French yachting star Florence Arthaud, who broke into solo ocean racing in the 1980’s and became a sailing legend by winning the 1990 Route dy Rhum, died recently in a collision between … Continue reading
2013: A Pilgrim’s Progress along the Camino de Santiago
A Secular Pilgrim Rides the “Camino de Velo” Copyright P. Marsh After witnessing the arrival of the 10th-placed sailor in the Vendee Globe Round the World Yacht Race in February, I continued my N-S bike journey along France’s Atlantic … Continue reading
Cycling Across the Yucatan–Cancun to Celestun
Cancun-Celestun–Touring With the Wind at Your Back There is one direct route across the Yucatan, shared by a wide, modern toll road and the narrow old road connecting all the towns and villages. The previous year I had ridden this … Continue reading