Around the Americas Crew Enjoy Portland Welcome When skipper Mark Schrader set in motion his plan to make a voyage “Around the Americas,” he knew he’d need a strong, versatile vessel built to withstand the rigors of the Arctic Circle, the Northwest Passage, and later on Cape Horn and the Chilean channels. The ambitious goal… Continue reading Around the Americas Voyage Sails the Northwest Passage
Author: seamarsh
Is Ocean Rowing an Exercise in Futility?
There is no doubt in my mind that crossing an ocean alone in a small boat with only oars for propulsion (without sails) is one of the hardest voluntary sporting task anyone can undertake. (I assume that is why this has become my most-read blog. I first wrote it in the early 2000’s, but only… Continue reading Is Ocean Rowing an Exercise in Futility?
2014: Preservation of James O. Hanthorn Cannery, Astoria
(First published in the Coast River Business Journal) ASTORIA — Fourteen years ago, Floyd Holcom purchased the James O. Hanthorn Cannery with two other investors. Neither of Holcom’s partners are still involved with the waterfront property. However, Holcom maintains a steady restoration of the mammoth structure—equaling more than two city blocks. Sustaining an over-the-water structure… Continue reading 2014: Preservation of James O. Hanthorn Cannery, Astoria
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 of water sports and was well-known as a record-breaking water-skier, designer and builder of high-performance… Continue reading Ray DeFir–Portland Water Ski Racer and Boat Builder (1930-2011)
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 boating, but some wanted more than a pleasant day on the water, they wanted speed… Continue reading WWII Merlin Engine Set US Speedboat Records
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 on the Columbia River, dating from 1875. There is no charge to enter the museum… Continue reading 2015: Visit the Hanthorn Cannery Museum in Astoria
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,” a subject which is thoroughly over-subscribed. But this book rises far beyond the typical formula… Continue reading 1996: Sailing Back In Time by Maria Coffey
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 building wooden boats and sailing up and down North America and across the Pacific. The… Continue reading 2011: The Nomadic Nautical Life of Allen and Sharie Farrell
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 volunteers formed the Oregon Maritime Center Museum and took on the preservation of this remarkable… Continue reading Built in 1947, Portland’s Sternwheel Tug Steamed into the 21st Century but Ran onto the Rocks in the Pandemic!
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 and petitions, the federal government was finally persuaded to find the funds to order a… Continue reading 1899: Horse Pulls Columbia Lightship to Safety